DC tried to relaunch a few Milestone series back in 2011, it didn't necessarily work out, because nobody bought them. Myself included, because I'm not immune. I didn't know there was actually a Xombi relaunch until it had been finished for a few months, which disappoints me. I decided to head back in and take a look at their 2011 series.
The story in this one follows David Kim, the Xombi. The fun thing is this one picks up just two months after the original series. There's no secret time gaps like the Static Shock (2011) series DC attempted. David is hanging out watching a movie with his friend Chet enjoying his new freedom when he gets a call from an old colleague, Julian, who wants him to go to a secret prison under Dakota. Meeting with members of the Church, David enters the prison where they learn the most dangerous prisoner James Church has escaped. Soon they're attacked by spirits of dead children and snow angels and are forced to flee.
Soon David is clashing with Maranatha, a monster possessing James body. It kills him as others look on from the Church group with David and now Julian and his group. They corner the best while David recovers then finishes it off. We get back story on Annie Palmer, a new character born in 1871 on a floating stronghold. She was tricked by Roland Finch into helping him gain a star chart. The group heads to another stronghold seeking help in stopping Finch. They form an alliance with Morgan who leads a stronghold and stage a final attack on Finch's stronghold. That's all you get for free.
Now, the story is interesting, it's the Xombi I've grown to love. Here's the thing, if you were just picking this up for the first time you'd be lost. There's a lot of backstory needed that doesn't really get filled in right away. Because of this there's a ton of exposition especially when we get to the point where David recaps his origin story and Annie recaps hers. There's a reference to his fiance in the last two issues, she doesn't even appear in the series. Even if you are familiar with the old school Xombi stuff you're going to want to go back and look at sections of this series too.
You won't actually mind because the writing is good. There's plenty of explanations of David's powers slid in there without being overbearing. While the story is very serious there's plenty of jokes and puns to ease the tension. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice little bow but you can't help wonder if there was a lot more planned.
Artwork in the book is interesting. It's not bad by any shot and provides a unique experience. It gives off this vibe as if it had all been painted with watercolors. But, at the same time it's way too clean for that to be the case. It won't be for everyone but I really enjoyed it. The color pallet is generally dark and when something is holy in nature it'll light up an area. Even when David is just sitting and talking about life with Morgan by the fire place it looks beautiful. The only complaint I can really make about the art is sometimes faces look a little weird. There's also this really cool panel scheme where the panels are just there. Characters reaching through panels or multiple panels used to show size instead of full page spreads. It's cool and I can't recall seeing it anywhere else off the top of my head.
Typically when I go back and read these older comics that aren't considered classics, it'll turn out they're kind of bad. That wasn't the case this time. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Xombi. I think it's because there's this combination of science and mysticism. A lot of the time you're forced to choose between Ironman and Dr. Strange or Mr. Terrific and Dr. Fate. With David Kim you get the best of both worlds working together so there's always going to be that breath of fresh air.
John Rozum wrote the book, and it's clear from start to finish this is the Xombi we know and love. He created the character and the fact that he was writing made it feel like we had never missed a day. Some writers are just really good with certain characters. John Rozum isn't bad at all but Xombi is just perfect for him to write. It's like Dan Slott with Spider-Man (even if some people won't admit it), Scott Lobdell with Jason Todd, or G. Willow Wilson and Kamala Khan.
Sadly Xombi never had a chance to succeed. There's a reason I didn't know this book existed in 2011. John Rozum who is credited as a writer on Static Shock (2011), but never actually wrote the comic was also in charge of writing Xombi, and DC never gave it a chance. In fact, they cancelled the book before the first issue was even available for pre-order due to sales of Static Shock. In an interview he states:
When I was allegedly writing Static Shock, it was made very clear to me that just because I had Hardware in the comic didn't mean I was going to be allowed to start bringing in all the other Milestone characters which is something I very much wanted to do. I don't think DC was ever really interested in The Milestone characters beyond Static. Sales aside, they cancelled Xombi before the first issue was available for ordering.DC never gave Xombi a chance to catch on with new readers or reconnect with old readers. It was gone before it even arrived. Dr. Fate is lame (outside of Earth-2 which nobody else read) and we all know it. David Kim could have been DC's answer to finally rival Dr. Fate. Instead they chose back out before they could commit and it's sad. Based on their treatment of Xombi and Static you don't exactly get high hopes for the relaunch, if it ever happens.
Despite all the bad that comes along with the book Xombi is still a really good read. Even if you aren't typically into the magic or science aspects. It's less superhero and more adventure style comic so it's a good break. There's a team, but it's not really a team book. It's why I have a soft spot for Xombi, it never tries to fit into one category. David Kim is Xombi, the book is Xombi, it's really that simple and it's that good.
You should buy Darrell's Book, watch him on the Blerds Online YouTube Channel or The CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts.
