Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Billy Tan
Colors: Dean White
Cover: Esad Ribic
Letters: Cory Petit
Design: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Jody Leheup, Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2011
Cover Price: $3.99
In ‘High Art,’ Rick Remender writes a self contained one issue story that carries some weight to it. Dr. Nemesis returns from an errand as a favor to Magneto and hands him an envelope containing the information he was seeking. Magneto, knowing about the existence of the Uncanny X-Force team, confronts them and asks Wolverine to do one job for him.
Magneto and Wolverine are the central focus of the issue, but the larger context is encompassing in the book. How can a man live for so long with a hate filled heart and what is he willing to do about it? With the return of Dr. Nemesis, Magneto now has the information he requested; but does he really want to know the identity of one who has caused him to suffer great pain or can he let it go? He contemplates both, but his ability to take vengeance on this perceived evil is too strong.
Throughout the issue, Billy Tan does a nice job at showing the hatred and hurt contained in Magneto. Most of the more emotional sequences are those that contain no dialogue and show the heroes, whether it be Magneto or Wolverine, as people dealing with their inner selves. The artwork coveys the gravitas of the story perfectly.
There is plenty of emotion and questions to be asked through the course of the story. How far can we take our hate for something done in the past? Does one have the right to pay for their past after having lived a long and fruitful life afterwards? These are some of the things this story causes us to ponder just as we see similar personal stories in today’s newspapers.
Rick Remender pulls together a sad but great story that makes us think about many aspects of human life and how justice can be very complex. Since this is a stand alone story, anyone can pick it up and jump right in without feeling lost. I recommend you go to your local comic book shop and do just that.
– The Comic Book Critic
Comic Book Critic Rating: 8.5