Domino #1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Story: Gail Simone
Pencils: David Baldeon
Colors: Jesus Aburtov
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Greg Land & Frank D’Armata
The mutant mercenary Domino has been a background character in the X-men world for a few decades now rising in popularity through her attachment to X-Force. Now with Deadpool 2 on the horizon and Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, getting a ton of mainstream attention, it’s time for the character to make a comeback in a new solo series.
It’s Domino’s birthday and she’s reluctantly bringing it in with a bang…or maybe a crash. After what should have been an easy mission goes awry, Domino and friends attempt to unwind and celebrate her born day. However, the mission doesn’t seem to be over and Domino herself is being targeted by a powerful foe, one that isn’t afraid to crash her party.
Gail Simone takes the reigns in this iteration of the story of Neena Thurman, the mutant known as Domino. To the uninitiated, Domino’s powers are probability/luck based, shifting things to work to her advantage in a sticky situation in unpredictable and sometimes humiliating ways. Simone addresses this early in the story, assuming that not everyone reading Domino #1 actually knows anything about the character. After a cool fight sequence where readers are brought up to speed about Domino’s abilities, Simone wastes no time charging full speed ahead in acquainting readers with the personal side of Neena Thurman giving readers pieces of her backstory and giving us a bigger glimpse at her “family”.
David Baldeon’s art is beautiful. His panels are incredibly clean and he has a really good way of laying out the action. He makes every action seem quick and frenetic. Domino’s agility and cockiness is conveyed consistently and it all works so well with the humor of Gail Simone. As a person who pays close attention to these things I love how between the fight and the party Baldeon never lets his quality slip when it comes to characters interaction and conveying expression. Jesus Aburtov as Colorist loves the blue tone and it carries throughout much of the book. The cool tone seems to be an indicator that something is going to be shot or punched and It’s not a criticism as it works really well across the board.
Domino #1 is fun. From the introduction of the Domino’s new K9 doppelgänger to the cliffhanger ending, start to finish this book had me smiling. Simone and Baldeon fire on all cylinders and between the action, the jokes and the history most of it lands beautifully. There was a part in the beginning where Domino’s dialogue was a little exposition heavy but I acknowledge that it was geared toward the newer readers and wasn’t something to fault it for. Having personally loved this character for a long time and watching the several attempts to launch her a solo character I’m finally satisfied that she has the right team behind her to finally make that happen. Simone does a lot in this single issue to give Domino an incredible launch point and I’m excited to see where she goes in issue #2. 4/5
Eric Snell
esnell@comicattack.net
