Exiles, Vol. 7: A Blink in Time

Exiles (2001) (Collected Editions)

by Chuck Austen, Jeff Youngquist, James Califiore

From the back cover:

BLINK IS BACK! Their long-lost leader makes her triumphant return -- but the reality-hopping heroes don't have time to celebrate, because the fate of an entire world is at stake, and it's their job to save it! Is Blink's presence enough to tip the scales in the Exiles' battle with a startling new menace?

Collecting Exiles #38-45 - written by Chuck Austen (X-Men) and Jim Calafiore (Deadpool) and illustrated by Jim Calafiore.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Chuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum) is an American humor novelist, comic book writer and artist, TV writer and animator. In comics, he is known for his work on X-Men, War Machine, Elektra, and Action Comics, and in television, he is known for co-creating the animated TV series Tripping the Rift.

In his most recent prose novels, Chuck Austen has been going by the name Charles Austen.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume; the story takes a turn to the dark side and I just ate it up. The only thing letting it down was the artwork, unfortunately. Calafiore's artwork is just too blocky and un-anatomically correct for my tastes.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Chuck Austen writes something good. Never thought I'd see the day.

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Chuck Austen’s best work of all time

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most decent thing about this storyline is that they got rid of all the bad exiles.

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

BLIIIIINNNKKKKK - we're back friends!

Oh boy are we back.

Sigh.

Okay so the first...third of this volume I hated. Like. I can't properly enunciate why I hate it, and since this is a personal review I don't have to. Just know I hated it. Also it would have been maddening to me with what they did AGAIN - we finished with the Exiles, Sunfire is dead, Blink is back...here's 5 issues with THE OTHER reality hopping team Weapon X, but it apparently matters for the next story arc for the Exiles.

As a sidenote, I really hate when stories do that in individual comics. That means it was a SIX MONTH WAIT to find out what it meant that Blink was back. Six. Month. Wait.

Anyhow so the Weapon-X team has a couple new people, including Hyperion who I don't know at all, but I'm getting he's a bit like if Superman went Tyrant God? He immediately is like "nah let's not kill everyone and do the mission...LET'S INSTEAD TAKE OVER THE WORLD". When that doesn't...quite...work out....ugh when that doesn't work out they skip out of that reality and go to a new one.

We come to find out that between that mission (Mission Die) and the one in which the Exiles stumble into (Mission Die Part 2) there was a couple in which Gambit managed to fu...er mess with the crazies in the group (Hyperion, Ms. Marvel, Spider) enough that they could you know, avoid committing genocide for funs.

God I hate these people.

In comes the Exiles, Morph is mad at Mimic, Mimic is emo'ing left and right, Illyana is being Illyana. Blink is all sorts of confused, but not QUITE as confused as Weapon X Gambit who just wants everyone to remember to eat okay? Weapon X Gambit fills everyone in - Hyperion has gone completely rogue taking Spider (who let's face it was always a murderous idiot) and Ms. Marvel (wow Carol you uh went dark huh) with while he decides this Earth is nice enough to be the ruler of.

Things happen, including some insight (that may have been a lie anyhow) into Illyana's behavior, Morph coming to grips with certain things (though that felt a bit forced) and Blink proving she does deserve to be the leader. And more shady Timebroker "I'm a construct of collective consciousness" shenanigan's which NO ONE BELIEVES SO STOP THAT.

The last two issues are Nocturne talking about happy memories she has about her father/world. Which 100% will have no bearing on a future plot for the series I'm sure. This series LOVES giving us heart warming moments for no story reason at all.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume features some backstory on Nocturne in a story set in her own universe before the got recruited into the Exiles. It's a dark story where the X-Men are at war with another.

The main story in this volume features Hyperion (the Superman type guy from the Squadron Supreme) being recruited into Weapon X. His power level is far greater than any of the others, so he decides to stop following the missions and instead conquer the world he's on. He lays waste to most of the heroes and the world as he's almost unstoppable. The key word being almost.

A good volume as the Hyperion story really had some drama as I just could not wait to see him get his. The series remains a winner for me.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Blink in Time brings back the iconic Blink to the team in a storyline that places the Exiles in conflict with their fellow time-travelers, Weapon X, exploring the impacts of power and the importance of effective screening practices when bringing someone new onto an established team.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Continuing the great x-read of 2017…

I was bummed when I saw that Judd Winick wasn’t writing this volume of the series. I was doubly bummed when I saw that it was written by Chuck Austen. (Serious question: I wasn’t paying attention to the x-books at the time but it seems from reviews now that Austen is one of the least loved writer of the x-universe titles. So why did Marvel give him so many books for so long? Was his run liked at the time and just hasn’t held up very well? I’m just curious.)

Color me pleasantly surprised. This volume was good. Really good. Almost as good as Winick’s volumes, in my opinion. It’s tightly plotted, exciting and unexpected at points. There are still a few of Austen’s idiosyncracies (odd misogyny pops up here and there and everyone’s libidos are dialed to eleven as per usual with Austen) but for the most part, he does an excellent job staying true to the characters and keeping the story moving in a direction that I was not expecting.

The backup story is quite good as well, though not technically an Exiles story as much as a Nocturne solo story.

Honestly, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It makes me feel guilty for badmouthing Austen’s writing in the past (until I remember the particulars of why I didn’t like those stories…)

Worth a read and keeps the Exiles as one of the more interesting and fun books so far in this x-read that I have undertaken.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first two issues in this trade, focusing on Hyperion joining Weapon X and deciding he would rather conquer a world than follow the missions laid out by the Time Breaker, are probably the best X-comics Chuck Austen has written. The characters were engaging, the motives were straight-forward, and the dialogue was perfectly acceptable for a superhero comic. This was looking like a four star comic.

Unfortunately, once we went back to the Exiles storyline (which immediately crosses into the Weapon X storyline), it's back to the unfocused narrative with characters who change their motivations based on what Austen thinks will be the biggest emotional beats, as opposed to what lines up with their previous actions.

The last two issues are written by the artistJim Calafiore. They might be fine, but I was exhausted by Austen's storyline, and wasn't emotionally invested on what Nocturne's life was like before joining the team.

I'm pretty sure this is when I stopped reading the series when it initially was coming out. So I'm excited to see what happens next, mainly because it's a new writer.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Austen's second tour of dimension-saving is about as good as his first. Not as impressive as Winick's runs, but certainly not something that destroys the series.

The art is a little blocky and they attempted to redeem a character that's basically been despicable since day one, but that was a clumsy attempt and it really didn't work for me. Overall the arc of this volume worked, though. The trip into the past to remind us of happier times long gone was and interesting touch.

I'll admit...the "Reloaded" tag for the next round with a new author concerns me a little.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quanto mi ha pagato la Marvel - o lo stesso Chuck Austen - per dare un voto alto ad una sua opera? Niente. Quando bisogna dare a Cesare, quel che è di Cesare, si fa gratis.

Il volume non è davvero niente male. Storie principalmente d'azione che si possono considerare la chiusura del primo grande ciclo degli Exiles, un ciclo che ha portato il gruppo alla maturazione e ad affezionarsi nell'essere eroi itineranti. Se devo fare un paragone, tutto questo primo ciclo mi ha ricordato la Saga del Santuario di Saint Seiya, dove l'affrontare i Cavalieri D'Oro rappresenta per i protagonisti l'esame di maturità più importante. Ecco, gli Exiles che si scontrano con la peggior versione psicotica di Weapon X è un po' la stessa cosa.
Non so dire se sia tutta farina del sacco di Austen, o abbia seguito qualche appunto magari lasciato da Judd Winick (mai capito, nè scoperto perché abbia abbandonato la serie) ma l'autore prende soluzioni piuttosto ovvie: e non nel senso negativo del termine. Tutte le strade del percorso portavano al confronto con la versione più oscura del team, confronto che ha data una identità soprattutto morale agli Esiliati, motivo per cui funzionavano molto più di Arma X.

I disegni non possiamo considerarli stellari, ma nonostante Mike McKone sia stato decisamente il più bravo (tecnicamente parlando, anche se molto plastico e poco fantasioso) tra le matite apparse sulla serie, credo che al compimento di questo ciclo Jim Calafiore diventi sinonimo del gruppo; anche perché, a conti fatti, ha disegnato tra i numeri più importanti ed emozionali e la tavola con cui si conclude questo volume è davvero bellissima nella sua semplicità.

[Jon Tully · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoyed the Exiles series as a young adult (b/c of my love of alternate reality stories), but this volume by Chuck Austen is where I fell in love with it.
Austen successfully manages to walk a thin line that other authors are incapable of doing: creating a story that is true to who he is as an author while paying homage to the plots and characters established by Judd Winick before.
In this volume, threads from volumes 1 & 2 (the existence of a second team of anomalies called Weapon X) and volume 6 (the introduction of the violent misfit, Illyana into the Exiles) come together in this heart-rending story of tough choices and loss.
The addition of Nocturne's back story at the end of the volume serves a double purpose: a lighthearted breather after an intense arc and the development of a more complex character.
Nearly pitch-perfect (in this fan boy's estimation).

[Allan Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Story was ok but it gets an extra half a star because blink is back!
Great character and brings do much to the team, love the relationship between her and mimic.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable installment of the series.

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

[Aaron Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

****Updated during 2022 reread****

This trade is divided into three stories:

1.) Weapon X gets a new member who disrupts the whole Exile process.

2.) Weapon X and the Exiles have to solve the problem created in the first story.

3.) We get Nocturne's back story.

The first two stories are both written by Chuck Austen. In my initial review, I said story #1 was the best thing that he'd written during his tenure on the X-Books. I think that's still true. The early Exiles books are all focused on how these reality warping X-characters from different universes can come together and fix the timestream during famous moments in X-History. Their goal being that when the timeline is fixed, they go home.

It's a cool concept but you do need to shake it up sometimes. Austen's story about Hyperion joining Weapon X (the cruler, more ethically impaired version of The Exiles) and coming up with the idea to just conquer a world and stay there, is a really interesting twist on the premise.

When I initially read these in trade, I said I didn't like story #2 at all. That's changed. It's true that it hits a lot of tropey emotional beats that you expect in an average X-story, but I do like the idea that Weapon X and The Exiles were being pared down into a single team. Also, Austen seems to tone down the Crazy Illyana personality, and also continues Judd Winick's redemption of Morph. The last few pages are supremely cheesy, but overall it's a nice denouement to Morph's character.

The last story is choppy and poorly told, but its also an artist's first time writing a superhero book. And since it's not problematic, and since its problems are that it's Not Very Good as opposed to its problem being that it's terrible, I'm willing to cut Jim Calafiore some slack here. Especially since his art on this whole run is pretty solid except for the fact that anytime someone is evil, their eyeballs disappear.

I'm bumping this up from a two star to a four star. Mainly for the first story but also because it never gets So Terrible as drag down how cool the concept is.

*****Original Review******


The first two issues in this trade, focusing on Hyperion joining Weapon X and deciding he would rather conquer a world than follow the missions laid out by the Time Breaker, are probably the best X-comics Chuck Austen has written. The characters were engaging, the motives were straight-forward, and the dialogue was perfectly acceptable for a superhero comic. This was looking like a four star comic.

Unfortunately, once we went back to the Exiles storyline (which immediately crosses into the Weapon X storyline), it's back to the unfocused narrative with characters who change their motivations based on what Austen thinks will be the biggest emotional beats, as opposed to what lines up with their previous actions.

The last two issues are written by Jim Calafiore. They might be fine, but I was exhausted by Austen's storyline, and wasn't emotionally invested on what Nocturne's life was like before joining the team.

I'm pretty sure this is when I stopped reading the series when it initially was coming out. So I'm excited to see what happens next, mainly because it's a new writer.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chuck Austen returns, having learned a few things, as is given the old Weapon X team to start off. After a mess of a world destruction - and introduction of new baddie Hyperion - the teams are forced to battle for the life of a planet. Rivalries are stirred up, characters ae lost, and the artist Jim Calafiore pens a great stand-alone look at Nocturne's world. Hit and miss, but still a good volume!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of the appeal of Exiles is the soapy story lines and seeing how things go wrong in various worlds, but to me, Hyperion is just gross. It's not helped by Ms. Marvel having no brain and caring only about sex with Hyperion, even when he tells her to her face he thinks she's a nasty slut.

Also, what is up with that shiny girdle look on Hyperion? It's nearly as off-putting as his personality.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not my favorite. There is a lengthy backstory for Nocturne. Usually I like these but this one wasn't holding my interest. The Exiles and Weapon X are merged into a surprising situation that is series changing. Glad to see Blink has returned, even though I can't really figure out why or how that's possible.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Austen is back. Ugh. This time without the excellent Clayton Henry art to elevate Austen's poor storytelling. Austen does have some fun ideas, I'll give him that, he just doesn't execute his ideas well. And it hurts the story. A lot.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blink returns and Weapon X continues to have problems. There are some nice touches here with one of the characters back story explaining her attitude to life. Hyperion is still trying to rule worlds. A good read.

[Trey Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The exiles series has a lot of incredible characters. This is a cross-dimension team of travelers so some characters will seem familiar while others will be very different from what regular Marvel readers have come to know over the years. It makes me wish I knew more about the history of the various Marvel universes they visit though.