Madame Xanadu, Volume 3: Broken House of Cards

Madame Xanadu #3

by Matt Wagner (Writer), Amy Reeder (Illustrator), Richard Friend (Illustrator)

First, when a 1950s Manhattan socialite’s life takes a turn for the grotesque, only Madame Xanadu can resolve her problems, in a story with a Mad Men-like setting.Then, take a look at Madame Xanadu’s early days, set in ancient, pastoral England, as the rivalry between our hero and her evil sister, Morgana, is first born.

Collecting: Madame Xanadu 16-21

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2011

About the author

Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Wealhtheow]

The book begins with a young housewife having a series of inexplicable magical moments--her hair starts changing color, insects crawl out of her throat at odd intervals, her clothes start whipping around her as though in a gale. This is by far the best part of the Madame Xanadu series thus far, but it ends far too soon. A loooong series of stories about Nimue and Morgana growing up follows, in which Nimue is perfect in every way and Morgana is evil in every way, blah blah blah so boring I could die. The art is better than the last book, but not good enough to make up for the (yet again) trite storyline and truly terrible dialog.

[Derek]

This is the strongest volume yet. Volume 1 was good. 2 was fair enough. But this really did it.

What starts out as a little disruption in suburbia turns out a great story and we see the return of Morgana, Nimue's sister. The backstory isn't tedious and makes for some great reading.

[Jonathan Maas]

Review to come hopefully - but wow, incredible all around.

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative]

Page 13 is my favorite- just look at the stress and exhaustion delineating sweet Betty's make-up free face, still BEAUTIFUL along with her hair disaster above, as she struggles to stay attached to the kitchen table while craftily blaming it all on an early visit from Good Old Aunt Flo to her buffoon husband with his laughably queered doofus face suspended in surprised stupor!

I'm a huge fan of Matt Wagner, with some equally weighted exceptions, but what really drew me to this title was Amy Reeder's art and my obsession with the mid-20th century which she illustrates lusciously. She shares the pencils with Joelle Jones, who gets two of the nine chapters, and both of their styles impress me- especially the way they draw women! Reeder handles the present time period of the story with panache but Joelle doesn't put enough details into her flashback chapters- Amy, with or without detailed instruction from Matt, fills the backgrounds of the 1950s while Joelle's panels are pretty boring comparatively.

MAYBE it was Matt's fault for skimping on the specifics of the past but I think Amy did HEAPS of "homework" or "skull time", as P. Chadwick calls it, outside of the scripted instruction that she was given. I AM also aware that Joelle might have simply been called in to "spell" Amy without proper notice because everything about her chapters looks hurried.

The story is so-so. Madame Xanadu is another name for Nimue and she gets a visit from one of her least favorite contemporaries from a thousand years previous. The main action starts as XANADU, THE SPIRITUAL GUMSHOE, investigates a case involving satanists and mafia goons who she came upon while rendering her "other-worldly" services to a sweet housewife, appropriately sick of her station in life, with whom I fell into a swoon of love by the tenth page.

It's written well character-wise, Wagner's best quality, and brims with action and surprise- there are many sudden cameos of established characters within mythology and the DC universe that their Vertigo imprint indulges in. It's an effervescent read but not IN ANY WAY award worthy- get this for a fun read without any expectations of greatness or depth beyond the depth of a monthly comic book.

The main problem is this:
If it's the art that lures me to a book, since without Amy I wouldn't have been a reader, then I demand some consistency. When Xanadu gets cuts all over her face and body she looks so strong and sexy- severe lacerations are nothing to such as her beauty so why not keep them on her instead of re-slashing her face conveniently here and there for effect? She could "glamour" the cuts away but she's not the type to bring them back for a few panels here and there to make herself more menacing. Then, in true corporate comic book style, the ladies had to SNEAK areonips into the past instead attached to breasts in a room of over a dozen nude people or in combat where they would have fallen out no-matter the quality the bra: THAT'S exciting tit-action, not profiles from times past.

Fun Facts from Wagner's Worlds of Wonder:
A woman who has "a tight little body... made for designer labels!" can gain at least two cups of breasts, two shoe sizes and five inches of overall height while losing twenty pounds!

[Chris Tower]

Just as good as the previous two volumes!! The addition of J'onn J'Onnz, unnamed, shown only as human, but easily identifiable to all comic fans was a stroke of genius.

Reeder's art is a revelation and pairs beautifully with Wagner's thoughtful writing.

Great production from colors to letters to edits.

Can't believe I waited ten-plus years to read this series.

Ready for the fourth and final volume!

[Alison (Marie)]

Once again this was an amazing addition to the story of Madame Xanadu. I loved the callbacks to the first volume and the continuation of Madame Xanadu’s shop as the setting like in the second volume. The flashbacks having a different art style was an awesome touch. The story sort of followed the same path as the second volume so I’m curious to see how the fourth and final volume goes.

[Laurian]

This was my least favorite of all the Xanadu

[Alberto]

2.5

[Grace Kelly]

The art was good, but the mystical and otherworldly elements that made previous volumes so enjoyable were missing. I'm hoping volume 4 ties up loose ends, because this volume left a LOT of them.

[Fizzgig76]

Reprints Madame Xanadu #16-23 and House of Mystery: Halloween Annual #1 (December 2009-July 2010). Betty Reynolds is the perfect ’50s housewife…until she starts belching up flies and bugs. Going to Madame Xanadu for help, Betty finds Madame Xanadu could be a blessing or a curse. Someone is using Betty Reynolds and has a grudge to pick with Madame Xanadu.

Written by Matt Wagner, Madame Xanadu Volume 3: Broken House of Cards was published under DC Comics Vertigo imprint. Following Madame Xanadu Volume 2: Exodus Noir, the volume is illustrated by Amy Reeder and Richard Friend.

Madame Xanadu is a great series and this is a really fun volume of the series. I love Mad Men and this feels like Mad Men meets a weird occult experiment. I like mash-ups, and Madame Xanadu 3: Broken House of Cards feels like a great mash-up.

Betty Reynolds might as well be Betty Draper (January Jones’ miserable character). It is a great stand-alone idea and it takes a big turn when it turns out Betty is possessed by Xanadu’s sister Morgana…creating a tie to the first volume of the series. It is a smart way to tell an original story and to keep the series connections.

The series also once again ties in to the DC Universe rather heavily. Not only does it have echoes of Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory, but it also has one of my favorite DC supporting characters with J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter helping Xanadu.

The series also features a short story contained as part of the House of Secrets Halloween Annual (December 2009). It is a short example of how Madame Xanadu “helps” people. It isn’t always helpful and it isn’t always just (next volume also shows what happens to Betty…for better or worse).

Madame Xanadu 3: Broken House of Cards is a good entry for a series which is a lot fun. The series builds on itself so you have to start from the beginning, but this is one of the better storylines of the run. Madame Xanadu 3: Broken House of Cards is followed by Madame Xanadu 4: Extra-Sensory (which is the final volume).

[Batmark]

Artist Amy Reeder (with some assists by the equally talented Joëlle Jones) is back for this third volume, which contains a single story arc. Fifties housewife Betty Reynolds is experiencing some difficulties in her life: her body occasionally defies gravity, her hair keeps changing color, and every once in a while she'll barf up a living insect. Weird, right? Fortunately, Madame Xanadu is on the case. Unfortunately, she doesn't figure out what's going on until it's too late for Betty who, it turns out, has been possessed by Madame Xanadu's evil sister, Morgana. Aided by Mr. Jones (whoever the hell that is--I get the feeling my limited DC Comics knowledge puts me at a disadvantage here), Madame Xanadu works to vanquish Morgana, who aims to take over the world. Naturally.

I have two major complaints about this volume:

(1) I'm bored with evil superbeings whose one goal is to "take over the world." What does that even mean? I'd think ruling the world would be a total pain in the ass. All that responsibility--even if most of the responsibility is along the lines of "kill all these people for my sadistic pleasure." Granted, Morgana's plan is twofold (first resurrect her son Mordred, then let him rule the world with his iron fist), but still. Can't evil superbeings be more creative than this tired old plan?

(2) Um, what happened to Betty? The first quarter of this book is devoted almost entirely to her. We learn all about her as a character and as a person. Her life became important to me, and I can't imagine I'm alone in caring what happens to her. Yet once Morgana takes over her body, Betty disappears. Don't get me wrong--I understand she had to disappear while Morgana was around. But once Madame Xanadu defeats Morgana and Betty is restored to her body, Betty gets a single panel (the book's final panel, in fact) in which to reclaim her personhood with the line, "What happened? Where am I?" And that's it. As a reader, that left me feeling gypped. C'mon, Wagner, what happened to Betty next? Could she possibly return to her old life without some repercussions? Would she want to? How will she cope with the trauma that her body suffered? I have questions! But Wagner, apparently, has no answers for me.

Oh, well. Still a pretty good volume. And the beautiful art by Reeder and Jones smoothed over some of my story-related complaints.

[Nancy O'Toole]

During the 1950s, Madame Xanadu continues to help individuals suffering from supernatural peril. Her latest client, a housewife named Betty, discovers that she's going through some alarming changes. These changes may start out small and annoying (her hair stands on end), but quickly they escalate (such as vomiting up insects). Madame Xanadu agrees to help her, but the true cause behind Betty's peril is more personal than she could have predicted.

Broken House of Cards is the third trade paperback in the Madame Xanadu comic book series. I was happy, upon picking it up, to discover that Amy Reeder Hadley had returned to provide artwork, as she has such a dynamic style. Art is also provided in flashbacks by Joelle Jones. I found Jones's work to feel a little uneven, but mostly enjoyed it. The story this time around combines elements from both the Disenchanted storyline, and the Exodus Noir arc. Like Exodus Noir, Broken House of Cards deals with Madame Xanadu helping out a client. Like Disenchanted, elements of the Camelot timeline are featured prominently, which I quite enjoyed.

One of the interesting thing about long lived characters is there's always more back story to tell. Broken House of Cards brings us even further into our heroine's past, and focuses on her formative years when she was still known as Nimue in Camelot. This story delves deeply into Nimue's relationship with her sister, the infamous Morgana. It was really interesting to see how the two went from young sisters that didn't always get along (Morgana can't help but be a little jealous of Nimue's significant magical abilities), to full blown enemies. Another interesting side character is the detective John Jones who serves as an ally. He resembles the Stranger, who Xanadu shared a complex relationship with during the Disenchanted arc, which leaves her a bit startled at first. I found it interesting that the two shared a similar understated sexual chemistry that Xanadu did with the Stranger. After reading the comic, I did a little research and discovered John Jones is better known as The Martian Manhunter, but he plays a rather different role in most DC comics than he does here.

Broken House of Cards is a highly entertaining addition to the Madame Xanadu series. I already have the fourth and final volume on order from my library and look forward to finishing the series.

[Bonnie]

Yay, Amy Reeder is back! I love her work and this is no exception. I thought the story was good - a big improvement on volume two, but not quite as good as volume one. This volume focuses on the relationship between Nimue/Madame Xanadu, and her sister Morgana. We get a lot of backstory about the two sisters. It comes in the midst of the main story, dealing with a 1950s housewife struggling with her life and - quite suddenly - with the supernatural. She seeks help from Madame Xanadu and this leads to a confrontation between Nimue and Morgana. Oh, and throw in John Jones, who's investigating a little Satanic cult! Yeah, seriously.

I enjoyed the main storyline, but I didn't know what to make of the secondary story, dealing with the sisters' pasts. You come away from that plot feeling sort of sorry for Morgana. She's not as talented as her sisters when it comes to magic and she's part of a family who's power is diminishing and who's time has come and gone. Nimue is depicted as the perfect sister and Morgana as the bitch. And she is... she's violent and crazed and vicious. And she's grieving the death of her son. But we have to reconcile this with her new appearance in the 1950s, where she's bursting people, Violet Beauregarde-style, as she gets her feet rubbed. So yeah, that's a little strange.

I did like the way that Madame Xanadu is and isn't a part of the 1950s lifestyle. Talk about a decade where she just doesn't fit. And yet, Wagner makes it work. I would recommend this volume... though I would recommend solely on the artwork, even if the story sucked. Which it didn't.

[Nate]

I mostly enjoyed this one. Wagner fast-forwards to 1957, when Manhattan housewife Betty Reynolds comes a-knocking to Madame Xanadu after her body starts mutating and coughing up bugs. Turns out she’s possessed by Xanadu’s sister, Morgana (of Arthurian lore), who in turn is summoned by a satanic cult. There’s quite a lot going on in this one, but it’s balanced fairly well by Wagner and Reeder, whose art remains gorgeous. The story starts as domestic body horror with Betty. Then it turns to noir, as a certain telepathic detective teams up with Xanadu to trail mobsters who have ties to the Satanists. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a two-issue interlude flashing back to Xanadu and Morgana’s youth as elder folk. The whole thing sounds like a mess, but I was impressed by how cohesively it reads... until the last two issues. What nearly ruins the story for me is Morgana. Her motivation becomes confused, and by the end she descends into a stereotypical sniveling villain. It’s a bummer, because Wagner does some interesting things with Xanadu’s backstory here that tie in nicely to volume one. Also: why is part of the text cut off in the flashback issues?

[Wing Kee]

That was quite good.

World: The art is not my thing. The world building is very strong this arc. There is a lot of history involved, a bit of the DCU and some wonderful pieces of world building. The story is fast and therefore the world building is also.

Story: Solid and fast. This is the fastest arc so far. It's a solid tale with a strong emotional core and history tied into it. The first issue is great and leads readers into something Xanadu has not dealt with yet. The people she meets are also interesting. The history lesson in the middle was also solid. Oh and that first issue really anchored the story making it matter.

Characters: The best so far in terms of other characters. Xanadu is solid so far but the other characters have been kinda meh. This arc changes that, issue one anchored the story and the stakes and John was handled well.

A very solid arc that builds character, which was very much needed.

Onward to the next book!

[Daryl]

Enjoyed this one a bit more than volume 2. Amy Reeder's art is delightful - crisp, clear, and detailed. So much so that the two chapters by fill-in artist Joelle Jones look awful in comparison. Those two chapters also interrupt an otherwise continuing story, giving the reader some background (unnecessary in the grand scheme) about Madame Xanadu (or Nimue) and her sister, Morgana Le Fey. Much of the story boils down to a battle between the two sisters, which isn't all that interesting (Morgana's a pretty one-note character here), but it's made better by the appearance of Martian Manhunter - here only in his human disguise, and called Mr. Jones. Oh, yeah, it's set in 1957, explaining Jones's appearance. All three volumes of this title have been very different from one another. Looking forward to the fourth.

[Paul]

I had never really known or even been interested in the character of Madame Xanadu, to me she was mostly a go-to character other superheroes consulted once in a while, I had pretty much relegated her to the level of the Phantom Stranger... maybe even lesser than.
This all changed with the release of this book. I've been a long-time fan of Wagner from his Grendel and Mage books so I thought I'd give this a shot.
So basically, this up-to-now almost completely unknown character is given a past. And what a past it is! We witness her beginning and ascension from the dark ages to (eventually) today. I don't know if any of what was written in this book is actually considered "cannon", but I enjoyed the ride.

+ The art is just phenomenal!

[Dan]

Talk about some serious family rivalry, this installment of Madame Xanadu's ongoing Vertigo series pits her against her evil sister. I'm a really big fan of the "story within a story," so I particularly enjoyed the interlude which takes the reader back (way back) to the very earliest point in this sisterly conflict. The main story is set in the U.S. in the 1950s, perhaps Matt Wagner's nod at Madmen. The only thing I wasn't all the way pleased with was Madame's guest star... John Jones... meh. Fans of the DCU know who I'm talking about, and his presence in the story kind of took away from the threat level.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon]

Amy Reeder Hadley is back with her beautiful beautiful artwork and Wagner is back with his awesome storylines. While this one was a bit "loose" in the middle (I felt the beginning was strong and as it seeped further into the 'past' it lost a bit of it's strength) it still ended well. There are still some mysteries that could have been resolved but frankly, it wouldn't have been Madame X if we had had an answer to everything.

Reeder Hadley is back for the fourth volume (and last) and I cannot wait.

[Alan]

Matt Wagner continues his slightly altered take on Arthurian legend while at the same time having the story take place in late 1950s US.A. Yes, there is some bouncing around time periods, but it used to help define Morgan Le Fay's character, and to put her in even further contrast to her sister Nimue (aka Madame Xanadu). In some ways I think Wagner is satirizing many stereotypes of the period, how gangsters talk, the husband/wife role, and Satanic cults. He also tosses in an Easter egg in the form of Detective Jones who provides quite a bit of aid to Madame Xanadu.

[Joseph]

Martian Manhunter and Madame Xanadu make for an odd match after seeing her teamed up with Wesley Dodds, but I enjoyed the odd combination of her world with his in conflict with the return of her sister. Morgana's return also serves as a great way to show how much Madame Xanadu has changed since the days when she was only Nimue.

On the other hand, the story seemed oddly curtailed. If you're going to mention that the villain is searching for three artifacts, it seems odd to resolve the conflict before all three have come into play.

[Ezekiel]

Content Notes for this book: insects, blood, fire/burning people, nudity, body horror. Separate content notes for the mini-story at the end called "Captive Audience": nazis, rape, serial killers

It's fun meeting other DC characters in this setting. I don't know enough about DC to recognize them *right away*, but by the end of the story I usually have figured out/remembered who they are. So that's fun. I also really liked how the story progressed from Betty's problem to Madame Xanadu's attempt to get ahead of what is happening.

[Alan]

I'm not quite sure what happened with this one. It started off great, like it was definitely on its way to being the best book in the series. But then, less than halfway through, the quality took a massive nosedive, as the story changed into some cheesy crap about Madame Xanadu's evil sister. From there on, it was just cliché followed by two-dimensional character followed by cliché.

Rubbish. The second star is only because the first two issues were so strong.

[Rick]

I like Matt Wagner's take on Madame Xanadu and it is nice to see a longer story arc explored (the first two volumes were too jumpy)... but it got a little boring in the middle and felt like it dragged. Yes, we get it, there was a long buildup of animosity between the sisters. Didn't need 30 or so pages to get that idea across. Other than that, I enjoyed this volume much more than previous ones.

[David Monteith]

After 2 volumes Matt Wagner does not let up. Taking a lovely but 3rd rate character and building a modern mythology that spans eras, in this case settling in 1950's New York. Together with Reeders fine artwork,this is a tale that is the epitomy of that which makes the publisher,Vertigo an exciting brand name

[Ben]

Madame Xanadu is by far one of my favorite superheros and so many times she is shoved into the background while other magical heroes take the lead. When I found out she had her own series I was so excited and really this series is so amazing. I love seeing her in the limelight. Here is hoping that in the future she will have a bigger role in another series!

[Chris]

This was pretty good overall. I enjoyed the expanded backstory of Nimue and Morgana, but the basic story in the present wrapped itself up a little too quickly for me. I don't really get what the point of this was or how it was supposed to advance the story.

[Rütteger]

Meh. I couldn't even bring myself to finish this one. Pretty pictures but the plot sucks.

[Steve]

Beautiful, innocent, pure. What's not to like?

[Vandy Beth]

Amy Reeder's art is beautiful. I hope to see more of her work.