Thursday, November 7, 2013

X marks the spot

Amazing X-Men #1 is the latest addition to the X-books. Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Ed McGuinness, it marks the return of fan-favorite character Nightcrawler.

Amazing X-Men immediately feels like it's been in the X-Men family for a while. The book seems to revolve around Wolverine's school, using the same characters and setting established in Aaron's other book Wolverine and the X-Men. It feels like they could be sibling books. This first issue is divided into two. The first half reveals a bit of information about where Nightcrawler has been, and just what he's been up to. The second half takes place in the school, with the staff investigating an odd machine located deep within the school's walls. The two halves tie in together nicely.

Amazing X-Men #1 throws some other fun characters into the mix. Firestar is now a teacher at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and Azazel is back looking to cause some trouble. This five-part story looks like it's going to be taking place with half the X-Men cast out to hell, with the other half sent to heaven in a search to revive their long dead teammate.

New readers can jump into this new #1 pretty easily. The first page gives a little bit of backstory about Nightcrawler, though nothing too detailed. Just enough information for new readers to get up to speed.  For those who have followed Nightcrawler's tale up to his death, this is a pretty satisfactory, refreshing look at the character. There are some action packed scenes right from the start, but you also get to see calm-minded, peaceful, serene Nightcrawler as well. A lot of fans have been waiting for his return for quite a while, and some of the X-books have been foreshadowing it in the later issues. This new #1 has not disappointed. Recommended for fans of the X-Men or new readers looking for an action packed, comical approach to the team.

No comments:

Blog Archive