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dave_ex_machina's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Stuff happens... Lots of filler
crookedtreehouse's review
3.0
So many of these X-books start with a really cool first issue that either ties up a bunch of storylines, or else introduces an entirely new thread in the Krakoan part of the Marvel univere only to end up getting bogged down in the more mediocre issues of less interesting stories, that it's refreshing that this one starts off with an absolute turd and builds to a decent, if not excellent climax.
X-Men #4 may be the worst issue of the Krakoan era. It's about Nightmare, a villain who gives ... nightmares to the X-Men. Guys, they are So Full Of Angst. While visually striking, there is no point to this issue. The crisp dialog from the last few issues is gone, the pacing is stupid, the characters don't develop so much as collapse in on theit tritest, most familiar tropes. It is a stinker of a book that only gets one star because the art was three or four stars. And it pulled the book up to a one star.
One star.
New Mutants # 22 & #23. I've been down on [a:Vita Ayala|16130337|Vita Ayala|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1598534913p2/16130337.jpg]'s New Mutants since it started. While I appreciate the various artists making nodds to the Sinkiewicz-era of New Mutants, the story about the Shadow King has been an absolute mess. Much like most of Alaya's [b:Children of the Atom by Vita Ayala, Vol. 1|52723490|Children of the Atom by Vita Ayala, Vol. 1|R.B. Silva|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631895120l/52723490._SY75_.jpg|78662396] was a mess. Bad pacing, very poor dialog bouncing from over-exposition to flat one-liners. But then near the end of the run, something clicked, and there was one issue that I really liked, and it gave me hope. And in this volume, New Mutants finally clicks, and I have hope again. Both of these issues, focused on the younger New Mutants rescuing the senior members of the team fro The Shadow King, are pretty good. I'm not really a fan of making Shadow King's origin tied into possible abuse as a child because Ugh, yea, I've read that story before time and again, and it was better almost each time. But, overall, this worked. And while some of that is Ayala being clearer with their story without over-telegraphing of it, a LOT of the heavy lifting is the art. It's gorgeous, atypical if not ground breaking, and just exactly what this story needed.
Four stars.
Wolverine #17 & 18. This was ok. So much time has passed (reading this in the Reign Of X/Trials of X books) since the last Wolverine issue involving the former(?) police officer that it took me a while to piece things back together. But it's an interesting story. The Maverick character's motivations are muddy, and he doesn't seem that interesting. But that has been true since he was introduced in the early 90s.
Three stars.
X-Men #4 may be the worst issue of the Krakoan era. It's about Nightmare, a villain who gives ... nightmares to the X-Men. Guys, they are So Full Of Angst. While visually striking, there is no point to this issue. The crisp dialog from the last few issues is gone, the pacing is stupid, the characters don't develop so much as collapse in on theit tritest, most familiar tropes. It is a stinker of a book that only gets one star because the art was three or four stars. And it pulled the book up to a one star.
One star.
New Mutants # 22 & #23. I've been down on [a:Vita Ayala|16130337|Vita Ayala|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1598534913p2/16130337.jpg]'s New Mutants since it started. While I appreciate the various artists making nodds to the Sinkiewicz-era of New Mutants, the story about the Shadow King has been an absolute mess. Much like most of Alaya's [b:Children of the Atom by Vita Ayala, Vol. 1|52723490|Children of the Atom by Vita Ayala, Vol. 1|R.B. Silva|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631895120l/52723490._SY75_.jpg|78662396] was a mess. Bad pacing, very poor dialog bouncing from over-exposition to flat one-liners. But then near the end of the run, something clicked, and there was one issue that I really liked, and it gave me hope. And in this volume, New Mutants finally clicks, and I have hope again. Both of these issues, focused on the younger New Mutants rescuing the senior members of the team fro The Shadow King, are pretty good. I'm not really a fan of making Shadow King's origin tied into possible abuse as a child because Ugh, yea, I've read that story before time and again, and it was better almost each time. But, overall, this worked. And while some of that is Ayala being clearer with their story without over-telegraphing of it, a LOT of the heavy lifting is the art. It's gorgeous, atypical if not ground breaking, and just exactly what this story needed.
Four stars.
Wolverine #17 & 18. This was ok. So much time has passed (reading this in the Reign Of X/Trials of X books) since the last Wolverine issue involving the former(?) police officer that it took me a while to piece things back together. But it's an interesting story. The Maverick character's motivations are muddy, and he doesn't seem that interesting. But that has been true since he was introduced in the early 90s.
Three stars.
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