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A review by billyjepma
X-Men: Inferno by Jonathan Hickman, Jonathan Hickman
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
An almost-amazing capstone to Hickman’s time with the Krakoa era. The moment that hit really hit and rekindled some of the thrills and piercing thematics that made HoX/PoX so innovative. While it certainly seems like Hickman had even grander ideas for the X-Men, I think he bows out on the best terms we can expect, considering how reticent Marvel probably was to let his original vision fully play out. He closes the book on most of the ideas he introduced, gives them some new dimensions for future writers to explore, and leaves the story in a place that’s not quite a new status quo but certainly feels like a different tone than the series has had up to this point. Things are more pessimistic now, less idealistic—the cracks in the mutant paradise are starting to show. I’ll confess to wishing this “ending” had a firmer period at the end of it, but I’m no less fascinated with this era of the X-Men than I was beforehand and will be continuing to see it through (as long as I don’t get too distracted).
The artists make the otherwise quick but dense story feel like a proper event, too. Any weight I felt was missing from the plot was more than remedied with the scale of the art, which is no minor thing, considering there are multiple artists involved. The transition between styles is mostly seamless, though, with the different approaches helping accentuate the different dramatic beats. Like the rest of the book, the execution isn’t perfect, but it’s well above what it could’ve been and carried more than enough dramatic heft to outclass most of the other superhero books on shelves.
The artists make the otherwise quick but dense story feel like a proper event, too. Any weight I felt was missing from the plot was more than remedied with the scale of the art, which is no minor thing, considering there are multiple artists involved. The transition between styles is mostly seamless, though, with the different approaches helping accentuate the different dramatic beats. Like the rest of the book, the execution isn’t perfect, but it’s well above what it could’ve been and carried more than enough dramatic heft to outclass most of the other superhero books on shelves.