All-New X-Men #9 Review
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Color Artists: Marte Gracia & Rain Beredo
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
The Marvel NOW! breakout hit All-New X-Men rolls along with issue nine. The original X-Men have their first Danger Room exercise, while Brian Michael Bendis continues to explore the group dynamic and how each member is dealing with their place in the present. Plus, someone pays a visit to the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning.
What I Liked
Stuart Immonen got to flex his artistic muscle this issue. Whether it was showing the original X-Men fighting monstrous Sentinels or facial expressions from dialogue between characters, Immonen brought his A game. What helps his pencils are the wonderful colors by Marte Gracia and Rain Beredo. There are two panels with Kitty Pryde and Jean Grey that only contain one sentence of dialogue, but so much is said in those two panels by Immonen’s pencils.
It is also refreshing to see that not everyone on the original X-Men team is getting along. Drama between teammates increases the enjoyment level of a book. Who wants to see everyone getting along all lovey dovey? Choices are starting to be made that will have ramifications for the foreseeable future. I look forward to seeing how Bendis plays this out.
What I Didn’t Like
Not much to dislike here. There is action and characterization throughout. The tease on the final page has me anxiously awaiting the next issue, whether the story continues here in All-New X-Men or in another ongoing title.
Summary
All-New X-Men continues its streak of being my favorite Marvel NOW! title. The X-Men has always been my favorite Marvel franchise, and now Bendis is doing new things that are leaving me craving more. What does Mystique have in store for our original X-Men? What ramifications will there be for the original X-Men being in the present? Will they accomplish Beast’s goal of stopping Cyclops’ “mutant genocide”? We have to keep reading to find out.
This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network. They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
