Ramblings and Reviews: Uncanny X-Men, Nightcrawler

I hope everyone had a nice holiday, because I know I did! The only problem is now I’m backed-up on Reviews and need to kick it into high gear. So without further delay, here we go!
First up is…Thor #1 (MGC)
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Olivier Coipel
First off, I’d like to say that these MGC (Marvel’s Greatest Comics) issues are fantastic! I was really considering buying the first couple of volumes of Thor in TPB (Trade paperback) before I read these issues, but now my choice has been solidified after reading them. I’m definitely picking up these trades. This issue starts after Ragnarok and all the Asgardians are thought to be dead. Well, they are not…by a long shot. Thor figures out how to rebuild Asgard and also find his lost countrymen. Great lead in to what is a great ongoing series.  4/5
Next on the list is…Uncanny X-Men #522 (Nation X).
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Whilce Portacio (cover by Terry Dodson)
OK, so this is the big return of Kitty Pryde issue, and it didn’t disappoint. The highlight for me personally was Logan and his team (Colossus, Psylocke, and Fantomex) flying back to Utopia. On said flight, Logan and Fantomex are playing a round of “What am I?” We find out that Logan considers beer a vegetable at this moment. I know people are going to flip out about the ending and liken it to the end of another famous X-story, but it really didn’t bring the book down over-all.   3.5/5
Lastly I have…X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler #1 (one-shot).
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): Adam Freeman & Marc Bernardin
Artist(s): Cary Nord & James Harren
I really enjoyed this telling of Kurt’s past, and think it was done very tastefully. It did change a couple of minor things, but in the long run I consider  this a winner. I’ve generally liked these one-shots, and hope that Marvel keeps them going. We see in this issue how Kurt was severely beaten when he was younger, and then escaping from the circus and finding Charles Xavier. Professor X was ready, willing, and able to lend a hand. Well, for his own purposes that is!  Really liking the art! There was a reprint of  Nightcrawler’s origin as told in Giant Size X-Men #1 in the back.   3/5
Well, that’s all I can take for now, but we’ll will be back again for more great reviews of Marvel’s finest!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Kristin

    “Professor X was ready, willing, and able to lend a hand. Well, for his own purposes that is!”
    You know…Professor X is kind of a dick. The way he uses and manipulates people is almost as bad as Magneto sometimes.

  2. marie

    Love the thor pic.

  3. Billy

    Yeah Kris, I agree. Initially he was never portrayed like this when he first recruited the original X-Men but in recent years we’ve seen a retelling of these events and well, he’s a weiner. 😉

  4. InfiniteSpeech

    I didn’t pick that Nightcrawler issue up only because I’ve read his origin SOOOOOO many times that anything new wouldn’t be worth the cover price to me. I’m assuming that Prof. X’s revelations about his motives and mistakes over the past few years give the writers a bit more freedom to write him a bit more truthfully and not the goody two shoes he was made to look like in the 70s,80s, and 90s.

  5. Andy

    I loved this issue of Uncanny, but thought the Nightcrawler issue was decent at best. Glad to see the $1 issues are doing their job!!

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