Blog

Welcome back to the latest edition of The All-New Uncanny X-Piles! Where it’s all about the Children of the Atom at all times. Now, if you’ve been keeping up with their exploits lately then you know some huge changes have hit the X-Men courtesy of Jonathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X. And now we’re at the event of the year as X of Swords has finally begun and we see how Apocalypse’s past will affect mutankind and the world!

X of Swords: Creation #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): Jonathan Hickman & Tini Howard
Art: Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Garcia
Letter: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Pepe Larraz & Marte Garcia

X of Swords is finally here and there is a LOT to get into as Creation is 60 plus pages that kicks off this huge event. One that puts Krakoa and the other mutants center stage for a battle they are woefully unprepared for but more than willing to fight. On the other side are the children of Apocalypse (yes, his ACTUAL kids) and Annihilation’s daemon army opposing them and in the middle is Saturnyne. She is highly annoyed that this would even take place in her realm as she is the ruler of Otherworld. However, she knows more than she’s letting on adding another layer of mystery and maybe even more deception to the story.

The story opens with a call to battle and how the same fortune can also have several different interpretations. Howard and Hickman really expand on this with the Saturnyne and Tarot’s description of the cards that are dealt during their respective readings. From there they begin to raise the stakes and lay out the scale of the story as Apocalypse finally appears before the Quiet Council with information they probably should have had a while back. This moment could have just been talking heads providing an expo dump. However, it’s a sequence that pays off well as the drama builds and it’s always great seeing some of the top mutant strategists and planners debate each other when it’s written well enough. Also when you throw in Sinister telling us how he really feels it just spices things up even more! The writers even give us a touching moment between Apocalypse and his children highlighted by the visuals from Larraz and Garcia. It’s also quite telling that Apocalypse has been naming his subsequent four horsemen after his children for centuries which might make you feel for his loss even more.

“Even though these are new days for us all…I still don’t trust him. I NEVER will. So I have to be here.”

Angel

The team that volunteers to help Apocalypse is an odd mix at first but when you see that we have members from the original X-Men, X-Factor (Peter David and Larry Stroman era), New X-Men, and a Generation X member it seems purposeful. These are the kind of succinct moments that add to the drama and it’s a sequence that is so well written. As Monet is so, well…Monet during her exchange with Apocalypse as well as the moment between him and Angel. The two have a long history and Angel pulls no punches here as to his motivations. The writing team excels at moments like this throughout the issue and they continuously hold their weight against the more action packed sequences. Because when the turn actually happens and the betrayer is revealed it’s such a great moment even it was slightly predictable. The writers also put the Summers family on a small quest that hints at larger ramifications for not only this particular story but for S.W.O.R.D. as well.

What can be said about Larraz and Garcia’s visual storytelling that hasn’t been said already? I’m actually quite envious of any person who is seeing their art for the first time but even if you haven’t you’ll still be in awe of the work they put in for this issue. The large battle scenes are chaotic, violent, and dark but you’re eye is always where it needs to be. Garcia’s colors enhance the atmosphere and really make the contrast between Otherworld and Krakoa noticeable. This might be my bias speaking but some of the best panels involve Apocalypse. Larraz kills it with the range of emotion for this character and to see him shed tears was a moment. And no disrespect to the dialogue or the lettering skills of Cowles but the one quiet sequence hits harder with just the art moving the story along.

Now this isn’t an issue that’s perfect for jumping in without some context. And though the writer’s do a fine job of setting up the events it does help to have read the recent issues that lead up to this as well as Hickman’s kickoff House of X and Powers of X. Especially since he’s been sprinkling breadcrumbs and hints that lead to larger things throughout that go beyond Krakoa and Arakko not only being anagrams of each other but of Okkara itself.

So with the tournament set, the swords named, and some X-Men already out of commission, X of Swords: Creation sets the bar pretty high for the event. It’s a set up issue that doesn’t hold back and delivers with every facet of it’s storytelling and makes you not second guess settling in for it’s twenty-two chapters. Let’s just hope the momentum carries through till the end! 5/5

For more All-New Uncanny X-Piles click here!

Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net