To say the X-Men have had a tough time in the Marvel Universe lately is an understatement. Now X-Men: Prime #1 starts off the ResurrXion of the X-Line. I guess you really would call this X-Men: Rebirth as this is how the comic operates in a way. It’s got as tough a haul ahead of it as Inhumans Prime had. I think the X-Books have more good will behind it while the Inhumans are a different story. A lot of us have been rooting for Marvel to get the X-Line back in shape again so now we get to see for ourselves. All I’m hoping for is a good gateway into the line and a good read in general. Let’s get this party started as I dive back into the realm of mutants once more with X-Men: Prime #1.
So we’re going to apply the same rules with X-Men: Prime as we did with Inhumans Prime. First off, is this new reader friendly?
At least this time this will be easier to answer, thank goodness.
Yes, this is new reader friendly. I kid you not, if you are picking this up as a lapsed reader or new to the team, you will be okay. For the lapsed X-Fan or for the readers rooting for the team, oh yeah you’ll love this. I wish I knew who wrote what parts of the comic because Marc Guggenheim, Greg Pak, and Cullen Bunn worked well here. Whoever came up with Kitty Pryde being the focus character of this story, well done. Pryde is the perfect way to bring any reader new or old back or into the X-fold. This book also did the smart thing of having a recap page where Inhumans Prime didn’t. There is so much this comic gets right as a story and as a way to get readers engaged, I can’t help but love it.
Alright, we have established that this is new reader friendly. So why is X-Men: Prime such a good read?
I mention Kitty Pryde as a major plus for this working as well as it does. Establishing her back in the X-Universe is perfect. In turn that leads us on a journey through X-Men past, present, and now we can look towards the future. There’s also a quick aside for Lady Deathstrike to set up the Weapon X series, I like the idea behind it. See what X-Men: Prime does that Inhumans Prime glitched up on is getting people hyped for all the series. It set up the concepts for what’s to come for at least the next month or so and it works. I like seeing Kitty’s journey through the mansion and finding her place again. I like learning more about Storm’s struggles in the aftermath of Inhumans vs. X-Men, this is great stuff. The story sets up a bright future for the X-Team to come and that’s awesome.
Wow, the future looks bright for the X-Men, who would have thought? Strange times my friends, but I like it.
Okay we have a good story and a lot of great ideas happening here but what about the art in all of this, how does that fare?
This is another situation where I really wish I knew who did what pages here art wise. We have four artists, Ken Lashley, Ibraim Roberson, Leonard Kirk, and Guillermo Ortego. For this one, it works a lot better as a whole artistically. While the styles are all different, it looks good as a whole and there isn’t the artistic whiplash that Inhumans Prime had. It’s tough to judge when I don’t know who did what but as a whole it looks good. There’s also three colorists here, Morry Hollowell, Frank D’Armata, and Michael Garland, and even they look great here. It’s a strong package all around, it’s surprising how well everything works here. It’s impressive honestly and it is great to see a team work this well together.
Wow, X-Men: Prime did work better as a whole than Inhumans Prime huh? I’m pleasantly surprised. This is a good sign for things to come for the X-Line.
Let’s wrap this up simply, if you are a fan of the X-Men, you are going to be really happy. It channels the classic X-Men vibe while going forward into something new and possibly exciting. Now this could go easily go haywire but I am veering towards optimism here. It is nice to be optimistic about the X-Men for a change. X-Men Prime #1 was a great read and I’m hoping it wasn’t a fluke. If it isn’t a fluke, we are in for a great time. ResurrXion, I am ready for you.
