[Comic Book Review] All New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis (2012- ) Issues #1 – #18

Posted on December 20, 2013 by thegrandshuckett in Comic Books & Graphic Novels // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: In the wake of the events of Avengers Vs. X-Men, the mutant world is set to receive a big blast from the past, in the form of the original X-Men! How will the young, unsuspecting mutants from the past – including Jean Grey – react to the conflict and turmoil that has engulfed the world of their future?

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils: Stuart Immonen

Inkers: Wade Von Grawbadger

Colorists: Marte Gracia

Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

Review: by Chris F

Brian Michael Bendis on the X-Men? Plus he’s bringing back the original young X-Men? Bendis has been the creative force behind Marvel's major Avengers titles for the last few years, and it started to wear out it's welcome. I was glad to see the Avengers/New Avengers go in a different direction and Bendis handling the dialogue and story elements of the Major X-Men titles. I was excited but kind of skeptical. I definitely wanted to see how it would go down, and it turned out better than expected.

What I Liked:

I remember Stuart Immonen from his Nextwave and Ultimate stuff, and I’ve always been a fan. The young X-Men look their best in their classic costumes; the blue and yellow really pops with the coloring. The action scenes are well done and have a nice flow to them. The art really holds up and makes for some really great, dynamic panels, with many of the fights being poster worthy.

Whether you are a fan of his dialogue or not, at his best Bendis is a good story teller, and we get that in the first major arc. The story may be a little old to some with its time travel angle, but it’s done in a way where it seems fresh.

Post Avengers vs X-Men mutant relations have been in the pits, and the X-Men as a team have been strained to the brink. Wolverine and Cyclops have two separate, disconnected teams, and Cyclops is a wanted criminal after killing Professor X. It’s just not looking good. In a desperate move, Beast decides to bring the young X-Men to try to shake Cyclops into changing his ways.

This is not the best of ideas as the young X-Men find it hard to adjust to this foreign future. It makes for an interesting fish out of water angle as well as having Wolverine and his school react to the change. Italso makes for some interesting interactions and some great fight scenes.

One of my biggest worries was that Bendis wouldn’t handle some of my favorite characters too well, changing their personalities, etc. due to the fact he’s been on the Avengers for so long. I was pleasantly surprised to have him do a fantastic job keeping to the core of the characters.

The young X-Men are handled especially well. Young Jean is especially interesting with her still learning just how powerful she is. Seeing how the modern mutants deal with a living Jean Grey was entertaining as well, and Wolverine had a great scene with her.

Young Cyclops is also a high mark, with him being a capable, strong leader but still young and unsure of himself. His interactions with Mystique and some artifacts from his older self are handled with care and respect to the character.

What I Didn’t Like:

There wasn’t much that I didn’t like. As usual Bendis can be a bit wordy and things don’t move as fast as I’d like sometimes; but, those few things are minor, and the enjoyable dialogue makes it worth it.

Summary

It was a fantastic start to the new story. All of my apprehensions regarding Bendis and his writing style were put to rest. Good storytelling, enjoyable dialogue, and a fantastic arc made All New X-Men an exciting new start for this long time X-Men fan.

You can purchase All New X-Men vol 1 on Amazon here:

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