Amazing X-Men #4 Review

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Amazing X-Men #4 Review

Marvel Comics
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciler: Ed McGuiness
Inker: Dexter Vines
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: McGuiness,Vines, Gracia

Reviewer: Tom Barnett

This book has been a slow burn for me and it’s paying off. Writer Jason Aaron has got a real handle on the dynamics of these characters. This book feels like an old school X-Men spin off that could have happened during the Claremont era.

Wolverine, Northstar, Firestar, Iceman, Storm and Beast, have all been transported to various levels of the afterlife in the hopes of finding the fuzzy blue elf, Nightcrawler. Unfortunately, ever since they arrived all has gone awry and Nightcrawler must save them, before they fall at the hands of Azazel.

Aaron has really done his homework here and gotten the feel of these characters’ history spot on. The flashback scenes are wonderful. They evoke the feeling that these characters had in the earlier days of the X-Men. There’s a real feeling of love and camaraderie between these characters. Aaron’s pacing is perfect on this book, keeping the tone light hearted yet with an undercurrent of foreboding all along. It’s like a silver cloud with a grey lining!

I also love that fact that they’ve included Firestar. She’s a great character that I hope Aaron continues to develop. Maybe with having Northstar on the team, we might even see some cameo’s from the original Alpha Flight.

The art team of Ed Mcguiness and inker Dexter Vines are fantastic. I’ve always been a fan of McGuiness and will pretty much give any book he’s on a chance. There are some very fun panels and layouts in this book. There’s one page in particular where Nightcrawler finds Wolverine in Purgatory that, I’ll be honest, almost elicited some tears from this old reader’s eyes. McGuinness’ style is a clean, detailed bombastic style that is perfect for this book.

Marte Gracia is a colorist supreme. These colors are so vivid but not over the top. His work makes this book just pop off the page.

If you want a fun X-Men book that channels the older Claremont years, look no further. Jason Aaron and crew turn out a fun X-Men story every month in the pages of Amazing X-Men.

Story: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 5/5 Must Read!

Tom is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @tphoto10.

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