Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Inker/Colorist: Dexter Vines / Marte Gracia
THE QUEST FOR NIGHTCRAWLER Part 1: Part 1
“Oh dear, have they hurt the children? No, worse! They stole my coffeemaker!”
Everyone’s favorite German blue devil has finally returned! Since his heroic death in ‘Second Coming’ Nightcrawler has been one character that fans have fought to bring back and Marvel answered! The start of a new series is a breath fresh air to one of the X-Men’s most popular character.
The Ups: After the amazing ending Aaron wrote for ‘Battle of the Atom,’ I was excited to see him writing the returning Nightcrawler story and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. Aarron writes Nightcrawler true to form, a man of religion, a man of charm, and a man of adventure. The beginning of the issue gives newcomers a small back story what happened before his death and demonstrates all the qualities the make Nightcrawler a great character. The appearance of Azarel, the long dead demon father of Nightcrawler, was a great addition to the story in order to completely explain all the aspects of Nightcrawler’s past. The art for this issue was such a joy to look at, McGuinness has done it again. From his vision of how heaven looks, to the awesome robe that Nightcrawler was wearing in the beginning of the issue, to the small and cute little red and blue devils, everything is drawn in such great and unique detail. The style has a slick cartoon feel with action scenes that feel straight out of a manga, its such a interesting take on the “American comic” style. Gracia, as always, does an amazing job bringing such bright and intense colors to each page only adding to the already wonderful artwork.
The Downs: My only real issue with X-Men stories these days is there is just far too much Wolverine. I mean he is in everything mutant related these days and it’s just getting old. Northstar was a great choice to put as a main character but what I found strange is that if Firestar was shown to be a focus why is Wolverine still getting the spotlight. There’s so many X-Men to choose from, give Wolverine a rest for a bit.
Overall: This issue is a great and action packed start to this new X-Men series. Any fan new or old should definitely rediscover or learn the great character that Nightcrawler is. Make sure you pick this issue up!
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ComicsRefueled 