[insertgeekhere]: Aug 18, 2011

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Review: X-Men #15.1

It's been a while since my last Point One review! I missed a couple issues that I will go back and review, but I am back on task! This past week, we got a Point One taste of X-Men.

This post is SPOILER-FILLED so if you are allergic to spoilers,

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

In this issue, the X-Men are stopped in a small village to fulfill the last wish of an old woman. She wanted to be sealed away by magic before her death, and the X-Men's Dani Moonstar wanted to help her friend. The old woman, Awanata, had protected her village by trapping demons within her soul. Since Gambit and Cyclops were both unsure of this plan, they raised doubts. As the conversation continues, Ghost Rider appears. He says he was summoned by a sin in the village and of course the moment he says it, the demons escape. Make sure you pick it up for the big finish!

First off, I am really disappointed with the cover art. The cover just looks so messy and crude. If I felt that the art matched the story, I could forgive it but it just feels out of place. The story art is wonderfully done in comparison. The panels work well with the story and include a lot of detail work. Some of the fight scenes seem a bit busy but overall, the art worked really well.

This story was an easy-to-read one-shot. It gave a good glimpse of the characters in the book, while featuring heavily on Dani. My only complaint is that they went with a story that feels very removed from the current arc. In the end, this serves as a X-Men morality tale, not a traditional X-Men battle.

I'll admit, I'm not reading X-Men, but the appearance of Ghost Rider really surprised me. I just don't think of those characters or worlds mixing. However, that is what makes it an interesting story. For lapsed or new readers, they know they are getting a special guest to add to the story. This is definitely great for lapsed readers but may confuse new readers who want more time spent on the core team.

This is a good story for lapsed or early X-Men readers because it gives them a small taste of what they have been missing. It may be a so-so choice for complete n00bs since it's not the standard storyline for X-Men.

X-Men #15.1

Story by Victor Gischler
Art by Will Conrad
Colors by Brian Reber
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Jason Pearson