Comic Review: WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1 - The Best Jumping On Point In Years
Schism has come and gone, bridges have been burnt and the X-Men have split into two groups, one led by Cyclops and one lead by Wolverine.
Book: Wolverine and the X-Men #1Written By: Jason AaronPencils By: Chris BachaloPublisher: Marvel ComicsPrice: $3.99Pages: 40Release Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (VIA COMIXOLOGY) Schism has come and gone, bridges have been burnt and the X-Men have split into two groups, one led by Cyclops and one lead by Wolverine. The dust has settled and like a Phoenix rising from the ashes The Jean Grey School For Higher Learning opens for business to give us all one hell of a ride. Out of all the upcoming Post-Schism X-Men books currently hitting the stands; Wolverine and the X-men is the one I am most excited for. I was never a fan of the shift to San Francisco in recent years and felt the X-Mansion in its Westchester setting screams pure iconic X-Men. The X-Mansion has had a complete visual overhaul from the ground up after god knows how many times weve seen it blown up in recent years. The scenery feels fresh, exciting and bursting with life from every angle. This visual spark is thanks to the books extremely talented penciller and colourist Chris Bachalo. I know a lot of people who either love or hate Bachalos work and in all honesty Im struggling to find any faults as I look at each page being brought to the table. In recent years Bachalo has had the opportunity to really let loose with his art and show people what hes made of, his cartoony and expressive style makes every character involved instantly definable and impossible to mistake for anyone else. His ability to design a page with up to 12 panels at a time and not make it seemed cramped should be commended while his in-depth use of white within his colour pallet (which is emphasized more by the issues deep black boarders), helps each panel pop from the page even more. Wolverine and Schism Writer Jason Aaron steps up to take center stage on this book and sets a clear and direct tone throughout. As I read this issue I felt an old nostalgia feeling I havent had since Joss WhedonsAstonishing X-Men #1 back in 2004(One of my favorite X-Men issues of all time), so anything that can re-awaken that feeling is clearly doing something right. The issue itself follows Headmaster Logan and Headmistress Kitty Pryde as they give representatives of The New York State Department Of Education a tour of the newly reformed school to decide if it is a worthy and safe place of teaching for its students AND more importantly, to decide how much of a danger its mere presence places onto the nearby non-mutant population. The tour is a fantastic framing device to quickly introduce all the books main players and the surroundings they will be seen in, while reminding the audience how much the general public still hate, fear and despise mutants. This books tone is thankfully a slow burner and almost entirely centered on dialogue instead of characters fighting, of course with a roster this large and with so much baggage from recent events there are some moments of heavy expository dialogue from various characters throughout. For a majority of the time it is quite well done (one of my favorite being Idies introduction) however there are moments where it did take me out of the story. Because this is an #1 and obviously a big hitter for Marvel as they catch their audiences up to speed with the back-story, Ill forgive it and remind myself that this is still one of the most enjoyable and best executed jumping on points for an X-Men book in recent years. As I flick through this issue again and again while I write this review, my fondness for it grows with every page turn. In recent years it has become less frequent for me to return to a specific issue for a re-read, but I can see this as an issue Ill be returning to again very, very soon. 
rating: 4.5