Immortal X-Men #1 featured Reviews 

“Immortal X-Men” #1

By | March 31st, 2022
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Life on Krakoa is never uneventful, as we keep getting new X-titles to take us through new events and revelations. After the latest bit of excitement with Moira in “Inferno,” and the Wolverine-related mayhem in “X Lives of Wolverine” and “X Deaths of Wolverine,” it’s time to readdress the mutant state of affairs in “Immortal X-Men.”

Written by Kieron Gillen
Illustrated by Lucas Werneck
Colored by David Curiel
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles

IN THE QUIET COUNCIL, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM! The Quiet Council rules the Krakoan age, for better… or worse. Now, shaken by INFERNO and X LIVES / X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE they strive to hold together, no matter how much they want to tear each other apart. Writer Kieron Gillen (UNCANNY X-MEN, ETERNALS, The Wicked + The Divine, Die) returns to the world of X with artist Lucas Werneck (TRIAL OF MAGNETO) to bring us all into the room where it happens. “It” being “the most powerful people on Earth deciding the fate of the whole planet.” Prepare for sinister secrets to be revealed and learn that some secrets are more sinister than others…

Kieron Gillen is back, and writing for Mr. Sinister again.

If you’ve read any of his past work that focused on the X-Men, and Mr. Sinister in particular, you know that’s a good thing. His time writing “Uncanny X-Men” was nothing short of spectacular, so how will “Immortal X-Men” compare?

Pretty dang well, actually.

The story takes place through the eyes of Mr. Sinister, with narration to match. Every word of dialogue is dripping with smarmy, self-confident snark, as befitting someone as utterly over-the-top and dramatic as Mr. Sinister.

I mean, the man literally chose to call himself “Mr. Sinister,” and even in his narration he delights in calling his plans “evil schemes.” Kieron embraces that flair for the dramatic in every line he writes.

But what are these “evil schemes?” We get the setup early on in the issue, but the payoff is excellent; all the pieces are set up and foreshadowed properly so that the ending makes perfect sense, but is still a great reveal. (So for the sake of your enjoyment, I won’t be spoiling exactly what that is.)

The issue itself follows Mr. Sinister throughout his day, as the Krakoan Quiet Council seeks a replacement for Magneto. Throughout the entire issue, we get Sinister’s narration telling us exactly what he thinks of each of the characters, including important insights into the secrets he knows. But most interestingly, we see how he seems to know exactly what’s going to happen, and is particularly surprised when things don’t go as he expected.

But of course, Sinister isn’t the only one getting attention. We get a nice montage of characters vying for the council seat, some great speeches here and there, and even a moment for Exodus to talk with Hope about faith and what she means to mutantkind.

Every last line of dialogue is written with precision, capturing the voices of the characters and propelling the story forward.

Basically: this is a well-written comic.

So does the art match up with the story? I would say so.

Lucas Werneck illustrates this issue, with David Curiel providing the colors. So for all that can be said about Mr. Sinister’s dialogue, he needs expressions that match, and Lucas provides just that. The artwork strikes that perfect balance of clean, bold linework and application of details that I’m particularly fond of, making each character stand out and come to life while still letting the general designs and color work speak for themselves. While each character is wonderfully expressive, none are so much so as Sinister himself; every panel of him has a different emotion on display, all as wonderfully overdramatic as his dialogue.

Also of note is how the panels are laid out. Sometimes we get large, nearly full-page panels showing off Sinister’s lab (and the use of black, red, and yellow colors in those pages is wonderful too), while other times we get perfectly aligned, evenly-spaced square panels to take us through the scene, like with the council votes.

In every case, they’re set up just right to take the reader on a journey through the scene, adding focus where it’s needed and managing the pacing and flow from panel to panel.

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Oh, and have I mentioned the backgrounds? The sweeping Krakoan landscape, the shots of Sinister’s secret lab, and the Quiet Council’s chamber are all drawn with excellent detail, filled with engaging designs and wonderfully framed. It’s all made better by David Curiel’s color work, which adds to the tone and energy of every scene while enhancing the designs.

In short: “Immortal X-Men” is off to an excellent start. Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck make a great team, bringing us in to the latest mutant drama with superb dialogue and eye-catching artwork.

If you’re going to read one “X-Men” comic post-“Inferno,” make it “Immortal X-Men.”

Final Verdict: 9.0 – Everything you could hope for from an X-Men comic, especially one focused around Mr. Sinister. It’ll draw you in from the first page with the art and dialogue alone, and won’t let go until the very end. You’ll want to see everything the Quiet Council is up to in this one.


Robbie Pleasant

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