Loon Review: Dark X-Men #1

[brentlambert]

Dark X-Men #1 by Mitch Crane

THE GOOD: The dialogue is the high point of this issue as I can feel like each member of the team has their own voice. Gambit and Fantomex are the standouts of the issue, but that’s probably because they had the most screen time. I like how Mitch is keeping some of his cards close to his chest to begin with. You know there is something going on with Juggernaut, but you really don’t have the details. I appreciate writers who make an effort to create a reason for the reader to return for the next issue.

THE BAD: I don’t harp on word count because a short story can be great and a long story can be terrible. So I think the better word for this issue would be rushed. I felt like it breezed by all too fast and Mitch really needed to take the time to slow down. Everything was handled too neat and pretty. For what he covered in the issue, Mitch could have used about five more solid scenes to make this story feel like it had some actual meat.

OVERALL: A strong start to the series, but I’d like to see more in terms of narrative. It wasn’t quite a bare bones issue, but it definitely was missing some key points to make it not feel so empty.

[mitchcrane]

Yay my first ever Dark X-men feedback! Thanks Brent.

You're probably right in it feeling rushed. I envisioned the first scene with Fantomex encountering Juggernaut and Gambit in the warehouse really clearly, as well as the final battle scenes with the Reavers, but the in between wasn't too thought out, so I may have glossed through it a bit. I'll try to work on that for the next issue, whicyh I now feel more motivated to write :-)

[stormrage]

So I very much like the idea of Dark X-Men, but I do have a question. How is it going to distinguish itself from X-Force in terms of black ops stories? There seems to be alot of similarity in concept. Or are they meant to complement each other in that fashion? Also, are we going to end up seeing The World pop up in this title?