Marvel Knights X-Men #1

by Brahm Revel & Cris Peter

If you’ve been stuck on nothing but the Big Three (Marvel, DC and Image) you might have missed Brahm Revel’s Oni Press series Guerrillas, set in Vietnam with a lovely cast of bad ass chimps and a loveable lost solider trying to figure out his place in this war and with this group of chimps. Two volumes are currently available, and if you liked what you saw in Marvel Knights: X-Men it’s something you definitely need to check out. Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

Unlike Marvel Knights: Spider-Man this appears to be along the same timeline that’s currently happening right now. We have the new and improved Beast, looking even more badass when done by Brahm, Wolverine is the headmaster of his own mutant school and, of course, they’re worried about Cyclops finding mutant kids before they do. So, if you’ve been keeping up at home you’re good to go. If you haven’t… well, you might need to go read some Wolverine and the X-Men, but it’s not mandatory.

Brahm Revel handles both art and story duties for his grittier look at the X-Men. This is something that, if at all possible, is always ideal when it comes to telling a story in comics. Sure, some teams of writer and artist work fantastic together and they can tell fantastic, legendary stories but it always feels more complete when one person handles both tasks. That being said, Revel’s take on Wolverine, Kitty Pryde and Rogue really doesn’t differ much from what we’re used to seeing with these three, it’s simply done in his own style. It’s also great seeing Cris Peter color Revel’s work–since Guerrillas was black and white–because it adds a nice layer to the art and just gives it that final pop to make it look great. It’s too early to tell if he’s going to put a twist on what we know and love about these characters, but even if he doesn’t this story was like putting on a comfy sweater; it just felt right.

So, to recap: go buy and read Guerrillas, Beast looks badass, awesome art and story, comfy sweater. Look, it’s about damn time that Brahm Revel got a shot like this, he’s more than earned it as far as I’m concerned. So if you like the X-Men, new or old, what more do you need to go and pick this up? It’s a great X-book with great art and characters that you know and love. Go pick it up.