X-Men ’92 #4

By Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, Scott Koblish and Matt Milla

The ’90s is the decade where comics exploded onto the scene (and later imploded). There were tons of titles and covers and it ushered in a huge new fan base. None of the new or ongoing titles that hit stands were as popular as X-Men. This is a book that to this day is still recognized as the series that brought people into the comic book hobby. This week we wrap up X-Men ’92, but is this a final goodbye or will we see more from this popular crew in the future?

Chris Sims and Chad Bowers have demonstrated with every issue that they can capture the voice of many of these characters from the ’90s. What works this issue are the tons of subtle nods they give to X-Men lore throughout this book. Whether it’s a poster that has the cover of X-Men #1 on it or a recreation of the famous cover of Cyclops leaving the team with his bag slung over his shoulder; this issue is filled with great homages. One of the bright spots in this series has been Jubilee. Sims and Bowers give her the youthful voice in the book that keeps things fun. Many fans were annoyed with her in the ’90s, but she comes off great this issue. While the end of the issue was a bit predictable, this was still a very good series, and Marvel must think so too because it’s getting an ongoing.

The pencils this issue are handled by Scott Koblish with colors by Matt Milla. The art has been inconsistent for this series and it really hasn’t improved or changed much since issue #1. Koblish is good enough, but there are many panels where things could look better. Many of the characters bodies are very slim and disproportionate. Some panels have characters faces with very little detail on them as well. There are some cool panels here too, like when the Shadow King and Jean Grey duke it out with their astral forms. This is a big page and it comes off well, one of the best pages of the book. The colors by Matt Milla are very good as he perfectly captures the tone and color of the times. The art is serviceable, but could have been better in certain spots.

X-Men ’92 is a book that took me by surprise. The writing was very good and it’s clear the Sims and Bowers will take good care of your favorite mutants. The art was decent but spotty at times, but Matt Milla’s colors were on point. This is a series that can rejuvenate your faith in the X-Men.