X-Men: Gold #15

By Marc Guggenheim, Diego Bernard, JP Mayer, and Rain Beredo

There has been a bit of a resurgence in the number of X-books put out by Marvel lately. X-Men: Blue, X-Men: Gold and the recently announced X-Men: Red are all reasons for fans to get excited. As the mini crossover between Blue and Gold starts to wrap up, our heroes put forth a big effort to go after Mojo and stop the madness. With help from Longshot, who has become a social media hound, they may be able to pull it off, but not without a huge battle first.

X-Men: Gold has been pretty good for its 15-issue run so far. As we come to the last crossover issue from this series (Blue has the conclusion next week) Marc Guggenheim has been very solid on the writing. One of the better aspects of this issue is that Guggenheim gives mostly everyone something to do. The panels with Magneto, Polaris, and Danger, although not very important to the main story, are still fun and relevant. Seeing Magneto and Polaris work together as a family is exciting to see in itself. Guggenheim also gets a ton of credit for using countless X-Men villains and costumes throughout their history. It’s something that may seem like it doesn’t matter, but picking out the best moments in X-Men history is no easy task. It’s also interesting to see what will happen to the original 5 X-Men as they see their future fighting in front of them. This is a seed that could bring some life to the tired gimmick of the time-displaced X-Men. If there is a small gripe with the issue, it’s that when Kitty leaves the fight for a minute, she puts teen Jean in charge. Over someone like Storm or Nightcrawler? It was an odd moment in the issue, but ultimately didn’t affect the plot or story all that much.



The pencils this issue are handled by Diego Bernard, with inks by JP Mayer and colors by Rain Beredo. The art this issue is excellent and it’s extremely hard to pick out anything negative about it. Diego Bernard’s pencils look amazing, and coupled with JP Mayer’s inks, it has smooth, solid lines. Bernard’s images are very easy on the eyes and an all around joy to look at. While most of this issue is a battle, nothing is hard to make out, and everything is clear and enjoyable. Krakoa attacking Magneto and company, looks wonderful. There are no gripes on the pencils this issue. The colors by Rain Beredo also knock it out of the park. Beredo’s colors look so vibrant. The difference in the tones of green from Polaris to Krakoa is great to see. There really can’t be enough said about how good the art is on this book.

X-Men: Gold has consistently been one of the most enjoyable books in Marvel’s line. Marc Guggenheim is bringing an old school feel to a modern book. The art, from the pencils to the inks, really stands out this issue and will wow you. If you’re unsatisfied with your weekly pull, add X-Men: Gold to put a smile on your face.