X-Men Black Mojo #1

By Scott Aukerman, Nick Bradshaw, Andre Lima Araujo, Guru-eFX, Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, Geraldo Borges and Rachelle Rosenberg

X-Men Black, which plays off the current color scheme, is directed at some of the X-Men’s villains. The second issue in the series features Mojo, who can be a love him or hate him character. He personifies the typical big wig Hollywood exec, with the exception of him wanting to kill his stars. While he may be an annoying villain, he’s definitely, more powerful than he’s given credit for. X-Men Black Mojo #1 takes a look at the softer side of the villain, and it covers everything from love to forbidden friendship.

Scott Aukerman has taken a great approach to X-Men Black Mojo #1, he points out how goofy of a character Mojo actually is. At the center of the issue is actually a story about acceptance. Mojo, who looks grotesque, has an interest in a woman he met on the street. Aukerman makes Mojo a likable and sympathetic character here. Who hasn’t felt the anxiety of attempting to get a woman’s attention? Aukerman also forms an amazing friendship between Glob and Mojo. What really works with this friendship is that both characters are aesthetically unattractive, but both have a lot of personality. It’s funny to see Glob give dating tips to Mojo too. It’d be great to see a Glob and mojo book where they go out and try to pick up chicks. Aukerman allows this to be an issue where Mojo sees how someone who looks like him deals with problems in an optimistic way. There is an Apocalypse back up story by Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler, which adds a little more to the struggles of the villain, but we only get a few pages at a time here.

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The pencils this issue are handled by Nick Bradshaw and Andre Lima Araujo, with colors by Guru-eFx. The pencils this issue fit the style of the story. Bradshaw and Lima Araujo give us great panels, like when Mojo is walking on the street with tons of New Yorkers. The great thing about the pencils on that page is that it gives us an excellent scale of how Mojo looks compared to regular people. Bradshaw shows him towering over the regular joes, and he sticks out in more ways than one. The pencilers do a great job with Glob too. He can be a tough character to draw, but he looks good in these pages and his bones are very detailed. The colors by Guru-eFX really stand out this issue. Whether it’s the pink from Glob Herman catching your eye on the pages, or the yellow of Mojo’s skin, the colors just work. Unfortunately, the art for the Apocalypse back up story in my PDF had an error and there was no art for the few pages. I wasn’t able to see the amazing work by Gerardo Borges and Rachelle Rosenberg.

X-Men Black Mojo #1 was great fun. I was never a fan of the character, but this Scott Aukerman made me feel for him in this issue. The pencils were very good and consistent even though there were two different artists. If you’re looking for an unexpectedly good time, X-Men Black Mojo #1 is the book to read.