X-Men #12

By Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho

X-Men #12 is an important issue for this run from Jonathan Hickman. This issue we get the back story of the Summoner. We also get some background on his ties to Arakko, as well as the introduction of several new characters. This is all part of the world building that Hickman has been laying down since the first couple of issues of this series. The Summoner will most likely be an integral part of this story that Hickman is telling, which makes this issue one that shouldn’t be missed.

Jonathan Hickman thrives on building these new worlds and introducing weird characters that have a big impact on the adventure. The Summoner is a character that is odd, but his appearance is cool and we of course want to know more about him. Hickman gives us a little more about Loa, Anole and Rockslide’s bonding with the Summoner. I said this last review and I’ll say it again, if you don’t think the Summoner has plans for these 3, you’re crazy. Most of the meat in the issue comes from the Summoner telling Apocalypse the history of Arakko. Hickman should have you questioning all of this. How reliable is the Summoner in regards to giving information? Is he a reliable narrator? Or does he have another agenda? Hickman has made this series about big character moments and journeys. This issue ends with another journey being made. This is another stellar issue from Jonathan Hickman. The more issues we read, the better this series gets.

The pencils this issue are handled by Leinil Francis Yu with colors by Sunny Gho. Yu is a stud when it comes to the pencils, and his style fits perfectly with Hickman’s storytelling. A simple page of the Summoner smiling can come off as eerie from Yu, and that’s the beauty of his work. We can never really tell where the Summoner stands, and Yu depicts him perfectly in this issue. Yu draws the battles and panels of the early days of Arakko well too. Coming up with designs of several new characters can be a tough task, but Yu makes them all look visually appealing and interesting. Sunny Gho is great on colors, but what else is new. He works so well with Yu’s pencils, it’s almost a perfect match. Gho shines on the battle pages. A subtle green background in one fight panel and a moody light red in another are the perfect fit for these fight scenes. Gho uses an amazing color palette for this issue. Whether it’s a dark blue for strange looking creatures or pale white for the Summoner, his colors are vibrant and always enhance the reading experience.

X-Men #12 is a book that will have ramifications for the rest of the series. The information in this issue will be important moving forward. Jonathan Hickman hasn’t put out a bad issue yet, on fact, each issue just gets more exciting. The pencils and colors are the perfect compliment to this issue and series. X-Men continues to be the best book on the shelf

8.0 10

Review

X-Men #12

X-Men continues to be the best book on the shelf

2

Score8.0

Reader Rating: ( 1 vote ) 7.8