By Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho
The last time we saw the X-Men, they were heading off to space with a Brood king egg. This issue opens with some back story on how the king egg came to be. The Kree are behind this and it’s absolutely a weapon. One thing the X-Men have become known for in their history is their space travel. This issue gives us a throw back and has the feel of an old school mutant space adventure.
Jonathan Hickman is a writer that loves to set things up and make sure all his pieces are in place. This issue we continue to deal with the Brood. While the X-Men try to handle them, Hickman also treats us to a showdown between the new Accuser and Gladiator. All of this comes to a head when the X-Men show up with the king egg though. The Starjammers, the X-Men and the Shiar all have to work together to survive. Hickman gives good voices to his characters, which is normal for him. Sunspot of course is one of the show stealers. His fast talking and ability to distract from the larger issue are actually very helpful here. One of the highlights of this issue though is Jean describing why the king egg is a problem for Brood queens. Hickman lays out the reasoning so well that you actually feel bad for the Brood queen. If there is one gripe about this issue it’s that it ends very abruptly. The problem gets resolved a little too easily for my personal liking. That aside, this is another very good issue of X-Men.
The pencils this issue are handled by Leinil Francis Yu with colors by Sunny Gho. Yu has a very distinct art style, and it works with this story. The panel where Gladiator and the new Accuser are about to fight is drawn wonderfully. Gladiator is leaping toward the Kree commander as the Accuser has his hammer pulled back ready to attack. It’s great seeing the X-Men and Starjammers dripping with brood guts and blood during the battle too. Yu draws the anguish on the characters faces as they struggle with the hoard of infinite Brood. The pencils this issue are excellent, and they are 100% helped by the amazing colors of Sunny Gho. This is a great tandem on art by the way, Gho and Yu are killing it. Gho drawing the purple skies in space as a character gets knocked out of the ship is gorgeous. There are so many good panels and pages this issue it’s hard to not talk about all of them. The final page of the issue is great too. I won’t spoil what it is, but the symbolism is powerful and the colors rock. The art this issue is top notch.
X-Men #9 continues the excellent work of Jonathan Hickman on his run. Each issue has been amazing and just continues to lay the groundwork for the bigger picture. You’d be hard-pressed to find better art in a book this week. Gho and Yu always bring their best work with each issue. X-Men continues to set the bar for the X-line with each issue.
Review
X-Men #9 continues the excellent work of Jonathan Hickman on his run [and] you’d be hard-pressed to find better art in a book this week
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