YES! He is back! It was only a matter of time before they brought our lovable furry blue elf back. In Amazing X-men’s 1st arc, The Quest for Nightcrawler, the X-men do exactly that…kind of. First, it given a little backstory on Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler what he’s been doing in the afterlife. Jason Aaron really shows Nightcrawler’s adventuring spirit and I love that he’s not the only one in his family that loves swashbuckling. Azazel seems to be the big bad for this arc and his pirate outfit fits him nicely. The last time Azazel was involved with the X-men, the story left much to be desired, but things are looking good for this one. Back at the X-Man…er Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Miss Angelica Jones aka Firestar is looking to fill the hole in the teaching staff left by Kitty Pryde(see Battle of the Atom for more on that) and ends up joining the X-men for the 1st time. I had one of those “oh yeah” moments when I realize that she had only been on the Avengers and some B-lister teams, but never the X-men. I guess Spiderman and his Amazing Friends lied to me. Even though I like bringing her on board, I feel like this team might be too big. I mean do we really need Beast, Warbird, Angel, Iceman, Storm, Rachel Grey, Wolverine, Northstar, AND Firestar? That’s not even including Nightcrawler, the main point of this plot. At least the mystery of the bamfs is being solved.
Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines have done a great job with the penciling and inks respectively. Some artist make Kurt appear elderly or extremely cat like, but McGuinness and Vines really kept the acrobatic demon feel. I also like that they keep Firestar in her simple costume(and everyone else for that matter). Too many times do costumes unnecessarily because it’s the future and time for a change. Great art for a good start to will hopeful be an amazing series.
GNN Comics Grade: VERY GOOD (8/10)
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