Comics Review: "Incomprehensible X-Men" #1 

- by Señor Editor, 1 April 2015

Marvel Comics has been hitting it on all cylinders lately, but there was one release in particular I was looking forward to – the brand new ongoing from Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo, the fan-favorite duo who brought us great things like the teenage X-Men traveling to present times, or possible future X-Men traveling to the present times. And, based on the first issue, Bendis & Bachalo’s “Incomprehensible X-Men” has a chance to be up there with classics like Morrison’s “New X-Men” or Whedon’s “Astonishing X-Men". 

The cover. Click to enlarge.

The reason I believe “Incomprehensible X-Men” may be the best x-book of the decade is because it is based on the one thing X-Men comics have been best known for in the last 20 years – it’s based on how hard it is to keep up with Marvel’s mutants, and how damn near impossible it is for new readers to get into. By taking this classic feeling of “Wow, did I miss six hundred issues or something? I thought this guy was dead.” and turning it into the core idea behind the series, Bendis and Bachalo may have created the ultimate X-Men comic. So let’s talk about issue one. WARNING: there will be some mild spoilers.

Since this is a first issue and Bendis is known for his creative use of continuity, we start off right where Terry Kavanagh’s “X-Man” #60, from February 2000 ended – when Apocalypse was talking about his master plan. How will this tie to current events? We don’t know yet.

Fast forward to the present time, where we see Stryfe! The villainous clone of Cable is doing something that may be the end of the Marvel universe as we know it. He is working on bringing the mutants infected with the Legacy virus from the 1990s, to the present times, where they can infect the X-Men. So far so good. We also get a nice easter egg that new readers will surely appreciate – a cameo from Senyaka, everybody’s favorite Acolyte.

What are the X-Men doing during all of this? Talking, mostly. They are talking about some imminent danger and the current state of the mutant race. This is classic Bendis, and Bachalo makes the talking scenes look really dark and moody. There is only one brief action scene in the first issue, but it is brilliantly done – when the X-Men are attacked at their mansion, they are suddenly saved by Wolverine! This is a great surprise twist by Bendis, and it works really well. Mostly because I was quite sure Wolverine is currently dead.

A great little conversation scene, rendered masterfully by Bachalo. I had to read it three times to convince myself I understand it.

I don’t understand the rest of the plot yet, but that’s to be expected – this is issue one and Bendis is clearly setting up a lot of things for future issues. And as far as first issues go, this is really good.

Let’s talk a bit about the writing, because Bendis has outdone himself here. No, scratch that. He didn’t just outdo HIMSELF, he has outdone all X-Men writers prior. If you’ve been following BMB’s work on “Uncanny X-Men” (or trying to follow it), you will know how well he handled the accents of the various foreign X-Men. Well, he has gone one step further here – you know how Colossus or Nightcrawler always throw in a word or two in Russian or German, just to remind everybody they are from Europe? WHO DOES THAT? Nobody talks like that. That is a relic of the Claremont era. Bendis has gone one step further, and has the non-American X-Men speak full sentences in their native languages now, sometimes during important plot points. Without any translation. This is very authentic, and helps you feel like these are really some foreign people. Foreign mutants, even.

This just feels so real.

I am not sure if I even need to talk about Chris Bachalo’s art on “Incomprehensible X-Men”, because it is exactly what you’d expect from him. Everything looks great, there are many tiny little panels, with a lot of shading, and they are cropped together in layouts that make the story feel unique. These are some of the best pages of people talking you could find in modern comics. Sometimes Bachalo draws his characters in a weird way, that makes you unsure of what they are doing – this really adds to the charm of “Incomprehensible”. 

The artist and the writer really complement each other here, and that results in some powerful storytelling.

I feel like I can't recommend "Incomprehensible X-Men" #1 enough. This is the best new release of this week, and so far the reviews are really great. Even industry professionals are sharing their praise of Bendis' and Bachalo's latest. It truly may be the best X-Men comic ever written. So check it out, whether you're a new fan or an old fan! Welcome to the X-Man, man! Hope you survive all this continuity!

Comicbook legends, praising Bendis' "Incomprehensible X-Men".

So have you read "Incomprehensible X-Men" #1 yet? Is this some great X-Men comic or what? This will make April 1st 2015 go down in history!

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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