With mutants relocating to the island nation of Krakoa, the X-mansion in Westchester, New York, has been abandoned. But there’s something strange going on in the empty Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, and a team of mutants investigates in next week’s Giant Size X-Men: Nightcrawler, spotlighting the fuzzy elf as he uncovers horrors in his old stomping grounds. Last month’s Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost was a beautifully surreal, largely text-free homage to the classic New X-Men #121, sending the titular pair into Storm’s wounded brain to perform a psychic rescue mission. It showed how writer Jonathan Hickman uses these one-shots to enrich character while driving major mutant storylines forward, and given recent events with Nightcrawler in last month’s X-Men #7, there is a lot for Hickman to explore with Kurt Wagner’s current plan to create a new mutant religion.
After working with the phenomenal Thor and War Of The Realms art team of Russell Dauterman and colorist Matthew Wilson for Jean and Emma’s story, Hickman partners with an iconic X-artist, Alan Davis, for Kurt’s chapter. This exclusive preview of next week’s Giant Size X-Men: Nightcrawler is a homecoming for both Kurt’s team and Davis, who starts the issue off with a sequence of panels reintroducing readers to the X-Men’s former base, which is now overgrown with Krakoan vegetation. The splash page showcases why Davis is considered by many to be the Nightcrawler artist, drawing his acrobatic figure with body language that projects confidence and strength. Carlos Lopez’s coloring brings a sunny brightness to these first panels, setting a point of contrast for Nightcrawler and his team’s journey into the darker corners of the X-mansion.
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I’m not all that up on the recent X-Men history. Did Rachel Summers die? The silhouettes feel like ‘ghosts of X-Men past’ and that one seems to be her early outfit.
You should read House of X and Powers of X. To make a long story short, the X-Men and pretty much all mutants (aside from a few) live on the new mutant island nation of Krakoa and they also don’t have to fear death anymore — due to five mutants and Cebebro backing up every mutants mind, after a mutant dies, they can be resurrected.
IMHO this era has been the best I’ve seen since Morrison’s early run. I really hope Hickman sticks the landing… unlike Morrison… and if I’m being honest, Chris Claremont kinda crashed and burned too.
Well, Morrison’s “landing” was interfered with, and, to stretch the metaphor, Claremont kept his busted-ass aircraft taxiiing around the airstrip long after hitting the ground.
Except, one of the biggest gripes about Morrison’s run is the sudden Magneto twist and his subsequent portrayal. That’s all Morrison.
Glad to see someone who knows their X-Men writers and history.
The cover is suggesting Kurt will be facing old fears, but for the most part the mutants are effectively immortal in the comics now and come back from the dead when there’s a plot need for them. Rachel is around but John Proudstar, who you also see on the cover, remains dead IIRC.
I don’t much care for Hickman’s run on X-Men (I couldn’t get into it, largely because I don’t really dig comics anymore), but Nightcrawler is always gonna be my absolute favorite comic book character. Any time he gets a spotlight I’ll show up for it. Always love when they pair him and Rachel.
I like Hickman’s other stuff – particularly East of West – but super hero stuff just doesn’t do much for me anymore either. Also agree on Nightcrawler. Always liked him.
Alan Davis is not only the best Nightcrawler artist, he’s arguably the best Nightcrawler writer. No other writer has captured the inner life of Nightcrawler like Davis did during his Excalibur run. He really took Nightcrawler through an excellent arc.Too bad other writers have done nothing but strip the character of all nuance and development. They’ve taken a cute Claremont-ism (“What if character look like demon but religious? Discuss.”) and made it all Nightcrawler is or ever shall be. It’s a trap that it seems even a great writer like Hickman can’t resist. I mean, I could blame Claremont for setting the trap. But I really blame hack-fraud writers like *shudder* Scott Lobdell and *twitch* Fabian Nicieza for making it a trap the size of a football field. (I will never ever stop hating them for ruining an entire decade of X-men comics. I hate them so much.)
Aw, did they get rid of Kurt’s beard?
you mean kitty pryde? I kid I kid..
You’re burying the lede here: ALAN DAVIS IS DRAWING THIS.
Oh hell yes. I’m 100% here for Alan Davis doing a Nightcrawler story. Squint a little and I’m almost back in those Excalibur glory days.