X-Men Blue #14
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Penciler : Jorge Molina
Colorist : Matt Milla & Guru-eFX
Letterer : VC’s Joe Caramagna
Release Date : 10/25/17
Price : $3.99
Plot: X-Men Blue has the team still stuck in Mojoworld but their chance to escape looks a little brighter as the team navigates the strange world. Some other players in Mojo’s game return from the dead and also find themselves in an unfortunate position that will take some time to safely survive!
Story: The story within X-Men Blue is a ton of fun because it’s a really interesting concept that presents a lot of neat ideas and concepts without making things overly complicated. The team gets to do a bunch of things that are really fun to watch and experience as a reader because of how the issue reads like a television program. Mojo becomes an extremely fun villain to read for this reason and Cullen Bunn does a nice job with the character’s dialogue. Normally narration can be poorly done but within X-Men Blue Bunn really nails the tone and feel to make it work within his story. The dialogue is really what carries the story because everything else is rather lighthearted and straightforward, but having a distinct feel to the story and the voice of the antagonist sets it apart from other comics.
Along with this, the story features the hero Longshot, who provides the same presence that Mojo does but for the heroes side. Longshot just increase the enjoyment of X-Men Blue because he continues to battle with Mojo for control of the “television feed,” which creates a really neat dynamic. Longshot is really funny and adds more humorous dialogue to the story that takes it up a notch. In a world where these superhero characters are used to taking crisis so seriously, Longshot accepts and understands the dynamic that is necessary to survive in the Mojoverse. The story in X-Men Blue is a really fun exploration of a simplistic alternate reality story that is easy to follow while still providing nice pacing as it moves along.
Art: The art in X-Men Blue has a lot going on but brings a nice balance to the table. The biggest thing is that the colors really pop off of the page and there is a wide variety because of the various settings and characters involved in the story. The pencil work has a large cartoon show feel but it works extremely well because the story is all about Mojo creating his own show. Everything is nicely polished by Jorge Molina and he absolutely nails the scaling and style of each character. The poses within the action scenes and various high-intensity panels are spot on but don’t ever look awkward or out of place. Milla and Guru really seem to have fun with the color schemes because there is a lot of fast paced movement from panel to panel in the book. The characters will be in a jungle setting for one panel, then transition to a beautiful black and golden silhouette for an action panel, and immediately jump to a pink and purple dominated scene because Nightcrawler teleports them out of the whole scenario. It’s a ton of fun to visually scan because there is a lot going on within the story between the actual events of the books and the various setting changes along the way.
Verdict: X-Men Blue is a really fun read with a well written story that nails the dialogue. Bunn seems to have a great grip on Mojo as an antagonist and he makes the villain enjoyable to read without taking advantage of cheap tactics. It’s really fun to see things like the Avengers pop up but it is nice to see the writer not use things like that to fully carry the story along. The artwork is pretty crazy but it really works for this type of a story that involves an alternate universe of sorts, and overall the book comes together as a wild but fun read.
Rating: 4.5/5