CREDIT: Marvel Comics
Rating: 4.5/5 – Dying Is Not Forever (in the MarvelU)
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Adam Brunell
The “Life of X” storyline concludes in this issue; What a way to bring back the dead! I can’t remember the last time a writer brought back a key Marvel character with such an in-depth explanation like writer Charles Soule has done here. For 6 issues the momentum has been building to determine the Life of X, as promised by the title of the story arc.
Writer Charles Soule and artist Michael Del Mundo not only provide the dynamic and extensive story of a specific X-Men event, but just when everything feels like a traditional run of the mill story, Soule takes the road less traveled with the story, taking a group of well-known X-Men, possibly putting them on an international most wanted list for acts against humanity. Readers that have been following this series are aware that the group of mutants brought into this event would not come out unscathed. The actions of the team not only have caused an international incident, but have possibly pushed past the line of global terrorism by attacking a country’s military task force, and had a hand in the spread of a mental possessive virus from the Shadow King. On top of the criminal charges that these heroes face, there is also a major surprise at the end of the comic. Heroes come back to life in Marvel comics all the time, so it’s no big secret that a major character in the Marvel Universe is coming back as part of this story. The question of, “When is it happening?” is no longer a question, but readers are stuck with the question of “How is this happening?” Del Mundo’s art outlines the story beautifully, packing every page with emotion, and his layouts are vibrant and chaotic all in one.
How the “Life of X” resurrection was done made me do a double-take and go back a couple of pages to question if what I saw really just happened. One life is possibly relinquished to restore another, readers won’t completely know how this setup works until future issues, but needless to say Soule leaves a cliffhanger of an ending. The actions from this series will most likely cause a ripple going forward for most X-Men titles and the mutants in the Marvel Universe. Soule and Del Mundo created an emotional journey for their readers and I was happy to take the ride.
Reviewed by: Adam Brunell
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