Connect with us
Is It Good? All-New X-Men #19 Review

Comic Books

Is It Good? All-New X-Men #19 Review

Last time around we saw the All-New X-Men in their new habitat, the New Xavier school. They got new costumes, new dorms and a new professor. This week we get to see the X-Men in action for the first time, and the introduction of an old character into this series; is it good?


All-New X-Men #19 (Marvel Comics)


all-new-x-men-19-cover

Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!

Fangasm note: I met Brandon Peterson a few months ago at Boston Comic Con. We talked about a great number of things; I find his work to be very unique and enjoyable, but one of the more memorable topics was his upcoming projects: Brandon said come November/December he would be working on All-New X-Men, a series which I told him I held very near and dear to my heart. He promised that he would make me proud and keep the series as great as he possibly could.

all-new-x-men-19-group-shot

Now here we are, it’s November, and Brandon Peterson is drawing All-New X-Men. His style features lots of lines and heavy shadowing — but that works for this comic. He does a commendable job on the characters and the book looks great overall. There are problems here or there with anatomy but really nothing that too irksome. The real problem I have with this art is the inking: it’s well done, there’s just too much of it, taking away from the pencils and the colors. Israel Da Silva also does a knock-up job on the coloring.

I’m not sure what went wrong, but Bendis’ dialogue seems really off. And that’s strange because he’s done amazing things with this series so far. A lot of the lines are cheesy and unnecessarily so. The story is incredibly tame and really doesn’t do much more than give Jean another “I’ve seen terrible things!” moment and bring X-23 into the fray. The scope of the story is what really bugs me and keeps me from getting into it fully.

all-new-x-men-19-booty
That’s a lot of booty

Size of the scope aside, the comic itself is only 19 pages. 19 pages, are you kidding me? You’re expecting me to pay $4 for a 19 page comic book? I used my inherent mutant powers of comic book “bang for your buck” evaluation and did the math: every page is approximately 21¢ a page. If you were reading the comic and it said: before you turn the page, insert 20¢, would you keep reading? No? Didn’t think so.

I understand the effort to really humanize the X-Men by making them subject to terrible prejudice but its been done so many times in so many different ways that it’s just not fun to read anymore. Sure the men who are targeting the X-Men are terrible people with terrible motives, but how about a story that is deeper and feels… I don’t know — a little fresher?

Is It Good? All-New X-Men #19 Review 6.0

Is It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 ReviewIs It Good? All-New X-Men #19 Review
  • Artistic duties are carried out with finesse
  • Story is entirely forgettable
  • 21¢ a page
  • Dialogue is uncharacteristically mediocre

As always, characterization is a high-point. Kitty is great and really gets to be herself, Magik is entertaining when she’s in the comic (still disappointing how little time she gets) and all of the kids are fun. Nothing moving about the characters but they still fill up the issue pleasantly.

Is it Good?

Very meh. A forgettable story and a steep price for a small comic, take it or leave it.

Join the AIPT Patreon

Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:

  • ❌ Remove all ads on the website
  • 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
  • 📗 Access to our monthly book club
  • 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
  • 💥 And more!
Sign up today
Comments

In Case You Missed It

Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series

Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series

Comic Books

Full June 2024 Marvel Comics solicitations: Ultimates #1 and more Blood Hunt Full June 2024 Marvel Comics solicitations: Ultimates #1 and more Blood Hunt

Full June 2024 Marvel Comics solicitations: Ultimates #1 and more Blood Hunt

Comic Books

X-Men Monday #244 - Christos Gage Talks 'Weapon X-Men' X-Men Monday #244 - Christos Gage Talks 'Weapon X-Men'

X-Men Monday #244 – Christos Gage Talks ‘Weapon X-Men’

Comic Books

'Batman: Dark Age' #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader's beginnings 'Batman: Dark Age' #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader's beginnings

‘Batman: Dark Age’ #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader’s beginnings

Comic Books

Connect
Newsletter Signup