After taking a three issue break I’m back to reviewing X by Dark Horse Comics. Can the semi-Batman like character—really all that separates them is money and level of brutality—capture my interest again? For that matter, how’s the comic itself? Is it good?
X #10 (Dark Horse Entertainment)
X’s past is coming back to haunt him, or in his case coming back so that he can kick its ass again. X is tough as nails and brutal as hell, so when villains come back that he thought he killed there’s really only one solution: kill them again. The main villain introduced this issue has a bit of a chaos element as he commits to plans based on horoscopes personally written by a prisoner who previously wrote them for a cheap newspaper. Problem is, the guy bullshit his way through these horoscopes, which spells some pretty random acts by the big bad. X also promised to kill the guy if he ever entered his city, which sets up X’s task of killing the bad guys in this issue.
After an introduction of our horoscope writing prisoner X’s friend, ally and journalist Leigh Ferguson is working to figure out who X is and all she has is a picture to go on. She’s touring churches where he may have lived as a child and she starts to uncover a dark and twisted kid. It goes a long way in showing how deep his pain is hidden. This gets tucked away pretty quickly, so you action fanatics should take note that the exposition isn’t too heavy. No, but the action sure is.
Kaden and Kylie are forever ruined.
It’s clear writer Duane Swierczynski is having a blast with this series. The action sequences are goretastic, action packed and a lot of fun. The dialogue is also inventive and B-movie esque which goes a long way in making even the bloodiest of panels fun to read. These bad guys are real bastards with no moral core, so bring on the hatchets to these mothers! Disposing of the henchmen is fun, and a cowboy-like villain named Gamble makes an appearance too, which is a neat foil to what X represents.
artist Eric Nguyen continues to do a stellar job with the brutality and grit. The pages sure are dark, but that goes a long way in conveying the mood and atmosphere of the X character. It also helps the reader be okay with how violent X is on these bad guys. He’s technically a hero, but what hero blows a bad guys brains out? A hero who lives in the darkly lit world Nguyen draws on every single page.
That “deep throat” comment is pretty evil.
Is It Good?
I’m glad a jumped back on this book as the art and pace are strong and the story is compelling due to new details on X and his new big bad villain. Check it out for the violence and you’ll be rewarded with some gruesomely awesome shots.
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