Immortal X-Men #1
It's a new era for the Quiet Council in Immortal X-Men #1, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Lucas Werneck, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Clayton Cowles. Since Hickman left, the ongoings have been hit or miss, but finally, a genuine flagship book has arrived.
This is a challenging book to synopsize as some big things are in it. It's told from Mister Sinister's perspective, starting with a meeting in 1919 between him and Destiny that ends badly. In the present, a member of the Quiet Council retires, and the rest have to choose a new one, a decision that leads to some drama that sees Sinister decide to take a nuclear option that could change everything until he decides against it.
Gillen is probably the best writer working at Marvel right now, and this book is a perfect example of why. Gillen loves writing Sinister, and it shows on every page. He's the ideal touchstone character for this issue, as he knows way more than he should about everything on Krakoa and secrets he hasn't revealed to anyone. Gillen does a great job of building mysteries from the word go, making this a highly intriguing comic.
The best thing is it feels vital in a way no non-event Krakoa era X-Men book has. Hickman's X-Men was all set up and killer art. Duggan's is fast food- it looks good but is of dubious quality with little to no value. The rest have varying degrees of quality but don't do much for the overall Krakoa narrative. This book grabs onto readers and never let's go. It feels like the most important X-Men book should feel, an actual flagship book for the line, starring the most powerful mutants on the island and their machinations. Seeing how it will play out will be a joy, especially with Gillen at the helm. The last page reveal is a game-changer; it gives Sinister way more power than anyone like him should be trusted with.
Werneck and Curiel do a fantastic job on the art. The linework is clean and detailed, and the colors pop, helped by how much white there is in every panel. Later in the book, a great design plays into the consequences of the Council's vote. This book is high quality in every way, even beating Larraz's peerless X-Men.
Immortal X-Men #1 is the best the X-Men books have been in a long time. Gillen is a master of this kind of storytelling, building layers of plot that will play into the future. A book focusing on the Quiet Council is exactly what these books need with Hickman gone, and this is the best writing the line has seen in a long time. Werneck and Curiel's art is terrific, challenging Larraz's X-Men for the best-looking book. Just from a quality standpoint, this is the new flagship of the Krakoa Era. If the first issue is any indication, this is going to be a fantastic comic.
