Storm & The Brotherhood Of Mutants #1
Storm and her team go on a hunt for the Moira Engine in Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants #1, by writer Al Ewing, artist Paco Medina, colorist Jay David Ramos, and letterer Ariana Maher. This issue is a stellar way to keep up the hype for Sins of Sinister, an action-packed chapter with a great ending.
The book opens with a bit of history of what happened to Arakko, with Sinister and Krakoa destroying the planet. Storm and a small population fled, and ten years later, Destiny comes to Storm with a deal: help her find Sinister’s Moira Engine and undo everything. It’s quickly discovered that this isn’t Destiny at all and is Mystique. Storm and her Brotherhood and Mystique attack Muir Island, breaking through Sinister’s defenses. At the end, Wiz Kid and Storm get their hands on the Moira Engine, with Wiz Kid teleporting it away. However, it wasn’t Wiz Kid at all, but Mystique. She wounds Storm and leaves, letting the Brotherhood deal with their wounded leader. In deep space, Destiny has a discussion with an unexpected ally: Orbis Stellaris.
Ewing has taken his place at the top of the X-writer pecking order. X-Men Red was a step up from SWORD and is a million steps above X-Men. Sins of Sinister had an amazing start, and picking Ewing’s book to be a part of it is perfect. Red is a comic that balances action and plots, which is something this issue pulls off. Readers get a nice recap of the death of Arakko and are dropped right into the thick of things.
From there, Ewing does what he does best. This issue moves pretty fast, but it never feels breathless. There’s action, but then there’s plot. Ewing has always found a way to combine the two in his X-Men books; The Immortal Hulk was long-term storytelling, but he’s rarely got a chance to do that in these comics. However, Ewing likes to prove that he can write both ways. This story moves from point to point, but it gives readers the right vibe, the right amount of information, and enough to keep things exciting. He engages readers wonderfully, which is very important to this story and the way it’s being told, jumping from era to era.
Medina and Ramos are a key part of why this book is so captivating. The art is never anything short of wonderful. Medina’s pencils capture the emotions and make all the characters look fantastic. Sinister’s Chimera guards are a little disappointing, but otherwise everything else looks great. Storm’s Magneto-inspired costume is awesome and has immediately joined the pantheon of Storm’s best costumes. Ramos’s colors are nice and bright, really bringing out the detail in Medina’s pencils.
Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants #1 is an excellent kick-off. The issue drops a lot on readers, but it never feels that way. It’s a killer story throughout, full of action, engaging plots, and terrific art. If this is what Sins of Sinister is going to be like, it’s a classic in the making.
