Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: angel, Beast, bloodstorm, cullen bunn, cyclops, daken, iceman, Jean Grey, jimmy hudson, Marvel Comics, matt milla, Nathan Stockman, poison, sci-fi, superheroes, x-men, x-men blue

X-Men Blue #30 Review – Melodramatic but with an Excellent Fight Sequence

Daken has tracked down and is ready to kill Jimmy Hudson, whom is now calling himself Poison. The X-Men are ready to defend their ally, but Jimmy doesn't want their help. He believes the Poisons have overtaken him and that he is only one of them now. This is something that Daken and Jimmy must hash out themselves.

Let's get one thing out of the way: the fight between Poison-ized Jimmy Hudson and Daken is objectively awesome. Whatever issues I may (do) have with X-Men Blue #30, that fight gives at least one cool thing to this comic.

Actually, I don't hate this comic. It has its problems, but none of them quite sink it for me. The dialogue is shaky again, with Iceman and Daken delivering some groaners here and there. Jimmy's "I'm a monster" melodrama doesn't consistently work either. The whole comic has something of a problem in keeping its emotionality under control, and that creates this nagging sense of melodrama throughout.

The fact that it may all be play-acting on Jimmy's part is admittedly a clever twist. The pseudo-sibling rivalry between Daken and Jimmy is interesting, especially given the bizarre and extenuating circumstances under which it exists.

The artwork is something else that doesn't gel that well in the comic. The fight scenes look decent enough, but the facial detailing is often off-putting. Iceman especially has a sorely lacking visual design. Characters lose a lot of their detailing at a relatively close distance. That said, Nathan Stockman's fight sequences are well constructed, and that is a saving grace. Matt Milla is the color artist on this one, and his color work is solid enough. It may be a little heavier than necessary given the comic, but that problem doesn't kill the color art.

X-Men Blue #30 is a decent enough read. The fight sequence which takes center stage is well constructed and impactful. The melodrama and dialogue weaken the full experience, but they don't sink the book. The art is shaky but not outright bad. I can recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed X-Men Blue or likes Jimmy Hudson and/or Daken. I wouldn't call it a must-read for anyone else.

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