X #2 Review


X is violent and brutal but is there more meat on the bone to make it worth your hard earned money? Read on to find out.

Official description from DARK HORSE:

X has a bone to pick with Arcadia’s political kingmaker Berkshire, and the two share some ‘face time.’ Meanwhile, Leigh’s online exposé attracts some murderously angry readers. Swierczynski and Nguyen take on Dark Horse’s classic vigilante!

I admitted my long time fandom for X back in the nineties and was extremely excited about his return. I liked issue one and I got enough from it to highly anticipate issue two and I was not disappointed. X has a very familiar plot line running through it but one writer Duane Swierczynski hasn’t just ripped off but one rather he made his own. How do we connect to X? How do we relate to X? Swierczynski has used modern technology to make it so and the results ring true while enhancing the story even though it has a very strong Batman/Harper Row/Carrie Kelly vibe.

X promotes itself as “brutal” and this issue is more indicative of that than most. His goal to go after criminal Berkshire at any cost, even those who are willing to help. The word “willing” should be used very loose here too. But it is brutal and unflinching but that’s what you should expect with Dark Horse’s solicit of this title. Not withstanding the Batman-esque pairing of X and unemployed journalist Leigh Ferguson it’s a relationship that’s trying to give the reader an inside feel for X and his methods. She serves as narrator and informant and it suits this story very well. Swierczynski even pokes fun at the fact that a journalist has an easier time finding X rather than the police or the criminals do. But that’s what this book is and if you run with that notion you get more entertainment for your buck.

Eric Nguyen’s art suits this story like a glove and his loose, ragged style only enhances the darkness, violence and grim of Arcadia. Not to knock the colors on the pages, because they are top-notch, but Nguyen’s art almost feels like it should be black and white. There are plenty of violent and graphic titles on the market but X uses it as an enhancement and not as a crutch. Although the same can’t be said for X’s victims as they are beyond crutches after an encounter with him. It’s fun, it’s action packed and it’s something you should be reading.

4/5

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