REVIEW: X-Men/Dark Ages: Free Comic Book Day 2020 #1

Marvel“s Free Comic Book Day offering for 2020 is certainly a tale of two very different forms of hype. The first is a classic Hickman introduction to his next era of X-men storytelling. An alien race calls forth Quaddeus Quo who is apparently not in a good mood and not translatable. The aliens force Quo to kill a star for the favor of Saturnyne. On Saturnyne the Omniversal Majestrix plays the role of blind prophetess, pulling up cards revealing the future. This hints at the reemergence of a powerful Apocalypse, with Four Horseman ”˜of wands“, a great sacrifice and a darkening future as the Ten of Swords epic descends.

The art by Pepe Larraz is excellent. Larraz is one of the most dependably enjoyable artists in comics, and this short story is a great showcase of the power and scope of his work. The colors by Marte Garcia compliment his work perfectly and it is all classic X-men art on top of being amazing and original in its own right. The issue is an interesting preview of the devastation to come. The story-telling might be a bit complex for new comic readers, but it certainly could draw in lapsed readers with the promise of seeing some old favorite characters in very new ways.

The next story is a dramatic shift, showing a much more action packed tale of Iron Man flying while talking to Pepper Potts and quickly realizing that something is going very badly. He tries to warn Captain America even as he quickly loses power. In an entirely gruesome moment he also quickly loses a foot as he runs into a depowered airplane before crashing and apparently dying.

This extremely well executed series of shocks is written by Tom Taylor and greatly calls back to what he has done at DC with DCeased. It remains to be seen if the Dark Ages book this previews will be in continuity, or if this will be Tom Taylor“s moment to let loose on the Marvel Universe with his strong brand of post-apocalyptic storytelling. The art by Iban Coello is perfectly done. It showcases the action of the story while also representing strong emotion. You can feel the momentum of Iron Man“s journey and we collapse right along with him as the story quickly turns dark. This book is going to be an amazing treat and this teaser is perfect to draw new readers in.

Writing: 4.5 of 5 stars
Art: 4.8 of 5 stars
Colors: 4.8 of 5 stars

Overall: 4.7 of 5 stars

X-Men
Writing: Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard
Art: Pepe Larraz

Colors: Marte Garcia

Dark Ages:

Writing: Tom Taylor
Art: Iban Coello

Colors: Brian Reber

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.