The Good

As the cover makes it plain to see, this issue focuses on the return of Nightcrawler. Since his death in 2010, fans have been waiting for his return. We know the drill by now when it comes to comic book deaths. The idea of Kurt returning isn't an easy one to accept. We do want him back but there is the fact that he is in a paradise of sorts. Having Kurt return would mean being torn away from the possibility of being at peace in exchange for all the horrific events being an X-Man guarantees.

But it won't be a simple return. We're seeing there may be a little more as we find out details to where he's been all this time. Along with the return of a person wanting to cause grief for him, the X-Men will have their hands full when they get pulled into the conflict.

Speaking of the X-Men, with Jason Aaron writing, this almost feels like an issue of WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN. We're seeing the wackiness of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning as a new "teacher" arrives to join the team amidst the dangers that are brewing. In other words, it's just another day at the Jean Grey School. It's a great addition to the X-Men family and one that many have felt has been long overdue due to her origin elsewhere.

Aaron makes this more than just a bunch of X-Men hanging out in the same place. They are in the middle of getting to the bottom of what's going on but their interaction with each other makes the story feel more welcoming. We see bits of humor and jabs at each other which illustrates the nature of the X-Men. They aren't just a team. Instead of coldly going from mission to mission, we get to see a little behind the curtains with their interaction.

Ed McGuinness' art is great and Marte Gracia's colors make it beautiful, especially the early scenes with Kurt. We're off to an exciting start as the X-Men get pulled into what appears to be a grand adventure.

The Bad

The common question I've heard since this was announced is, "Do we really need another X-title?" It's a valid question as I can't even keep track of how many there currently are. With Jason Aaron writing this and what appears to be many of the cast from WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, you have to wonder what the difference between the two titles will be. It appears, from this issue, that the action will head away from the school rather than focus purely on the students. I am excited about this arc and the creative team involved but this story could have taken place in an already existing series.

Humor in an X-title is great but there were some moments it started feeling like a sitcom. Too many one-liners being flung around. Is it a secondary mutation for everyone to try to be a stand up comic?

The Verdict

There's a new X-Men title in town and we have the makings of a grand and amazing adventure in this first arc. Jason Aaron is joined by Ed McGuinness and Marte Gracia to start off the return of Nightcrawler. We have to wonder if we truly need another X-title but this issue does make a pretty good argument. There are many X-characters hanging around and there is a great opportunity to showcase a different set of X-Men. The addition of a certain red-headed mutant does offer an interesting beginning to the series. Between Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness and Nightcrawler, there's plenty of reasons to check this out.

I enjoyed this...wasn't great but it was enjoyable

It was an intriguing first issue and like Dan said, it was enjoyable. I'm interested to see where it goes from here and how the roster develops.

Also interested to see what may come of an interaction between Nightcrawler and Hope, given the circumstances of his death.

I enjoyed this. I don't follow the x books that much and only read it because i want to see how nightcrawler comes back it was pretty cool. love the art and colours and the writing for me was good. a little goofy i suppose but there is allowance for such things. i will be checking this out. plus i like the word amazing.

I'm extremely excited to see Nightcrawler and Cyclops together again.

I enjoy this issue a lot.

Ok... what i wanna know now is, whether this book will be collected in paperbacks or hardcovers. If it's the latter than yay but if its in paperback.... then i'll just read this issue by issue... what do you guys think? take a guess?

No we don't need another X-Men title and No I am not reading it...Another cash grab courtesy of Marvel Comics...I will pass....

I'll never complain about about to much to read , as long as it's good . So yeah Amazing X-men is very welcome .

i'm sure having those book around will still be a blessing for naysayers (well of course those still buying them anyway) when successive events hit and they'll need some place without tie in or removed enough

I'd err on Paperback, although Marvel seems to be awfully fond of the Hardcover lately. Although they do still collect in TPB as well, they just release it delayed.

I love Nightcrawler and Jason Aaron, but I don't want to keep track of another X-Men title. I'm glad to hear it's good!

I loved Wolverine and the X-men when it started. Then it became work to read through. I'm going to set this series out, especially if it's the same tone as WATXM.

@g_man I noted you put "feels like a sitcom" in the bad section. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of coarse. Coincedentally, I often get in arguments with people over that fact on this site. Anyways, I live in Denver, and my LCS is Mile High Comics (awesome right?); with both of those, I actually get to see Mr. Claremont atleast once a month, awesome guy. I asked him the first time I met him if he meant to have his Excalibur, Uncanny, and New Mutants, all first series of coarse because they are my favorite x-titles, sound like soap operas. He said of coarse! Boasting that the reason he loves the X-Men is because you can write everything so humorous and melodramatic.

To me, that is the heart of the X-Men, coming from the creator himself. So I would suggest putting that into the Good section :) Any other inquiries, you should do a Quantum and Woody review. Amazing issue.

Super happy to have nightcrawler back.

I knew Logan wasn't satisfying Ororo that's why she needs to foreplay

I hope this is good.

well it was an alright book. I do have issues with making Azael a pirate, and him infiltrating heaven with his big pirate ship. I really don't see how it is improving the character. Nightcrawler has always been or wanted to be a swashbuckler, but that doesn't mean you turn his father Azazel into a Pirate. It almost made the book more childish than it needed to be. I will admit though, I love the red Bamf's!

I'm going to check it out as soon as I get to Copenhagen.

This first issue was definitely good. It felt like the X-Men weren't just at each others throats recently. Looking forward to the next issue

It's finally here! I've been waiting for this issue for what seems like forever!

I'm glad Firestar is finally an X-Man now. I've been waiting for this since she first made it into the comics from SHAM

I'm only interested in seeing Nightcrawler back. Otherwise I'm so over the main X-Men titles and the constant Team Cyclops vs. Team Wolverine BS.

Do we know what the bamfs are yet?

This could have been a mini or an arc in Wolverine & the X-Men. I too don't see the need in another X-Men title, but this sure was fun. Ed McGuiness draws the cutest Bamfs. I want one as a pet...no two, a blue one and a red one. I like having Warbird in the mix. She was my favorite character early in W&TXM. She's like Marvel's Pepe LePew

Enjoyed it, might consider putting it on pull simply because Nightcrawler is back.

Not great. As the review says, this is just more Wolvie & X-Men, which is one of my least favorite Marvel books. And given the relatively poor sales of W+X, I'm not quite sure what Aaron did to earn this title. I'd rather see Marvel mix things up, use more writers, so we get books of different tone. This seems pointless.

I really don't need another X-title, but I am very happy to have Kurt back. And Firestar can actually be a good character, if they use her like she was in Marvel Divas.

Only read one other X-title anyways so the overload isn't bothering me, having Kurt back is enough of a draw. Good issue, if Kurt gets a major role in this one and it's as good or better than this issue I'll stick around.

I really enjoyed this issue. I hope McGuiness stays on art, I really dig his style. I'm currently reading Bendis' X-Men books but I haven't read Aaron's title, though I really like Thor. So, is Wolverine and the X-Men similar in style to this book?

good, but not great

This is actually the first X-Men issue I've read. I've really enjoyed Aaron's work on Thor: God of Thunder, so I decided to check this out. This issue wasn't bad, if a bit uneventful. It's the first issue, so obviously there's going to be some set-up time. I'm looking forward to seeing where this will go in future issues.

Superb art and clearly the start of a seriously zany story that wouldn't have gone amiss inside the pages of an early issue of "Excalibur". Good review from me :-)

The Brown Bag - Comic Review