The Good
Where was Storm before the war? What happened to her up to that point? More importantly, what the heck happened to Colossus? Well, most of these are answered in this issue.
First thing's first, this is actually a pretty good spot for new readers to jump in on. While there might be a bit of confusion as to what is going on in the Ultimate universe, this issue of ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN catches new readers up pretty well, all while explaining "where's Storm been?"
Once again, if you want to see well-written heroes acting like actual people, dealing with real problems and life, then Brian Wood is the writer for you! He does a great job at humanizing the super-human characters, especially here. They have real struggles. His dialogue feels realistic and it flows incredibly well. Brian Wood's writing is pure magic. If you don't believe me, then you don't exist to me. You are a mere figment of my imagination.
I really liked the focus of the issue. I liked seeing the recent events of this series through someone else's eyes. It doesn't do much to move the overall current story, but it does shed a lot of light on what Storm has gone through during this crisis. It's just a very good story.
Carlo Barberi's art is great, as always. Every month, he knocks it out of the park. He puts a fantastic amount of detail into each panel, and you can spend quite a while just staring at some of his scenes. I loved the final page as well. It's emotional and beautiful.
I'm loving the cover by Greg Land & Frank Martin. It really pops. I think I might secretly be a Storm fanboy... Don't tell anyone.
The Bad
We have a change in inkers in this issue. Don Ho is the inker here, and it's a bit different from Juan Vlasco's work in previous issues. He's a bit more minimalist, which really gives the book a different feel. I'm much more used to thicker outlines to the characters. It's not really bad, but it feels so foreign to me.
If you've been reading ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN throughout the whole war, you're going to get bogged down with a bit of retelling of this story, but through Storm's eyes. It's repetitious, but on the plus side, it's a great point for new readers to jump on.
The Verdict
Even though this issue doesn't move along the overall story, it's still brilliant. I love what Brian Wood is doing with this book and these characters. This is a great jumping on point for new readers, and Storm fans will have a great time reading this, since it's all about her journey. The art is great as always, and I loved the cover of the issue. I wasn't too keen on the new inker, and fans of this book may find some of the story here repetitious.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.