X-Man #2

Think of Nate Grey, X-man, as the Age of Apocalypse's answer to Anakin Skywalker, except less annoying. Nate, like Skywalker has incredible gifts and powers. His mentor, Forge, is hard on him much like Obi-wan was on Anakin. In the role of Palpatine/Sidious we have Mr. Sinister, here called (perhaps for PR reasons) Essex. Nate's supporting cast here is a bit two dimensional with fellow outcasts coming across as a bit nondescript. But, this is only the second issue of a series that went on for 75 issues, so one assumes that more character development is to come. Loeb nicely blends action with Nate's introspection, and the art although a bit too 90's, moves the story along nicely, and is perfectly competent. Overall, anyone looking for an older series, should check this out, because you don't really have to be too familiar with the AoA to understand what's going on, and Nate's world is a fairly self-contained one free from the complexities of the regular X-books. Bottom line? Decent issue, decent read. Nothing jaw dropping, but solid storytelling and good art are very enjoyable.