There’s only one way I can begin this blog, and that’s the same way I began reading comics: With the X-Men.

Messiah Complex is a one-shot that kicks off the whole “Messiah Complex” crossover, and since it’s been out for a few weeks (I’m reviewing this issue for completeness’ sake) I’m going to discuss the crossover slightly more than the contents of the actual comic.

This is the first time the X-titles have done a line-wide crossover in years, largely because this sort of thing was seen as being one of the poisons that nearly killed off the comics industry. For whatever reason, Marvel is testing the waters by bringing them back. In the past, this kind of story was often poorly plotted and borderline incoherent, so if nothing else, let’s hope everyone’s learnt from their mistakes…

The crossover’s starting issue is written by Ed Brubaker, who, as one of Marvel’s biggest writers right now, seems almost too before the poison marianne faithfull mp3 download good to be slumming it in the X-Books, which are not the sales juggernaut they used to be. Messiah Complex promises to change all that and put the X-Men back on top by giving the titles the direction they’ve lacked for a long, long time. Coming out of the “Decimation” event, which drastically reduced the number of mutants in the Marvel Universe, the story of the first new mutant birth has certainly been in the planning for a while – it’s just a pity they didn’t appear to have much planned between Decimation and Messiah Complex.

In fairness, the one criticism of the Messiah Complex one-shot is that it actually doesn’t build on previous stories when it could – the last two storylines in Uncanny X-Men and its sister title, X-Men, have revolved around various groups of mutants eliminating people with any knowledge of the future. When those groups manage to beat the X-Men to the scene of the mutant birth, it should seem fairly obvious what’s going on, but no mention is made of it. Personally, I like to see these things given a nod.

The issue is given an appropriate sense of gravitas by Silvestri’s art, even if it does actually feel almost retro by today’s standards. Kids, I remember when ALL comics looked this muscled and pouty. Nonetheless, it’s a callback to the era when this sort of crossover was having its heyday and as such, works very well.

While I’m going to avoid spoilers, it’s fairly clear to many long-time fans of X-Men where Messiah Complex is going, and why the mutant birth is important the the X-Men on a personal level. Even so, I’m looking forward to the journey we’re about to be taken on, and the promise of some entertaining twists and old-school, shared-universe fun. Hell, it’s even going to make me pick up New X-Men.