Comic Vine Review

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X-Men #10 - .NOW Ghosts Part 1; Muertas, Part Four of Six

4

The Sisterhood is coming closer and closer to becoming one outstanding team. Will the X-Men have to power to stop them?

The Good

The Sisterhood looks to build on their team and Arkea asks the team to recruit new members in order to battle the X-Men. I love the idea of building this perfect super-villain team in order to take down the X-Men. There's a bit of a shocker here for X-Men fans as well that will really keep the reader invested in this story. Writer Brian Wood does extremely well with team books and he always knows how to keep the reader in suspense and build towards something great.

Kris Anka works on the art in this opening piece with Jason Keith on colors. It's solid work and helps move the story along well. The opening panel is especially cool and a great way to kick off the story and who this book follows.

Story wise, the winner here is the second half of the book, following Jubilee, Pixie, Quire, and a few others. In the last issue, some older model Sentinels, got loose, under the ocean, and are now being controlled by Arkea. This issue continues with that and it is a ton of fun.

During these scenes, Clay Mann takes over on art with Paul Mounts on colors. This is how two different artists on a book should work. It's following two different teams of X-Men, and Mann's art here is awesome. The detail and colors and beautiful and the way Mann sets these pages up is unique and eye candy.

The Bad

Not really a good jumping on point for new readers. I thought the whole #1 initiative Marvel was trying to pull off here was to get new readers on board? This plops us right into the middle of a (very good) story that's been building for quite some time.

The biggest problem with this story is that it's two shortened issues/stories, flattened into one. Now, both of these stories are fantastic, but they fit awkwardly together like someone hammering in a puzzle piece into the wrong section. The Sisterhood story is slow and builds really well, but the Jubilee/Sentinel story, at the end of the issue is nothing but action. It's a weird mix of pacing that doesn't work.

Let's get nit-picky! Storm's hair is way too tall. I only say this because as a teen, I had a mohawk half as tall as her and it took me an hour to put it up, everyday. I can only image how long it takes her. I have no suspension of disbelief when it comes to mohawks.

The Verdict

X-MEN #10 is not a good jumping on point for new readers. Those who have been reading the series since the start will continue to love what is happening here, but new readers will be extremely lost and this issue doesn't do the best job at grabbing new ones in. That being said, Wood continues to build this story and does so in a way that really keeps the reader engaged with the characters and worlds he's utilizing. There are two different artists on this book, but it works extremely well, since the artists are covering two different sections of this story. The biggest problem has to come from the pacing though since the later half of the book is nothing but action and the first half is story building, but neither of these stories cross-over into each other. Aside from that, this is still a really fun book and something I look forward to reading every single month.

35 Comments

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CaptainMarvel4Ever

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I said before and I'll say it again: Marvel, you can put #1 on all the comics you want, but unless you reboot the continuity, it's too difficult for me as a new reader to latch on.

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PeppeyHare

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@captainmarvel4ever: How is too difficult? They have plenty of great jumping on points that don't require any real knowledge. Reboots suck

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frozenedge2

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@captainmarvel4ever: depending on where the series is at when they decide to put a #1 on it, there are plenty of times where a new reader can easily jump on at since it's usually the beginning of a new arc. Of course in the middle of a current one isn't good but that's obvious.

Anyways, I am getting a little tired of Storm's mohawk. Wonder when she'll change it back to the usual or at least try something new

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kidchipotle

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I've been so up and down about this series. I love the cast and I usually really like Woods writing, but it's just not hooking me. This may be a "jumping on" point (despite Mat saying otherwise) but this may be my jumping off point.

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CaptainMarvel4Ever

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@peppeyhare: Some books like Superior Spider-man and Nova are easier to get into, but as a new reader it's much much easier when a new continuity is established. It only took me about a month to understand most of what I need from DC after the New 52, I've been into comics for almost a year and I still can't understand Marvel, no mater how much time I spend reading up on characters and concepts it's still confusing. I'm not trying to bash Marvel, I'm just saying that as a new reader they make it harder for me to latch on.

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PeppeyHare

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Edited By PeppeyHare

@captainmarvel4ever: I just don't really understand what it is you find so confusing about Marvel. I thought Marvel Now! did a pretty good job at making books accessible to new readers. I just don't think reboots are ever the answer

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CaptainMarvel4Ever

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@peppeyhare: Why not? the whole point is to add new readers, and DC's reboot added me as a new reader. If they didn't reboot then I would not have started reading comics.

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cameron83

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@captainmarvel4ever: Because the new 52 f#cked up most of their characters and continuity and, in the process, lost most of their old readers as time went on.

I am not eexactly sure how you easily caught on to the new 52 when there are so so so so so many continuity errors in it to the point that it's disgusting editorial lazyness.

Marvel did a great job with Marvel NOW!in my opinion.

DC...just....it makes me and most others constantly hate it with a passion

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CaptainMarvel4Ever

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@cameron83: Don't get me wrong, I do hate what the New 52 did to Captain Marvel, but again, the whole point was to get new readers, and here I am, a new reader. Marvel may have kept the older fans happy by not touching the continuity, but it partial isolates me as a new reader. Like I said, some titles are easier to get into, but a lot of it is still very confusing.

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PeppeyHare

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Edited By PeppeyHare

@captainmarvel4ever: Because it's not needed. Marvel Now! Was created to bring in new readers as well (which it succeeded at) and didn't destroy decades of history. I don't understand how the new 52 is so much easier to get into. It still requires tons of basic knowledge on who certain characters, and some characters weren't even rebooted (Batman,Green Lantern)

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CaptainMarvel4Ever

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@peppeyhare: Well as a new reader, I'm telling you that the New 52 was much easier. I'm not trying to start some big debate here, I'm just saying that as someone who is new to comics, that's how it is for me.

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Hassun

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Edited By Hassun

The whole thing between "sentient bacteria and the cause for most of the hate towards mutants in the history of the planet" Sublime and Rachel Summers is beyond disturbing.

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PeppeyHare

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@peppeyhare: Well as a new reader, I'm telling you that the New 52 was much easier. I'm not trying to start some big debate here, I'm just saying that as someone who is new to comics, that's how it is for me.

Not really trying to have a debate. I'm trying to understand your perspective

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frochez

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Ah, but who says that Storm has to do anything to her hair to get it to look like that? She may not use any hair product at all, instead just generating a tiny breeze around her head in order to keep it standing upright.

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cameron83

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@cameron83: Don't get me wrong, I do hate what the New 52 did to Captain Marvel, but again, the whole point was to get new readers, and here I am, a new reader. Marvel may have kept the older fans happy by not touching the continuity, but it partial isolates me as a new reader. Like I said, some titles are easier to get into, but a lot of it is still very confusing.

I guess you're right. It DID bring in new readers,but even many of them have commented on how atrocious it was when they learned about how the characters were before the reboot.

But Marvel has not only kept old fans pleased,they also brought in new ones (like me) and many many more.

But it's fine if some of the titles got you confused,everyone's situation is different and these are just subjective feelings from both me and you.

And don't worry,as time progresses they might retcon some stuff and he might be the same old Billy....soon.

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cameron83

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@frochez said:

Ah, but who says that Storm has to do anything to her hair to get it to look like that? She may not use any hair product at all, instead just generating a tiny breeze around her head in order to keep it standing upright.

Kris Anka,the guy that designed her current awesome costume,said that it's kept up through her fierceness. Her sheer force of will is what keeps it up. XD

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akbogert

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Edited By akbogert

@peppeyhare: Well as a new reader, I'm telling you that the New 52 was much easier. I'm not trying to start some big debate here, I'm just saying that as someone who is new to comics, that's how it is for me.

I suppose there's no accounting for personal experiences, but as a new reader myself (I started last January), I have ultimately found Marvel NOW a more welcoming experience. It has also made reading older comics far easier, and it has been far less infuriating to read those older comics because reading older DC comics makes it clear how screwed up the New 52 continuity actually is.

Just generally, though, if we want to talk about "better," Marvel NOW wins hands-down. Attracting a new fan-base is an absolutely terrible justification for taking a crap on your existing one. The fact that Marvel now largely leads over DC, and did not need to ruin three quarters of a century's worth of stories to do so, means they went the better route.

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MadeinBangladesh

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I said before and I'll say it again: Marvel, you can put #1 on all the comics you want, but unless you reboot the continuity, it's too difficult for me as a new reader to latch on.

I know it's hard, but I did it two years ago, YOU CAN DO IT ALSO.

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ScarletBatman

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I said before and I'll say it again: Marvel, you can put #1 on all the comics you want, but unless you reboot the continuity, it's too difficult for me as a new reader to latch on.

Get a subscription to Marvel Unlimited. Dive into the back catalog and explore to your heart's content. Best ten bucks you'll ever spend.

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GrenadeFlow

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Storm's mohawk looks ridiculous, they need to grow her hair out so she can look hot again. This look just makes her look like she's going through a midlife crises

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EnSabahNurX

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I said before and I'll say it again: Marvel, you can put #1 on all the comics you want, but unless you reboot the continuity, it's too difficult for me as a new reader to latch on.

Well I've fallen off the comic wagon recently due to budget constraints, but Marvel is very easy to hop on to. I only started reading around 2008 and knew nothing about any of the big events being referenced prior to my reading. I simply jumped onto reading all the x-men titles mid arcs and it took nearly no effort to catch my footing. Having watched the 90's cartoon growing up helped.

I started reading avengers academy when x-23 join in issue 21/23?(I don't feel like looking it up) and that was in the middle of an arc with all these characters i never heard of before(not an avengers fan) but it all made perfect sense thanks to the quick summary at the beginning of the issue, the character list and well the plot made sense. Even was able to read the final issues of amazing spider man before superior launched and even that was fairly easy to follow.

Now I also jumped onto the new 52 with dc but the inconsistencies of characterizations and plots in the first 10 issues of all the titles I was reading(I was such a comic hoe with that pull list) started making it unbearable to continue(most of the titles i liked were canned anyway). But prior to the 52 I did just jump into a bunch of titles and even then I managed to follow all the plots and character relationships.

All it takes is you jumping in full force because every publisher can't just shuck EVERYTHING they've built up because the arbitrary number on the cover intimidates you and continuity scares you. Marvel's continuity is mildly relevant(Dc as well out side green lantern from what I've noticed), if it's an important reference they make, the author tends to give a mini exposition via the characters through the arc that will give you the gist of the event they are referencing. Best jumping on point for marvel/dc is really just the beginning of any new arc from my personal experience.

It's like watching doctor who, they reference things from it's 50 YEARS of continuity quite often but you can literally jump on anywhere and watch the show because it's the characters that carry you through, not the history.

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lykopis

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Edited By lykopis

k -- NOW I feel a lot better. This is what I wanted to see more of and this story is fantastic. Seeing the students be involved (and the banter is great) makes it all the more better. I was worried with the last issue and although I am still not happy with Amora's place in all of this, knowing the two coming in to join the Sisterhood has me kinda freaking out. I had hoped (plus the rumours were around for a while but still -- nothing like confirmation) and I am content.

Oh, and Clay Mann. He can do no wrong in my eyes. Hellion in his hands is pure candy - **sigh** - memories of Age of X....

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spacemanspiff85

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Someone needs to figure out what to do with Jubilee. She's pretty much the last person I'd have at the front lines of a dangerous Sentinel attack, especially since she has no powers.

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kit07

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I was hoping to jump into this series with the whole MARVEL NOW thing, but seeing how this doesn't seem like a good place to jump in...I think I'll pass.

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DatHomieSilverSurfer

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HotD@MN was this a fun read. It's nice to have one "traditional" X-men book on sale where they fight bad guys across the globe w/o all of the internal drama/schism stuff. Also, M is a total dime-piece.

@lykopis said:

k -- NOW I feel a lot better. This is what I wanted to see more of and this story is fantastic. Seeing the students be involved (and the banter is great) makes it all the more better. I was worried with the last issue and although I am still not happy with Amora's place in all of this, knowing the two coming in to join the Sisterhood has me kinda freaking out. I had hoped (plus the rumours were around for a while but still -- nothing like confirmation) and I am content.

Oh, and Clay Mann. He can do no wrong in my eyes. Hellion in his hands is pure candy - **sigh** - memories of Age of X....

Hahaha yea I thought the Hellion stuff was hilarious, its great when they subvert the "all women are wearing bras and g-strings" trope.

@kit07 Not trying to sound smug or anything, but you could check out the back issues of this series. It's only had 9 other issues, so it's not too much of a read. The actual #1 issue was a pretty decent jumping on point.

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akbogert

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@inferiorego would it help if you just told yourself that Storm is perpetually generating a small field of wind around her head to keep her hair up at all times?

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victorcheenoanleu

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Dude(s) shut up, PIXIE & HELLION!

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lykopis

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HopesummersFORtheFUTURE

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No one is going to mentioned the hinted come back of selene or maddie??? I'm glad their thinking of bringing selene back but maddie has no eneimies with the x-men except for cyclops

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Edited By admwriter

This book started off pretty strong. Great cast, solid scripting and decent art. But this storyline just isn't working for me. It's just... Dull. There's a shitload going on and not a darn bit of it excites me. Sentient viruses, ladies standing around talking and the same Sentinels they've defeated a thousand times before adds up to a really pedestrian story and a horrible jumping on point.

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mickeymayhew

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This book started off pretty strong. Great cast, solid scripting and decent art. But this storyline just isn't working for me. It's just... Dull. There's a shitload going on and not a darn bit of it excites me. Sentient viruses, ladies standing around talking and the same Sentinels they've defeated a thousand times before adds up to a really pedestrian story and a horrible jumping on point.

I feel the same