
ALL-NEW X-MEN #25
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (WRITER)
ISSUE #25 – STUART IMMONEN, ART ADAMS, BRUCE TIMM, J. SCOTT CAMPBELL, SKOTTIE YOUNG, RAFAEL GRAMPA AND MORE! (ARTIST)
Cover by STUART IMMONEN
VARIANT COVER by RAFAEL GRAMPA
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• OVER-SIZED 25th ISSUE!
• Artist Stuart Immonen is joined by a practical comic book artist hall of fame for this special landmark issue!
40 PGS.
Rated T
$4.99
What can I say about All-New X-Men? You either love it or you hate it. While it’s hard to deny this book is THE quintessential X-Book for this age of the X-Men, it’s really easy to hate the entire premise of the title. Like it or not, however, that premise has led to some very compelling and unique stories that simply could not be told without first having that initial, admittedly absurd, premise. With that said, though, this particular issue of All-New X-Men barely hinges on any story at all really, is more of a prelude to the next Marvel event, and is an amazing showcase of Marvel’s artistic talent pool, making this title a must-have for ANY fan of comic book art.
The Story
This book is quite different than the usual comic book affair, and my usual “Good, Bad, Verdict” setup just doesn’t work for this ish. My final rating will be equally confusing, but should make sense in context.
I’m not sure how much input Bendis had on the panel to panel setup of anything more than a few pages of this book; with the underlying story being nothing more than an ensemble of What If? scenarios meant to scare the wits out of Hank McCoy. The Watcher shows Beast the folly of his choice to bring the Original X-Men from the past in a series of weird, but amazingly drawn, scenarios of what could have been, or what may still be, or some such. It was kind of confusing, but it worked in an odd way. As far as Bendis’ unending beating up of The Beast for the choice that Bendis himself thrust upon him, I’m pretty much over it. Leave the blue fuzzball alone, already, Bendis! As far as The Watcher being in this ish, with Marvel’s next bit thing Original Sin in the chute and ready for launch, the whole thing just seemed forced. There were some “Oh, cool!” moments, and some feels here and there, but there was no real substance; nothing I really cared about; and nothing that will probably ever actually happen. But, WOW! Everything was drawn to perfection.
The Art
Scroll back up and read the list of artists on this issue. Then, let just a few of the images from this beautiful book give you a taste of the amazing work on art.




So many styles represented; so many amazing works. Click to make these images bigger, and marvel. And this is just a small taste of what’s in this issue.
The Verdict
This issue of All-New X-Men was not really an issue of All-New X-Men. It was an exposition of artistic talent. Taken like that, this is a must-have title for any fan of the X-Men, and (I mean, come on) who isn’t? If you’re reading this to get a solid X-Story of the lost in time Original X-Men, you aren’t even going to get close. As a stand alone issue, this may be THE best issue of All-New X-Men, simply because it’s the epitome of the feel and tone of the title. As part of the overall series, though, this book is a huge stinker. So, go get it immediately!
Story: 1.5 Out 5
Art: 5 Out of 5
Overall: 4 Out of 5
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