New X-Men: Imperial

The beginnings of where the controversial Brian Michael Bendis run on X-Men ends. Grant Morrison, along with Frank Quitely and Evan Van Schier, had just taken over the reigns of X-Men, now New X-Men. Emma Frost and her Stepford Cuckoos have joined Xavier's school. Hank McCoy has evolved into a more feline looking creature and struggles to maintain his sanity. There's a hint of something between Cyclops and the former White Queen. The Sh'air Empire is in shambles. And Professor X is trapped in the body of Cassandra Nova and the villain is working in Charles to destroy the X-Men once and for all...

It's been a little over 15 years since these issues were first published. And Bendis ended his destruction of the X-Men in the last 18-months or so. Who realized that it would take a decade and a half for Marvel to unravel all this great work?

Grant Morrison is an odd duck. But he always manages to take all these great classic and shoot them into the 21st century. It's no different here with the children of the atom. Only when Morrison incorporates racial, religious and gender diversity, it's not preachy or condescending. It just feels right. This is a storytelling talent that the modern bull pen of Marvel needs to learn.

Fantastic art by Frank Quitely. He's my favorite light-inks artists. He has such an eye for detail and he literally can craft worlds.

A great read. I wish I had the previous volume that really capped the Morrison era off. But this was an acceptable start.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.