COMIC BINGE: Amazing X-Men, Vol. 1 & Avengers A.I., Vol. 2

This week’s reading comes from the Marvel NOW! movement, which I’ve previously stated is not something I enjoy all that much. However, every once in awhile there is a new title added that draws my interest back. Amazing X-Men is that title, and it’s mainly because of Nightcrawler. Like many of my favorite Marvel characters, Nightcrawler is criminally underused for the amount of fandom that surrounds him. Other books and characters that I thoroughly enjoy from Marvel include characters like Gambit and Punisher, but they rarely deserve the attention they should receive based on their popularity, much like Nightcrawler. So needless to say, I was excited to be reading the first volume of Amazing X-Men since the story revolved around him. Nightcrawler is long dead and in the paradise of heavens, but he cannot shake the feeling that he wants or needs to be back on Earth. Nightcrawler is then confronted by his father Azazel, and the story blows up from there. The art was pretty cool, and there was a ton of BAMFing around between Nightcrawler, Azazel, and the BAMFs themselves. It was not a stellar comic by any means, as the story wasn’t anything groundbreaking or memorable. Nightcrawler is definitely the most present hero in the book though, and for that reason I enjoyed it a little more than I otherwise would have. Worth a read if you can get it on the cheap or borrow it from somewheres, but yet another Marvel NOW! title that is just average.

RATING : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 5 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

One of the titles for Marvel NOW! that I enjoyed a little more than the rest was Avengers A.I., as it featured an entirely non-human cast of characters that made up of a future-like team of Avengers. It was a pretty impressive concept, and I enjoyed the art style in the book which is always a plus to go along with a different kind of story like A.I. Avengers. But whether it was the time between reading the last volume, or the loss of any momentum the first book created, I did not enjoy this book. It was a perfect example of the problem with Marvel NOW! titles for me. There are several different versions of all of Marvel’s popular teams, and if you’re lucky, one each of a particular character or two. With the overflow of team titles, there needs to be a decent variation of story, or something that makes that title stand out from the rest. There are just too many average books that when you look at them in all in comparison, it makes them even less valued because there aren’t many that stand out from the others. Avengers A.I. had the potential to be one of the pioneer titles in Marvel’s new repertoire but I don’t feel that this second volume did the first one any justice. Check out the first book though if you’re looking for something different from Marvel NOW!.

RATING : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 4 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 5 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 3 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 5 / 10 )