Comic of the Week: “X-Men: Age of Revelation” #0

Things are never dull for the X-Men. The dust has barely settled on the end of the Krakoan Era, not to mention the “X-Manhunt” mini-crossover, and already they’re building up to the next event. We’ve had the Age of Apocalypse, but with Apocalypse gone, now it’s time for the “Age of Revelation.” So, as issue #0 gives us the setup for the storyline, it’s G33k-HQ’s pick for Comic of the Week.

(Yes, it’s been a few weeks since our last one. I know, I’m sorry, but comics are great and you should read them even when we don’t pick one to highlight.)

“X-Men: Age of Revelation” #0 is written by Jed MacKay, illustrated by Humberto Ramos (with Victor Olazaba inking), and colored by Edgar Delgado. This comic serves as the introduction to the upcoming X-event, but readers will still need a little context going in — mostly how Doug Ramsey, the X-Man known as Cypher, was named the heir to Apocalypse and reborn as Revelation. Now, he has to carry on Apocalypse’s mission and ensure that the mutants come out on top of “survival of the fittest,” hopefully with a bit more humanity than Apocalypse did.

As we can see from this issue, that last part didn’t go quite as hoped.

“X-Men: Age of Revelation” #0 is told mostly through flashback and narration, as Xorn provides an overview of how the Age of Revelation came to be. While it covers a good length of time, writer Jed MacKay still paces the narration nicely, letting the key moments build up even with minimal dialogue. This takes us through the key moments we, as readers, need to know even without taking a full issue to show events like the Cortez rescue mission.

As this issue is meant to establish the story and events leading up to the latest “bad future” for the X-Men to fix (something that does tend to happen with relative frequency to the merry band of mutants), we get to see as Revelation slowly pushes and then crosses the line. It takes us through time as his best intentions become twisted, his attempts to build a new Krakoa take a turn for the worse, and events cross the point of no return. In 20 pages, it effectively lays all the groundwork for the event and sets the stakes for all of mutantkind.

So, narratively, the comic serves its purpose nicely. Xorn’s narration carries us through all the key events, shows us Cypher/Revelation’s fall from grace, establishes the current dark future, and sets up how the X-Men will try to fix it.

Now let’s talk art. Humberto Ramos is an experienced artist, whose style utilizes a ton of detail in the scenery and characters alike. We can see this in action throughout the issue, like when Xorn walks through a crowded street filled with distinct mutant designs and built into the wreckage of a crashed helicarrier. Not only are the characters all unique and feature creative designs, but the wreckage receives just as much attention, covered in cracks and rubble. It makes each page filled with activity and scenery to take in, and each character stands out.

However, there are some areas where that style is not my favorite. Many of the characters, for instance, can get overloaded with muscles, shadows, and hatching, in addition to overly-large facial expressions. That does not detract from the rest of the comic’s art, but it is noticeable in several pages. (As always, of course, these critiques are a matter of personal taste, and not an indictment of Ramos’ skill as an artist.)

As MacKay’s writing carries the pacing and narrative, Ramos’ artwork serves the same purpose. He takes us through each scene, using panel size and spacing to emphasize key moments and control the flow of the story. We often get large panels that take up 2/3 of a page or more to signify the importance of a scene, or to serve as establishing shots. This helps each moment sink in and draw the reader through, bringing excellent visual storytelling to accompany the narration.

Edgar Delgado’s color work is strong, bringing distinct tinting to each part of the flashback. The colors are more subdued when it cuts to the past, but whenever it cuts back to the present, the brighter shades return to bring us back into the moment. The colors emphasize Ramos’ style and help the details pop further, while bringing characters into the foreground and influencing the atmosphere.

Overall, “X-Men: Age of Revelation” #0 sets up the event nicely, creating a good jumping-on point for readers with a strong narrative flow and solid artwork that introduces us to this new future. “Age of Revelation” begins in October, and will be accompanied by multiple tie-in comics with titles that will get readers excited for what’s to come (I’m personally curious about “Undead-Pool” and “Radioactive Spider-Man”). Until then, this issue serves as a nice hook for the X-event to come.