Empyre: X-Men #1
Written by: Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard
Art by Matteo Buffagni
Cover Art by: Mike McKone
Marvel Comics
2020
Plant people from outer space have come to Earth and, wouldn’t you know it, they just happen to be here when millions of mutants rise as undead creatures hungry for human flesh. The X-Men return to Genosha in a tale so crazy, it’s taking the entire writing crew of the X-Men line to tackle it!
I think I’m bound to sound a little down on Empyre by this point, but I want to say upfront that that’s not because this line is any worse than the others. I’ve just read this story before, and kinda know how it’s going to turn out, and I care about these characters a little less, since of course, I read all my favorites first. The larger points of the story are all the same, we’re just getting to them a little differently, and we’re getting to see how they effect other characters. But I don’t think any one person is meant to read them all. And if this weren’t my job, I likely wouldn’t be, so please understand that my complaint is that these endless tie ins seem to exist only as a way to sell more books, and not that the story or art or anything else is less than brilliant.
I like what they’re doing here. Marvel is upping the ante every few pages, and the world is about to end in about five different ways. As I’ve said before, it’s silly and fun and action-packed, and it’s everything I read comics for. I love it. But I don’t really recommend reading every single one. It’s just too much. Pick your favorite team and follow them through it all, then come back to the rest later on. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have raved about this issue if I had reviewed it first, but it’s hard to say anything nice that I haven’t said before. A few times. But the bottom line is, if you’re into the X-Men, especially the characters highlighted here, you’re going to love this.
Zombies and Mutants and Plants, Oh My!
As much as I praise the overarching story, these endless tie-ins get harder and harder for me to like as I read each one. All the action and excitement is there, but I feel like I'm experiencing deja vu all over again as I read the same story from a multitude of points of view. Maybe it's best to stick with your favorites.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
