Comic Review: Extermination #1

Extermination #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Ed Brisson

Artists: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia 

It’s been six years since Hank McCoy brought the original X-Men to the present day. This massive decision has led to a shift in the way X-Men stories would be told since. The current era of X-Men is finally coming to an end, with both X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue ending, as well as the beginning of “Extermination.”

Extermination is set to be a five-issue miniseries that promises to be the final adventure for the original X-Men. Ed Brisson writes the story, and for the most part, handles this issue masterfully. Brisson is no stranger to these characters, having worked on both Old Man Logan and Cable. Extermination #1 shows that Brisson should be in charge of his own X-Men series. Every character in the issue is well written, with strong dialogue to go alongside it. I’ll admit that the antagonists have a weak voice, but this is mostly overshadowed by the joy of reading well-written X-Men.

The actual story feels fairly generic, but that doesn’t mean it is unenjoyable. The issue just sort of follows the basic Marvel formula for big events: Things start off nicely, a big bad shows up, a major character dies, and a twist in the end for who is really pulling the strings. The issue is full of action that is both dramatic and riveting.

The book also shines due to some excellent art. Pepe Larraz gives the X-Men a great amount of detail and no panel feels lazy throughout the issue. Every page is full of life due to Marte Gracia vibrant colors. Seriously, the colors in this book are just wonderful from cover to cover. Each panel has the appropriate color pallets to draw out the necessary mood, and this issue is just full of different emotions.

Extermination is looking like it will be an excellent farewell for the original five. Ed Brisson has excellent control over these characters and makes the fairly generic plot enjoyable to read. The excellent art is just icing on the cake for this debut.