Comic Review: X-Men: Black: Mystique #1

X-Men: Black: Mystique #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Seanan McGuire

Artist: Marco Failla

X-Men: Black has been a fine series so far, with entertaining glimpses into the lives of some of the most iconic X-Men characters. While Magneto didn’t offer anything new to the table, it was still a well-written story. Mojo was just a fun read from start to finish. What’s next?

The next entry puts the spotlight on Raven Darkholme, better known as Mystique. In X-Men: Black: Mystique #1, Mystique acts like her usual self as she kills and deceives in order to achieve her goals. Unsurprisingly, the issue is standard fare for the series and doesn’t offer too much new for longtime readers. However, like the previous issues, writer Seanan McGuire provides new readers with a wonderful opportunity to get to know Mystique.

If X-Men: Black is good at anything, it is strong characterization. McGuire writes a great Mystique, allowing readers to take look into the mind of the character and understand what drives her. The action on-page isn’t particularly exciting, and Mystique doesn’t have any character-changing monologues, but the story works as a whole.

Artist Marco Failla handles the issue well, creating a wide variety of unique faces for Mystique to copy. The art style ranges from realistic to cartoony, which suits the issue depending on what’s going on in the panels. Nothing, in particular, pops out as impressive or obscene, this is just a fine-looking comic from beginning to end.

Like it’s predecessors, X-Men: Black: Mystique #1 isn’t a must-read, but it is an entertaining one. It doesn’t offer anything new, but has strong characterization and is an opportunity for new fans to get to know Mystique. It’s better than the Magneto story but doesn’t impress the way that Mojo’s story did.