By Title: X-Men Gold #17
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writers: Marc Guggenheim
Artists: Ken Lashley
Story Rating: 10
Art Rating: 10
Color Rating: 10
Overall Rating: 10
The X-Men travel through the Negative Zone to the planet Dartayus the home world of evil dictator Kologoth. The X-Men face a war they could not foresee on the strange planet as their friends Kitty Pryde and Night Crawler are held in captivity.
Marc Guggenheim propels the mission in space forward as Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and the rest of team gold make their way across Dartayus. The mutants land in the middle of a civil war as two factions fight for control of the battle riddled planet. Caught in the crossfire the team begins the search for their friends in a world on the verge of destruction.
The good points in the comic come from the action, set up, and unpredictable outcomes. Critical exposition is expressed in a subtle manner one can easily understand the scale of the situation immediately.
Specific moments within the story never felt out of place or awkward as each separate subplot contributed to the overall storyline. Therefore, the story does not suffer from unwanted information that disrupts the flow of crucial storytelling.
Ken Lashley brings forth stunning artwork in comic book fashion as fine detail and heavy ink come together to set an impactful image. Each panel holds an abundance of solid color both in the background and forefront of the page.
Striking hues of purple, red, and blue capture dynamic moments for the X-Men as they battle the alien species. Complimentary colors are also displayed in the comic that clashes together in a clean image.
Sharp and contained line work is present while being complex remains contained overall. Characters share bold outlines and fine details to express muscle tone or facial structure. The background brings forth basic shapes with nice edge work as the characters move across the page.
Lashley sets a solid world in motion for the X-Men as they continue to fight powerful enemies on Earth and in space. The artwork is masterful in bringing depth and grace to an epic storyline.
The last pages reveal more moving pieces to the story as the battle on Dartayus has just begun. How is Kologoth planning to win the war? Will the X-Men ever find their missing allies? Will Prestige ever awaken from her severe injuries? Find out as the X-Men tread through the chaos in the Negative Zone War.
