Pogg-Ur-Pogg Is Back And Things Have Never Been Deadlier!: ‘X-Men’ #24 Reviewed
by Tony Thornley
What happens when you have a year to write a particular grouping of characters, but half of that year is spent in crossovers? For good or ill, you get X-Men #24.
Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, Frank Martin, and Clayton Cowles conclude year two of the series on a mixed bag of an action issue.
Pogg-Ur-Pogg has come to Gameworld to rob it. Unfortunately he chose a time that the X-Men were also there. Meanwhile, both Destiny and Orchis are putting pieces in play before the Hellfire Gala. Hell is about to rain down upon the X-Men as the Fall of X begins.
I liked most of this issue, but it has its faults. The biggest of which is that this issue tries to cram about 25 pounds of plot into a 10 pound bag. The actual A-plot is a lot of fun and a great way to end the year. I loved seeing Pogg back, and Magik defeating him via bribe is just plain fun. Unfortunately, the B-, C-, D-, and E-plots all needed more time to develop, as they take up so much time that could have been better developed over the past year.
Cassara’s work is great. His action scenes have a unique energy from anyone else at Marvel. He makes every figure on the page look like they’re moving, and he adds great little facial expressions here and there to give our heroes personality while they’re fighting. He also makes the quiet moments work too, with each of those scenes getting enough space to breathe and have an impact. Martin makes the environments come to life, and his coloring style matches Cassara’s art perfectly.
X-Men #24 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
I’m a little bummed to see this “season” of this series come to an end. It sort of feels like wasted potential, and I hope the next phase of the story learns some lessons from its missteps.
