  NYX #2-3 (January-February 2004)
So far so good on this one. After being unwittingly slipped some GHB by a tough-cat jailbait clubgirl, I now find myself wandering on the outskirts of the X-Men universe, a place I always swore I'd never go. See, this is the real trouble with drugs.
NYX #2 replays the story of #1, which was a captivating enough pilot episode that introduced Kiden, the aforementioned rave chick, who discovers her mutant powers at the very end. She can stop time, and then effect devastation with the slightest touch. Though the second issue retreads the same plot as the first, this time it's informed by the knowledge of Kiden's powers, though that also means it's becoming more of a comic book … an X-Men comic book. (Grumble.)
#3 boldly flashes forward six months, diving straight into the aftermath of what happened at the close of #2. It's a jarring step forward, but in a good way – dashing the expectation that this book will simply re-tell the same thing over and over. This one brings the spotlight onto another mutant, the waifish hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold named X-23. I had to do a little Internet research to find out more about this girl … apparently she was created in an X-Men animated cartoon, but became popular enough to be grandfathered into regular comics continuity (a la Harley Quinn in the Batman world).
She's develishly intriguing – an out-and-out whore whose talent for sadistic lovin' comes from her Wolverine-like slasher-claws. She has some kind of connection to Wolverine which they haven't gone into yet, but I'm interested in finding out more.
The art (by Joshua Middleton) is quite strong, not reflecting the sense of hackwork that a lot of monthly comics do. The writing and dialogue is also pretty tight and realistic, which is surprising because comics have never traditionally done youth culture or street culture all that well.
NYX is gradually turning into an X-Men comic, and so far it's distinguished and captivating enough to make me wonder why I resist this so much. Maybe I'll just have to go with the flow.
Review by Why You Frontin'? |
