“Sins of Sinister” continues in Immoral X-Men #1 one of a small number of comics that make up the event. Mr. Sinister has used Moira McTaggert’s time reset powers to slowly infect Krakoa and the X-Men, infusing them with a dash of Sinister. The Earth has been taken over, with mutants reigning and controlling. But, threats still exist in a galaxy that won’t stand to the side and let them do the the same in the stars. There’s also the missing Sinister lab with his ability to reset time.
Written by Kireon Gillen, Immoral X-Men #1 picks up on the story’s emphasis that things have gotten out of hand for Mr. Sinister. His plan has worked a bit too well and while mutants have a bit of Sinister in them, he doesn’t control them. Yes, there’s some failsafe aspects he mentions but overall, things have gotten out of hand. Sinister should be happy, he’s won… but he also hasn’t.
And, if the comic focused just on that, it’d be a solid dive into a new idea for an alternate timeline story. Instead, it splits it time as the Quiet Council goes on a hunt for Sinister who they have figured out isn’t quite on board. So, the comic splits between Sinister’s woe is me and a race/hunt. Focusing on either aspect is worth an entire comic, an entire miniseries, but the split doesn’t quite do justice for either. At times Sinister’s lamenting feels like a recap of the story and the X-Men never quite make the case as to why they should rule, their plan, and they come off as a bit unorganized.
The art by Paco Medina is pretty solid and the comic has a sinister feel about it while also a slight comedic aspect as well. Joined on ink by Walden Wong and Victor Olazaba and color by Jay David Ramos and Chris Sotomayor, the visuals are fun and interesting and keep the comic flowing and entertaining. Clayotn Cowle‘s lettering impressively keeps Sinister’s long rants readable and never clutters the visuals. Overall, the comic does an excellent job of delivering a world that has a dark cloud hanging over it but never feeling gloomy. It keeps the “fun” of Sinister as part of its DNA to deliver a slightly different feel for this type of storyline.
While I generally enjoyed Immoral X-Men #1, there’s a choppiness to the narrative that took me out of it. There was almost too much jumping around between Sinister and the Quiet Council and a focus on one or the other would have been stronger. Still, it highlights that this is an alternate timeline tale that’s a bit different than what has come before.
Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Paco Medina
Ink: Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba Color: Jay David Ramos, Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Clayton Cowles Design: Jay Bowen
Story: 7.95 Art: 7.95 Overall: 7.95 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
