The latest version of X-Men is astounding

I have been reading X-Men comics for over fifty years and they have gone through many changes, relaunches and different titles in that time, several of which I have commented on previously. The latest relaunch by Jonathan Hickman is something else again.

Other relaunches have changed the team membership or changed the base location but this relaunch changes everything and it is world building on a phenomenal scale. There are not just new characters or new civilisations, there are new hierarchies of civilisations and categorisations of artificial intelligence. These are explained in all text pages within the precursor limited series that Hickman also wrote.

This breathtaking world building, while of interest in itself, is just there to hold the stories and nine issues into the main title I am gripped by the stories.

X-Men is something of a flagship title for Marvel and one of the best writers of the day is ably supported by one of the best artists, Leinil Francis Yu. The drama in the page below speaks for itself.

It is comics like this that show how superhero comics can do far more than have heroes punching pantomime baddies. I have picked up some of those in ComiXology sales and titles like Uncanny Avengers did absolutely nothing for me and are why I largely stop reading the genre.

I do not know how long Hickman is committed to X-Men for but I will be there for the ride.