X-Force #1 : Big Trouble In Little Krakoa

Benjamin Percy and the team set the tone very early on and that tone is deadly serious. This is a serious book about serious mutants who have to protect their people from the new threats arising from the new status quo. This includes having covert operatives like Domino penetrating the clandestine circles of humans who do not and will not accept mutant kinds place in the world…early on she finds herself in the worst kind of trouble before the action takes us back to the island!

We get our first real look at Black Tom and how he is an actual nervous system of Krakoa and how the biological ecosystems around Krakoa are like warning systems which is fascinating. We also learn the work Colossus has been doing as the book establishes itself in a time frame after the formation of the Marauders who have a cameo in this issue. The issue also adds to our understanding and questions about the anatomy of Krakoa including showing us something called the healing gardens where injured mutants are treated and we get to see Charles play diplomat.

Percy gets the voices of the characters right but a special mention must be made of his Wolverine: he is gruff, serious and understands the relationship between hunter and prey and something he points out to Beast in a line of dialogue proves to be tragically prophetic in nature later in the issue which is really the major moment of the issue. The writing builds an unease from early on and the tension mounts and mounts as the mutants find themselves faced with a terrible and catastrophic event at the end of the book that serves as a horrible grim reminder that there is no peace or safety even in your own back yard.

Cassara’s gritty style of art and Dean White’s darker color pallet are perfectly suited to the nature and more serious tone of the book. The detail in Cassara’s work is exceptional. There is a very disturbing picture of a certain metallic mutant early on which while uncomfortable to look at is just so texturally perfect it’s hard to actually look away.

The standard of excellent art we have seen through the line so far remains top-notch along with the writing and this issue does well to reveal a bit more about the new status quo but also forces us to look more critically at Krakoa without the rose-tinted or euphoria filled lenses of previous books. I can’t wait to see more!