GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Comic Review: X #4 | I Smell Sheep

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Comic Review: X #4

X #4 (of 4)
By: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Eric Nguyen
Dark Horse Comics 
Publication Date: August 14, 2013

It’s a bloody showdown on Arcadia’s rooftops as X is assaulted by the pig-faced Berkshire, a maniac who can no longer feel physical pain! As Leigh fends off a swarm of the city’s thugs, Berkshire shatters the lock around X’s neck . . . and the mask finally comes off!

Duane Swierczynski and Eric Nguyen have thrown just about everything but the kitchen sink into the first few issues of X, so wasn't quite sure what to expect from the penultimate showdown between the X Killer and the corrupt mayor, Berkshire. I just knew there'd be a lot of blood. Well, even with that in mind, X #4 exceeded expectations.

"Eye Without a Face" starts on the top of a high-rise, with X and Berkshre throwing down, and the pig-faced mayor gettiing the upper hand, since he's spent even more time doing his homework on the masked vigilante than he has been sliced and diced by the crusading psychopath. Meanwhile, Leigh, the activist reporter who helped bring these two warring parties together, is left to fend for herself against the rabid henchmen who want a piece of the action.

There was a metric ton of action in the four issues I read prior to this one (four, since there was a zero issue to kick things off), but it all pales compared to the visceral hatred and violence that has been boiled down to its two key ingredients: X and Berkshire. The history of X's motivations come to bear, though enough is left in the shadows to keep readers coming back for more.
With this chapter coming to a close, it will be hard to imagine how Swierczynski and Gnuyen will scoop up what's left of their characters to carry on into the next issue, but I'm keen to find out. X might be the violent--and vital--action comic going in 2013.


5 Sheep




Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox


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