Is It Good? X #4 Review

If you’ve ever handled hamburger meat you’ll know how this comic book reads. That might sound insane, but bear with me as I answer the question: is it good?

X #4 (Dark Horse Comics)

Check out our review of #3 here.

This is the last issue in the arc — so if you’re thinking of picking this issue up come for the action but don’t expect to know why the action is going.

Or you know, just read this: Leigh, an ex-journalist-turned-blogger is in a whole world of trouble after trying to figure out what X’s deal is after he cut up a corrupt politician’s face. Now she’s trapped on the top of a building and said politician, complete with a brand new pig face, is kicking X’s ass as goons are on their way to handle her.

The main players.

This entire issue is composed of the rooftop fight sequence and a concluding few pages once the climax is over. The comic picks up right in the middle of a fight scene from last issue. Writer Duane Swierczynski was smart to cap off his first arc with so much action, mostly because this sequence embodies everything that’s great about the series: Brutal, honest and dead serious grittiness.

There’s also a bit of humor in the gore, but I won’t ruin what X does to our pig headed fellow. Let’s just say you shouldn’t read this during a meal. Unless of course you like to have vomit mixed in, then by all means this is a great book for eating!

Like a battering ram. Ouch.

I have to say, it must be tough writing a character who doesn’t speak much. That leaves a lot of work on artist Eric Nguyen’s plate. He does a great job here by keeping things dark and gritty. When flesh tears, you feel that tear, as it’s viscerally real and grotesque.

Nice nose job fatty.

The final pages are left to showcase X and Leigh getting along and I’m not completely sold on their newly formed trust in one another. I do think this first arc ends on a good note and I can’t wait to see how Swierczynski ups the ante in the upcoming issues, but I can’t say this conclusion solidified the characters as I’d have hoped. They’re still unfamiliar with one another, but maybe that’s the point. The problem lies in not knowing where they stand exactly which leaves you in a bit of a cloud of wonder.

A good moment to be an atheist that’s for sure.

7.0

• This is one of the most brutal fight sequences I’ve ever seen in a comic
• A good conclusion to the first arc

• Not a lot to chew on for the brain

This issue is going to be a 10 out of 10 for anyone who enjoys brutal, goretastic fight sequences. Practically the whole book is wince inducing fun. It actually makes you wonder if say, Frank Miller had the ability to push the boundaries like this comic is doing, the Dark Knight Returns might be even more revered today. Of course, if you’re looking for a bit more to your comics than a fight scene, you might want to wait till next month when the new arc begins.

Is It Good?

It is, but just barely. The action is rendered brutally and effectively, but the honesty of the characters disposition needs a bit of work.