NYX #6 arrives this week with two huge revelations: 1) did you know these books still crossed over? And 2) remember the original NYX? Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Michael Shelfer, Elisabetta D’Amico, Raúl Angulo, VC’s Joe Sabino, and Annalise Bissa form the creative team on this issue as they take our merry mutants to see Dazzler LIVE in NYC! Of course, a Dazzler concert has never not been disrupted by superhero shenanigans, and some uninvited guests have arrived to rock Wolverine’s world.
Both arriving this week, NYX #6 and X-Men #8 mark the first proper crossovers in the X-Line since the beginning of the From the Ashes era back in July. The X-Men line of the First Krakoan Age began with two interconnected miniseries that then bore out a wave of titles that branched out and interwove with one another as numerous characters, genres, and events fleshed out a larger, united story. One of the more dramatic shifts on the editorial scale between that period and now has been to decentralize the story of mutantkind in favor of numerous stories about mutants. This is something the X-office has not been shy about and is the primary reason why the past few months have seen the development of one of the largest X-lines ever with the least amount of interplay. There’s no inherent value to either approach that makes one better than the other, and it makes sense to change from one strategy to another via a relaunch as large as FTA. In fact, a certain level of excitement has come now that these books are starting to interact with one another again. The success of these much anticipated crossovers remains to be seen.
In the case of NYX #6 and Dazzler #4, the result is fun, if not all that groundbreaking. NYX #6 follows the core cast of Ms. Marvel, Sophie Stepford (ixnay on the uckoo-cay), Wolverine, Anole, and Prodigy (and paramour) foiling a pre show plot by Mojo. The comic ends with Allison Blaire’s arrival onstage, and the promise that if you’re not picking up Dazzler #6, then you’re only getting half the story. What is intriguing though, is how the issue at large plays with the established structure of the series while also giving our heroes a relatively tame adventure so that they can revel in their recent victories.
It was not easy, but Kamala, Sophie, Laura, Victor, and David helped avoid the creation of a new ghetto for the mutants of New York. Having narrowly dodged the status quo of the original volume of NYX, it’s the perfect time for another original NYX-er to crash the party. That’s right, where each earlier issue of NYX has been narrated by one of our five lead characters, Kiden Nixon serves as our storyteller this time around. Lanzing and Kelly have noted that after building the connections between the series leads’ in the first arc, more of their specific side characters and stories would be incorporated into the book. The first mutant on this list seems to be Wolverine.
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Of course, NYX #6 finds little moments to check on each lead cast member, which is aided by them all being together for Dazzler’s concert. Still though, the majority of the story’s attention remains on Laura Kinney and builds on her facets of this book. Before tagging in to help thwart the new Quiet Council, Wolverine’s focus has been on Mojo’s growing network of organized mutant crime. In his employ remains Local, a technopath with a decidedly Gambit look. Kiden arrives just in time to add to the chaos, and her meditations throughout the issue indicate her own history with Local and deep feelings for Laura. Mojo thrives on drama, so he ought to be happy to see the mess of emotions those three need to work through, but at the moment he’s too busy being defeated, better luck next time. Laura Kinney: Wolverine #1 debuts next week, but from AIPT’s own preview, it seems she’ll be involved in a whole other mission there, so we’ll have to wait on future issue’s of NYX to see how this mess untangles.
With all this action, drama, and big emotions, NYX #6 breezes by. One piece that stuck out to me oddly was where Sophie Stepford’s powers are at. This issue maintains that after rebelling against her sisters her telepathy is still offline. However, upon entering the concert, Sophie apparently generates a new outfit for herself with molecular telekinesis. Also, in the lead up to fighting Mojo, she’s relegated to crowd control, possibly suggesting that her diamond form is currently an unreliable power as well. It’s not so much a flaw, but it opens up questions about which of her abilities are affected right now and to what degree.
Shelfer joins D’Amico and Angulo as a penciler and co-inker for this issue. Shelfer’s take on NYX doesn’t clash with Francesco Mortarino’s work in the preceding issues, and D’Amico and Angulo add to the sense of continuity between the two artists. Angulo in particular deserves a shoutout for how he renders panels from Kiden’s perspective. The power to stop time can be difficult to portray in a visually static medium like comics, and playing with coloring to show an area of effect is clever.
Dazzler may be in town, but NYX #6 puts Wolverine at center stage. Laura Kinney’s night out with her friends is shockingly interrupted by a hefty dose of bisexual panic thanks to Local and the return of Kiden Nixon. Mojo is the scariest he’s been in years, and though his plan failed this time, it’s clear that his plans for NYC are far from over.
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