Marvel Comics has been on a tear with solo X-Men titles, and Bishop is next up to get one. A man from the future, now even more out of sorts post Krakoa, the new series aims to dig up a key character from his past, who happens to be from a future that hates him. It’s an introspective first issue, packing more than enough for X-Men fans to keep coming back for more.
Written by Saladin Ahmed, this issue reads very much like his ongoing Wolverine run, packed with captions that deliver Bishop’s monologue from cover to cover. In a relatively good place mentally, the captions come in and out amongst action, visits with popular X-Men characters, and rebuilding an apartment. Mostly set in Brooklyn, where he was imprisoned as a child, one could say it’s a story about Bishop coming to grips with who he lost and where he came from.
As first issues go, there’s just enough here to keep your interest up. Aside from the location being a way for Bishop to reclaim a sense of self, he also must take out some human racists, connect with Storm for some advice, and then tango with a threat he couldn’t possibly be ready for.
At the core of all this is Bishop remembering his sister, who he assumes is very dead. Flashbacks fill us in on his time with her as a young child, and then her untimely death when she came of age. These flashbacks tie in well with the narrative since Bishop is ruminating for much of the issue.
Bad guys are gonna be bad.
Credit: Marvel
To close things out, Bishop enters a fight with a brand-new mutant. Ahmed does a good job sprinkling details about her without it getting preachy or exposition-heavy. It builds towards a cliffhanger that you’ll see coming if you read solicits, but the character who pops up should supply plenty to chew on going forward.
Art by Mario Santoro and colors by Federico Blee keep the action and power effects exciting from cover to cover. Bishop looks good with a slightly different look, and the flashbacks do him justice as well. Not so much a failing of the art as the idea, but seeing Bishop do carpentry and then chat with Storm makes for a tepid experience. The last seven or so pages ramp up the action, even though they do have a lower panels-to-page count than one might desire. Sound effects in this closing action scene do a lot to amp up the danger, with some rendered behind art to add a 3D effect.
Bishop #1 succeeds by grounding its story in the character’s history rather than relying solely on spectacle. Saladin Ahmed explores Bishop’s complicated relationship with his past, his sister, and the future he can never truly escape, creating a thoughtful foundation for the series. While the pacing occasionally slows under the weight of narration and reflection, the emotional core remains compelling throughout. Strong artwork by Mario Santoro and Federico Blee helps maintain reader engagement, particularly as the action ramps up in the closing pages. By the final cliffhanger, the series has established a clear emotional direction and several intriguing mysteries worth following.
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