X-Men Black: Mojo #1 Review

X-Men Black: Mojo #1

Writer: Scott Aukerman
Artists: NICK BRADSHAW & ANDRÉ LIMA ARAÚJO
Colorist: GURU–eFX
Letterer: JOE CARAMAGNA
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Review by Greg Brothers

It is no secret that the X-Men has one of the largest and most unique set of villains within the Marvel Universe. From militant mutants, to hordes of humans, to despot TV executives from alternative realities.

It is that despot TV executive known as Mojo that is the focus of X-Men Black: Mojo #1. Due to events that happened over in X-Men Gold, Mojo is stuck on earth. While he is still working hard in order to kill the X-Men, he has also taken on some characteristics of earthlings. One of those is trying to get the attention of a girl at the local coffee shop. While he fails with cheesy pick up lines, young X-Men Glob befriends Mojo and starts to teach him lessons about being himself to impress the girl.

For the second issue in a row we get a real-world problem revamped to fit into the narrative. In X-Men Black: Mojo #1 it is the idea of forced diversity within pop culture that gets the treatment. Mojo’s whole plan is to kill off all the newer X-Men who only got jobs for diversity reasons. He wants his X-Men back in their original cast. Aukerman does an excellent job of making Mojo sound and look just a ridiculous as the real-life versions of these bigots, without venturing into the hate department. Another point of joy and humor within the book is Mojo and Glob. First the humor that went into Mojo trying to work up the nerve to ask the girl out, while at the same time trying to control his temper and not yell at the barista. Glob’s speech about self-acceptance was actually heartfelt and touching. The building upon that talk, by seeing some action from Mojo shows that it was much more than lip service as he showed genuine concern.

The character builds have nice sharp lines, leading to well-defined characters with emotions that they wear on their sleeves. The newest version of the Sentinel is humorous to say the least both in look and explanation. The panel layout leads to a read that flows along easily.

Verdict: Buy it.

X-Men Black: Mojo #1 does an excellent job of showing just how off kilter Mojo can be. Several times his humor is shown just to be followed up by his maniacal thoughts. The inclusion of current day debates in the book add to the humor of it. Although I am sure someone will end up complaining. This is a great read and any fan of the X-Men needs to grad a copy.