The Good
Once upon a time, the gem of Cyttorak gave Cain Marko powers, which made him almost unbeatable. Now, in southeast Asia, the gem has reappeared and the X-Men, sans Colossus, are on their way to find it before someone else does.
Going into this issue, there is this fear that the issue will be too much for new readers. Their vast mythology can be a little too much for new readers, especially when dealing with concepts like Cyttorak Luckily, writer Christopher Yost does a wonderful job at keeping all of this pretty dang simple for those just wanting to jump on.
The issue opens up with a two-page story of who Cyttorak is and where the gem came from, leading up to Cain Marko grabbing it in front of his step-brother. These two pages bring all readers up to the same page. As someone who likes the character Juggernaut, but never really looked into all of this, the opening to this book is perfect for a reader like myself. It's quick and to the point and doesn't take up too much of the book. The story moves forward rather than retelling the past.
We get a head to head debate between Storm and Colossus here as Colossus wants to go help find the gem and Storm thinks that's a bad idea. Colossus' history of gaining powers and smashing everything in site is brought up and it's pretty apparent to everyone but Piotr that heading to Asia is a pretty bad idea for the metal Russian. The fact Yost has Ororo gives Piotr the rundown of what's happened to him over the past couple years puts Colossus' life into perspective. Sure, he's a good guy, but he's become weaker in the past few years. The dialogue here is fantastic and Yost knows how to write Storm in a leadership role. Simply put, she's large and in charge. Although this is my first issue of AMAZING X-MEN since the first arc, I can say I really like how Yost has shaped this book and the characters on this team.
As far as the story with the gem goes, it's all set-up, and it's paced exceptionally well and covers a lot of ground without getting too immersed with what's coming down the road. While there isn't a ton of pay off in this first issue, there's enough to hook in the reader and keep them on board, with a pretty interesting cliffhanger.
The Bad
The real bummer about this issue is the art from Jorge Fornes. It doesn't start off bad. In fact, there's some great looking scenes within the book, but as the book continues on, Fornes' art loses its luster. It seems like his work within these character's faces loses its quality about eight pages in. While it gets a bit better towards the end, the second act of this issue can get a little rough.
The Verdict
AMAZING X-MEN offers what could really be a fantastic story. Part of me is dying to see Cain Marko and maybe even a new Juggernaut, but what Yost delivers is much more about the mythos of Cyttorak, which fits really well here. The art is a bit of a miss and feels very rushed at certain moments, but overall, this is a great jumping on point for new readers and a great start to this run. I recommend you check this one out, especially if you're a Juggernaut fan.