X-MEN: CURSE OF THE MUTANTS – STORM & GAMBIT #1
After the events within The Death of Dracula, the vampires are united under his son Xarus who is planning on increasing the vampire ranks with mutants to create an unstoppable force. The X-Men formulate a plan to bring Lord Dracula back from the dead to fight his son Xarus however they must retrieve his body from the heavily guarded vampire fortress on a remote Greek Island.
Storm and Gambit head towards the deserted Greek island depicted in The Death of Dracula. They receive a mysterious telepathic warning them that the vampires on the island know that they are arriving and are immediately attack. Storm and Gambit escape and arrive on the island and fight their way towards Dracula’s decapitated body with the help of his first son, Janus.
Writer Chuck Kim has earned my trust for future issues he writes. Several X-Men characters get a moment to shine at the end which enhances the storytelling from the very beginning of the issue. There are no unnecessary sub-plots that do not get some type of resolution. X-Men veteran artist Chris Bachalo (Generation X) brings the story to life with details matching the dialogue and storytelling. It is truly aspiring and a surprise that Marvel put a quality artist on this book that at first seemed like a filler issue. This is a terrific “must-have” one-shot that is a well added addition to the Curse of the Mutants story arc.
RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5
