Honestly, Aaron had me at "Oh, God. I've been an X-Man for less than a day and I'm already in Hell." No matter where else he went with this issue, it was worth the $3.99 just for that moment. But, he goes to such greater heights that I almost feel embarrassed that I thought that moment was the peak.
I wasn't really sold on this series. I'm here mostly for Nightcrawler and Northstar, though Firestar was a welcome surprise. But, Aaron has really staked out some new territory here, an impressive feat given that I'm currently getting no fewer than four other X-books. All the other books essentially focus on the rivalry between Cyclops and Logan, with "All-New X-Men" and "Uncanny X-Men" focusing on the (shudder) New Xavier School and "Wolverine and the X-Men" and "X-Men" focusing on the Jean Grey School. However, although this issue involved characters from the latter tribe, Aaron frees them from this divide. Instead, we get one of the few X-men tales that I've read in the last three or four years that feels like an X-Men story of my youth. Aaron infuses this story with that same sense of adventure and family, something that's been missing at least since "X-Men: Schism" (if not since 1991).
Seriously, the entire Hell sequence is hilarious. Aaron has a real knack for writing Bobby in a way that makes him funny and not obnoxious (Bendis should take notes) and I loved Firestar muttering about the Avengers at least having a nice butler that made her pancakes. Similarly, I loved Northstar exulting over getting the opportunity to fight pirates. Aaron just makes it seem genuinely fun to be an X-Man, even if it does involve frequently fighting for your and your friends' lives. But, the moment where he really, really had me? It was when Bobby literally makes Hell freeze over. I totally didn't see that coming and I totally squeed. Aaron seems to remember that comics are exciting when our characters don't just fight the same people that they always fight in the same ways, but when they're pushed to do something new. This story seems to have ample opportunity for each character to have a similar moment, particularly since Aaron did such a great job of making sure each character got his attention over the course of this issue. I didn't expect to be as excited about this series as I am, but here we are.
***** (five of five stars)
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