X-Men: The End finishes its first volume, and it still sucks.

One might have hoped that with the first book down, some sort of actual point might have emerged.  No such luck.  The plot remains completely obscure, as the return of Phoenix (who hasn't done anything) inspires various people to do various things for various reasons, none of which are readily apparent.  At the end, there's a big explosion, which presumably serves as some sort of climax.

Cluttered, bloated and directionless, this monumental display of self-indulgence is a masterclass in everything that is wrong with Chris Claremont's writing these days.  It needs to lose 80% of the characters and two thirds of the length, and then maybe, just maybe, some kind of vaguely engaging storyline might emerge.  Instead, we have a comic which is incomprehensible to 99% of readers, and not worth the hassle for most of those who can understand it.

Christ, there's another twelve issues of this chaotic spew to go.  What were Marvel thinking when they commissioned this crap?  It's been bleeding readers like water, which is hardly surprising considering that it's almost unreadable.  It deserves to keep plummetting.  (Incidentally, with both this book and Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers under his belt, editor Tom Brevoort has not exactly been covering himself with glory lately, when it comes to coherent and comprehensible stories.)

Nonsensical, turgid, and just not worth the effort.

Rating: D

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