Finally for this week, another issue of X-Men Unlimited.

This is one of those issues where a creative team not normally associated with the X-books take a crack at one of the characters.  This time, Bill Willingham and Kelsey Shannon take a crack at Nightcrawler.

The costumes are contemporary, but the feel isn't.  It's a throwback to the days when Kurt was a feelgood, swashbuckling kind of character.  The plot is elementary - innocent girl is kidnapped by nasty subterranean thingies, Kurt goes to the rescue.  The bit about persistent optimism in the face of negative press coverage is standard.  It's a handy reminder, though, that Kurt is at his most entertaining when he's largely angst-free.  That was part of his role.  He was the upbeat guy on the team.

Well, if you miss the days when Kurt acted like that - and after reading this, I must admit I do - pick this up.  It's not a blow-away story or anything, but it does capture that side of Kurt's character which has been pretty much ignored for quite some time now.  Bill Willingham keeps the pace up and throws in a nice closing duel sequence which neatly subverts the whole "these are the arbitary honour codes of our society" routine.

Artist Kelsey Shannon worked on Mike Oeming's Bastard Samurai.  He also works in animation, however, and that seems to be very much the tone of this issue.  Well, with a hint of Kyle Baker thrown in, I suppose.  It's a shame he's saddled with the current Nightcrawler costume, which doesn't suit his style at all; they should have just set it in the past and run with the original, simple design, since it's much more in keeping with his work.  Even so, he does a great job on this issue; it really does look great.

As a story, this is nothing you haven't seen before.  But it does have an undeniable charm, and it's a nice reminder of what made Kurt such an enjoyable character in years gone by.

Rating: A

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