So which is it? More like the mind-bending New X-Men by Grant Morrison or like the much-maligned X-Men by Chuck Austen that followed? The answer, of course, is neither, as Peter Milligan brings a tone to the book that is fairly conventional, but has touches of the strangeness that can be found in his more esoteric work like X-Statix and Human Target. Quite honestly, Milligan has a few things stacked against him, including an "also ran" cast of X-Men that has been through the wringer thanks to Austen's writing and an almost impossible standard to meet thanks to stellar recent runs by Grant Morrison and Joss Whedon, and it's no surprise that I found his first issue of X-Men to pale in comparison to these high standards. However, while "Golgotha" Part One lacks the big ideas of Morrison or the sharp wit and style of Whedon, it's a solid enough X-Book with solid enough art, and fans of the characters will probably be pleased to see a standard of at least coherence return to this book.
To his credit, Milligan doesn't take the easy way out with his first issue, which would be to introduce all the characters and put his own distinctive stamp on the whole thing right off the bat. Instead, he continues as if this were just another issue of the series for readers who have been following the characters for a long time, and with the X-Men, that kind of take is pretty much right. No need to explore the complex relationship of Havok, Iceman and Polaris when longtime readers know of that history, no need to go into detail about the Rogue-Gambit relationship when that one is just as clear, just play it up as part of a continuing story and recognize that these characters have a past. It might not be 100% accessible to newcomers, but there aren't a lot of those to the X-Books anymore, and the fans that there are appreciate the nod to consistency.
It's a minor thing, but I should also note that Wolverine is on the cover and not in the issue, and Thank God for that. No over-exposed Wolverine means that Milligan has a tightly focused cast made up of two couples, one of whom has a third wheel, making for some nice dramatic tension. The story is aiming for a sort of horror/mystery vibe, but there are plenty of character moments that really stand out as the highlight of the issue, notably Polaris's instability (playing off of what Austen did without being quite so over-the-top) and Milligan's excellent use of Emma Frost as telepathic aide (although I did wonder how she got to the arctic so quickly, and more to the point just how cold she must be in that outfit).
So the book has mood and it's got pretty decent characterization, what it's missing so far is memorable bad guys. Milligan hints at something interesting with Golgotha, but really this issue features a bunch of indistinguishable thugs with powers throwing themselves at the heroes, and the action scenes are pretty dull. Given that I know Milligan can write strong action in the pages of Human Target, this is probably the most disappointing aspect of the issue. There's some nice mood and there are some nice moments, but the story itself doesn't really go anywhere, except to establish the mystery of Golgotha, and whether this relatively slow intro pays off depends on the payoff to that mystery.
While the writer has changed, the artist on X-Men remains Salvador Larroca, with inks by Danny Miki and colors by Liquid! It's very nice artwork, let down by some uninspired designs for the mutant inhabitants of the mutant utopia at the south pole and a lack of subtlety in the characters' facial expressions but featuring some really strong, energetic layouts and distinctive, manga-influenced looks for the characters in general. I especially give the art team credit for the transparent look of Iceman, a clever tweak of his look, and a beautiful splash page for Emma's in-person appearance. 7/10
