Prisoner X #4 Starts A Riot
by Tony Thornley
In the realm of prison fiction, a riot is inevitable. To prevent it from becoming a cliche, there has to be a twist. Does Prisoner X #4 deliver on that?
Vita Ayala, German Peralta, Mike Spicer and Joe Sabino wade through the mid-riot chaos.
Bishop is determined to free his fellow prisoners from the tight grip of the Danger Room. He faces an uphill battle though, as no one seems to believe him. However, he gets enough support to try to fix things–and it all starts with a riot!
Ayala hits this issue out of the park. Though it’s a bit more straightforward, and less nuanced than previous issues, it’s a tense thriller that still has emotional resonance. They also root it all in the characters, with every significant moment working because of the groundwork they laid in the previous issues.
Peralta and Spicer’s work is strong. Peralta keeps the focus in tight on the characters, setting up each significant moment in the story with a small change in expression or body language. He also uses his layouts to build the tension, and create a great sense of pace. Spicer’s painted art adds a surreal layer, but also draws us in to help us care about the nameless background characters that have populated the series.
The Age of X-Man is crumbling with each new issue, and in this case, it might be violently.
Prisoner X #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.
