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Nightcrawler #6 Cover by Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg

Nightcrawler #6 is a swashbuckling romp for its title character and the young student from the Jean Grey School, Nico. There is a good amount of action, and the art, by Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg, is at its usual high standard.

Chris Claremont picks up the story from the last pages of Nightcrawler #5 providing us a seamless transition between the issues. I really enjoyed the previous issue and found the story more grounded as I reread it. Issue 6 sets the conclusion for this arc of the series.

In this issue, Nightcrawler and Nico intercept the Crimson Pirates and attempt to stop their nefarious plan to kidnap a new mutant named Ziggy Karst. What ensues is a great display of rescue action. The main set piece is split between Nightcrawler, who fights the pirates, and Nico, who rescues the trapped bystanders and Ziggy.

The story itself is very straightforward, although it does seem to wrap up very quickly. It is obvious that this issue is making way for a new story, as made clear at the end, for the fallout of the Death of Wolverine. This means that the plot stops abruptly and leaves aspects of the narrative that I would like to have seen explored further.

The role of Ziggy as a new mutant is left hanging by the book's end. Nico and Nightcrawler both seem to hint at her being able to fit in it the JGS, but this is not bought to fore in the overall story. The resolution of the rescue setting in this story, while a logical outcome, doesn't bring much development to the plot, with the bad guys vowing to exact revenge in a clichéd move.

Nighcrawler and Nico en route.

What the story leaves unanswered aside, the promise of the impact of the death of Nightcrawler's best friend is tantalizing as a fan. I hope Claremont can bring his wonderfully insightful storytelling abilities to the fore for the next issue. Nightcrawler #6 was filled with classic Claremont narration from the first person. The pages are filled with narration boxes and a lot of dialogue, giving letterer Joe Sabino plenty of work in this issue.

For their part, Nauck and Rosenberg continue to show great form on this series. The pencil and line work from Nauck has an lovely appeal for younger audiences, but is easily able to satisfy older readers also. Nauck uses an average panel count of 4-5 panels per page through this issue. That pacing is just enough to keep things ticking along, though this combination with the heavy dialogue means that at times the page may read longer than it could have otherwise.

Rosenberg's colors are perfectly suited to the style of art from Nauck. The appropriate blues and purples that are associated with Nightcrawler's character are used to effect. A true test for an artist's work in comics is to compliment the story and not distract from the overall feel of the narrative. This is what Rosenberg is doing in Nightcrawler #6. You don't have a sense of stopping during the story to decipher the art, the transition and flow of imagery being such that you can just keep reading. Ultimately this is what any publisher wants for its audience.

Nico and Nightcrawler are an unlikely pair.

Nightcrawler #6 continues a good run for the artists involved. This is a nice solo X-Men series which expands the x-universe and lets its characters develop for current audiences. This is just part of a rise in solo series featuring X-Men that have enhanced Marvel's repertoire. I have enjoyed reading each of them so far, and hope they continue to last. With the impending loss of the stalwart Wolverine and the game changing event in AXIS, it will be interesting to see how the X-Men come out on the other side.

What did you think of Nightcrawler #6? How have you found the series so far? Given that we have already dealt with the death and resurrection of Nightcrawler, do you think Wolverine's death will have a lasting impact for this Nightcrawler? Let us know and leave your thoughts below.