X #21
Dark Horse
Words: Duane Swierczynski
Pictures: Eric Nguyen

Reading X is like riding a ride at a county fair. I don’t mean like the bumper cars or the merry go round. I mean you climb into some off branded Tilt-a Hurl type contraption and you strap yourself in with what looks like an old dog leash and before you know it you’re launched into some kind of Helter Skelter trajectory as you hurtle forward at speeds that are probably well past the tolerance level for this thing (not that it’s been rated in this decade, or even inspected, gawd, don’t think about the last time it was inspected…) but this thing rockets you nearly off its rails (which is weird, because you didn’t know it had rails) and you’re screaming, your friend can’t help laughing because that’s what your friend does when he’s scared and everyone else on the ride is screaming, and you’re pretty sure the Carny with three teeth and the Motley Crue Theater of Pain T-Shirt is laughing as well, and you’re pretty sure this is the last thing you’re ever going to do in your life ever… and then it’s over. And you made it, and you realize, “Damn, that was fun”. That’s kind of how I feel about reading X.
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