A + X #7 – Review

By: Zeb Wells, Christopher Yost (Writers), Dale Keown, Orphans Cheeps aka R’John Bernales & Chris Turcotte (Penciler/Artists), Norman Lee (Inker), Morry Hollowell (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Review: “Thor and Iceman team-up in one of the most visually amazing tales you’ve ever seen!”: thus reads the solicitation for this month’s A+X, and, for once, the marketing team ain’t blowing smoke up your apertures. See that cover? Yeah, that’s Orphans Cheeps. They are oh so good, a burst of retina-crumbling illustration so awesome that…wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s two parts to this book after all and each are enjoyable in their own right. Let me wipe the ocular slobber from my cheeks, run down what else this book does well, and then I’ll get back to the praise-makin’.

Wolverine and the X-Men #5 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Nick Bradshaw (pencils and inks), Walden Wong (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors).

The Story: Beast loads the students onto the Magic School Bus!

-MILD SPOILER WARNING- I will be discussing a plot point from the middle of this issue, though rather obliquely. If you want the abridged version of my review, skip to the Conclusion.

What’s Good: You have to admire Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw. Wolverine and the X-Men is beautiful and rich, jolly and sentimental. It delivers high concept shenanigans and strong character development. And contains more plot in one issue than many 3-issue arcs in other books, without any plot threads feeling under-developed. In this issue alone, we watch Logan struggling to come up with the finances to fund the school, Angel as he loses control of his company, Kitty dealing with the ramifications of her apparent and sudden pregnancy, Quire getting sent into space, Doop acting as a substitute teacher, and the X-Kids taking a science class from Prof. Henry Philip McCoy.

I’ve been excited about seeing Beast in the classroom since the concept for this book was announced. And boy, is it awesome. The lesson plan for the day is a tour of the mutant body, courtesy of Pym shrinking technology. Nick Bradshaw renders the scene with an impeccable sense of wonder. Each panel is flooded with detail, and even on my third read-through I was noticing new antics in the background. (See if you can guess who is the ‘host’ for the students’ field trip before it’s revealed.) Justin Ponsor deserves praise as well for his bright, bubbly colors that match the energy of the script and artwork.

All of this would be enough to recommend this book, but Aaron and Bradshaw are also in lockstep with the characterization. When Angel re-discovers his position of privilege, he observes, “No one told me this. Otherwise, I could’ve been giving [all my wealth] away.” A few panels later, as the focus shifts to Wolverine and Iceman discussing the school’s financial woes, we see in the background that Angel has begun to remove all of this clothes; on-lookers chuckle and pull out camera phones. Little moments like this are all over the place in this issue, like Broo taking pictures of a uvula, Quire carving his name into capillaries, and a very pregnant-looking Kitty making a call to Colossus but hanging up before saying anything. The abundance of these moments gives the issue a palpable vitality that you simply will not find anywhere else on the stand.

Uncanny X-Men #518 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Scott ventures into Emma’s mind in an attempt to seperate her from the void as tensions grow among Utopia’s residents.

What’s Good:  X-Men fans will no doubt be absolutely thrilled to know that this month is a Greg Land-free zone.  I’ll admit that over the past couple of months, my position on land has reached something akin to sadly ambivalent resignation.  The Dodsons’ signature style has always been fun and as a result, this entire experience of this issue is a much more pleasant affair compared to the past few Land-drawn books.  I can’t necessarily point to specific images that blew me away, nor can I talk in specifics.  All I can say is that the book as a whole feels so different and so much better under the Dodsons’ hands.  It feels so much more fun, so much more full of life, and so much more likable.  Hell, even though they aren’t writing, the book even feels smarter.  Under the Dodsons, Uncanny essentially becomes a better book, one that’ll leave you feeling a lot happier and a lot more eager to read it.

To be fair, though, this is also a better outing by Fraction as well.  While last week’s book was little more than an extended action sequence, this month is much more character-based and human.  It’s a more intimate, relatable, and engaging read for these reasons.

Normally, I’m not a fan of books centered on one character’s adventures in another’s mind.  Such comics often end up being strange for strange’s sake, while not carrying the gravitas that a good book should.  That said, I rather enjoyed Scott’s adventures in Emma’s brain.  Largely, this is due to the dynamic between the two characters, but even more so, it’s because Fraction does not attempt to have these abstract psychic adventures fill the entire issue.  We get extended breaks from all the psychic wandering, and as a result, what wandering there is more palatable and the book feels much better paced.  Furthermore, Fraction takes a minimalist approach to Emma’s mind.  It’s big, blank, and full of doppelgangers; the Void’s presence makes it weird and creepy, but Fraction’s restraint keeps it from going off the deep-end.

Meanwhile, Beast’s reappearance in the book’s pages is a welcome, grounded relief and he remains a well-written character.  I also continue to enjoy whenever Fraction treats the logistic difficulties of living on a “floating” asteroid.  His acknowledging the real difficulties of sustained living on such an impossible location make the book feel more intelligent and eases the already massive strain on the suspension of disbelief.

What’s Not So Good: Fraction’s minimalist approach to his depiction of Emma’s mind is a bit double-edged.  While it prevents the book from becoming lost in the wilds of indecipherable abstraction and metaphor, Fraction may very well have taken it a little far in making Emma’s mind nothing but a white blank.  It’s bland and empty and one can’t help but wish Fraction pushed the very able Dodsons a little more.

Also, while the artwork was great, I’m not sure if the opening scene with a Predator X was necessary, given how much was already going on in this book.  It doesn’t help that it’s the only scene not on Utopia and as a result, it feels detached and not at all the sort of introduction or prologue that an opening two pages should be.

Conclusion: A really good issue of Uncanny accompanied by refreshingly vibrant, characterful artwork

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans