Uncanny X-Men #511 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Greg Land w/Terry Dodson (Pencils), Jay Leisten w/Rachel Dodson (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I am so glad that Uncanny X-Men #511 finally ends the “Sisterhood” arc…

The Story: The Red Queen makes her final move toward taking over the body of Jean Grey as the X-Men retaliate against the Sisterhood.

What’s Good: Now that I’ve read the Sisterhood arc in it’s entirety, I can safely say that it’s not all that bad as a story or a concept. The arc’s conclusion serves its purpose rather well and does some pretty interesting things with some of the more obscure X characters (never thought I’d find Dazzler to be cool…And it’s always nice to see Psylocke given page space) so, in that sense, I have to call Uncanny X-Men #511 something of a success. HOWEVER, there’s that other stuff (like the writing and the artwork) that I have to take into consideration when grading the book…

What’s Not So Good: Matt Fraction’s writing is, once again, a source of frustration. He tries to be clever on nearly every page and, while some of it is funny (the Wolverine/Cyclops text boxes), most just fall flat. In other words, Uncanny #511 reads a whole hell of a lot like the last few issues of the series. In addition, the latest Uncanny feels ridiculously half-assed at times. Here’s two pages of dialogue (8 panels worth, in order): “Maddie,” “Deathstrike,” “Logan,” “Duck,” “Done,” “Die,” “No,” “Kill,” “You,” “GRRAAHH,” “YYAH,” “HIIIYYYY,” “KKKGG–,” “Madness,” “Maddie–ENOUGH–!!” – Seriously… Did his cat walk across the keyboard or something?! The biggest problem though, is that Fractions seems completely content to let Greg Land do most of the heavy lifting throughout the issue; which is never a good thing…

While Land’s work isn’t nearly as awful as it was in the last issue of Uncanny (mostly thanks to Justin Ponsor’s colors), it’s still quite rough. What do I mean by rough? Sometimes the art’s awkward, other times it’s far to static, and occasionally, scenes are completely incomprehensible. A scene with Northstar looks completely wrong (that can’t possibly be his fist), the female characters are difficult to tell apart (is that one of the Sisterhood?…Emma?…Dazzler?!), and, worst of all, the few genuinely nice panels wind up totally overwhelmed by the bad panels that surround them. Also, I have to mention that Terry Dodson’s small contribution in the issue makes Land’s work look even worse…

Conclusion: The Sisterhood arc ends decently enough, but Uncanny X-Men #511 is still a below average comic book.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #510 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Greg Land (Artist), Jay Leisten (Inker), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Uncanny #509 was a step in the right direction for the series.  Time to find out if Fraction and his art team can capitalize on it.

The Story: Uncanny X-Men #510 is one big fight scene between the X-Men (veterans and rookies) and the Sisterhood.  That’s really all you need to know…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Let me start by saying that I have no problem with comics that are all about nonstop action.  That said, I do have certain expectations of comics like that because, let’s face it, their quality depends almost entirely on how the visuals look.  The action needs to look good, be well choreographed, and have a certain flow that tells the story in a way that makes up for the lack of actual written storytelling.  In addition, whatever writing there may be it must not distract from the intensity of the action or break its flow.
Uncanny X-Men #510 is a textbook example of how not to handle an all action comic book.  The visuals are stiff, distractingly inconsistent (Emma has three or four different faces), far too clean looking considering the chaos, and, worst of all, pretty boring all around.  While I will admit that some panels do look pretty solid, they are an exception as opposed to the rule. As for the writing, it is simply annoying.  Every character seems to talk in clever, hip, or witty quips and let me tell you, it gets old really fast.

While I realize that the way the writing reads is consistent with how Uncanny has been under Matt Fraction, I can safely say that after reading issue #510, I’ve had my fill.  The comments and quips aren’t nearly as annoying (or noticeable) when there is story being told through the dialogue.  In Uncanny #510 there’s very little story so the book reads like a string of (sometimes terrible) one-liners.  And what the hell is up with the fairly timid Elixir being a Zen pacifist tantric sex god to the Cuckoo triplets?  Is it funny?  Sure somewhat…But it totally goes against how I’ve come to understand the character and feels almost painfully forced (also, out of place).

In all honesty, the only reason to bother with the latest issue of Uncanny is so that you can check out the cliffhanger.  It is pretty interesting and definitely has me curious about what is to come in the future.

Conclusion: I can’t believe I spent so much time writing about such a bad comic.  But hey, at least the series is consistent.  Every time it looks to be turning a corner, a bad issue comes out so that they can climb back up and start all over again.  The book isn’t a total loss though, thanks to the ending and a few worthwhile panels, but it could have been a whole hell of a lot better.

Grade:  D

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #509 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Greg Land (Pencils), Jay Leisten (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Uncanny X-Men frustrates me. Read my review of Uncanny #508 for an explanation of why that is. The series is very close to being good (or even great), but a number of kinks must be worked out before it can make the jump.

The Story: The mutant community gets quite a jolt when news of Proposition X, legislation that would make chemical mutant birth control mandatory, hits the airwaves. Meanwhile, Beast’s X-Club learns that the key to solving the mutant birth problem may actually lie within one of the science team’s members. As for the Sisterhood? Madelyn Pryor’s plan gets revealed a bit more as they begin to take the fight to the X-Men.

What’s Good: While many of the usual flaws of the series still pop up, Uncanny X-Men #509 is definitely an improvement over the last issue. Especially in regards to the pacing of the various plots. What that means for the reader is that the storylines finally progress enough to feel somewhat satisfying and are also left dangling at logical, suspenseful moments. I still wish the plot segments weren’t so broken up, but I’ll take whatever improvements I can get.

Matt Fraction continues to do an extremely good job of using his large cast to explore big ideas. From Proposition X and the Sisterhood’s goals, to the X-Club’s mission, Fraction fuses plot and personality in a way that makes Uncanny #509 fun to read even when it falters or frustrates. Heck, even the artwork contributes to the feeling at times (turns out Colossus fits right in with the Oakland Raiders faithful), though I can’t help but wonder where Greg Land gets his source material from, because some of it cannot possibly be safe for work (Emma Frost in bondage restraints is just one of the questionable images).

What’s Not So Good: Even though the latest issue of Uncanny is an improvement, it still disappoints from time to time. The biggest reason for that is because the headlining Sisterhood story arc is proving to be a bit vague with the details and at times, too reliant on knowledge of X-continuity. Also, the artwork remains firmly inside the “love it or hate it” category. And as for the writing, Fraction can rightfully be accused of trying too hard to be hip or clever with some of the dialogue choices.

Conclusion: Uncanny X-Men #509 is a step in the right direction in almost every way. The flaws still prove to be distracting, but the good manages to outweigh the bad for once.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #508 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Greg Land (Pencils), Jay Leisten (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: It seems like nearly every month I wonder why I continue to purchase Uncanny X-Men. It’s as if I face the same irritations every time I read an issue. The story threads are too chopped up, the artwork is in a divisive style, and the arcs as a whole feel somewhat scattershot. While I don’t find the series to be bad or anything, I’ll be the first to admit that there are better comics I could be spending my money on.

The Story: Madelyn Pryor, Cyclops’ former lover, is back and looking to make good use of a captured “X” character. With the help of Spiral, Chimera, and Lady Deathstrike, she raids a cemetery to get just the body she needs. Meanwhile, Beast introduces the final member of his science team and lays out the current situation of mutantkind. Also, Wolverine does some recruiting and Emma attempts to teach the recently rescued Russian women.

What’s Good: You have to give Matt Fraction credit for being able to successfully cram so much of the “X” universe into one issue without too much confusion. He makes good use of the powers, personalities, and storylines that make up the mutant ‘verse and the series is all the better for it. Even those unfamiliar with the characters (or confused by Greg Land’s artwork) will feel sufficiently in the loop thanks to Fraction’s clever (occasionally annoying) information boxes. I mention that because Uncannny X-Men #508 is definitely juggling a whole hell of a lot at once….

What’s Not So Good: …And, unfortunately, the entire issue suffers because of it. Quite frankly, the whole thing is just incredibly frustrating to read and look at. That said, in truth, I like the storylines in play for the most part. What I don’t like is the way they are being chopped up into tiny little pieces that rarely feel satisfying. While the latest Uncanny moves plot threads forward more successfully than some of the previous issues, every one of them still feels incredibly stunted when left dangling for next month. In other words, from a story perspective I was left wanting more, but more because things felt incomplete and unsatisfying as opposed to them being genuinely compelling. Allow me to share an example…

During one scene, Wolverine learns of something over the phone and reacts by yelling out and unsheathing his claws. The next time we see Wolvie, he’s totally cool with everything and busy doing some recruiting for the team. Now what bothers me is that there was absolutely zero explanation about (or even mention of) his outburst at any other time in the issue. While it’s easy to draw a conclusion to what caused his reaction, there is no reason given in the book for why the reaction was warranted. I presume it is being left for next month, but for the time being I have to react with a big old “WTF?”

Want to know something else that is not so good? The artwork. While I think Uncanny is one of the better fits for Greg Land’s style considering how “talky” it can be, it would be nice to see the work manage to keep things consistent or appropriately detailed for more than a few pages at a time. The inks and colors do little to help matters either, as I think they definitely contribute to the consistency and detailing problems.

Conclusion: Uncanny X-Men #508 scores points for personality and effort, but ultimately winds up being far more frustrating than fun.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny