Amazing X-Men #4 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Ed McGuinness (penciler), Dexter Vines (inker), Marte Gracia (colors)

The Story: Yo Ho, all together, hoist four-colors high…

The Review: Amazing X-Men is a strange beast – no pun intended, despite there being at least two. The latest X-Men ongoing from Jason Aaron has felt quite a bit more like a “Quest for Nightcrawler” miniseries thus far. It returns the X-Men to their largely forgotten demon battling days and reintroduces Azazel to their rogue’s gallery. Even stranger, it’s been a gorgeous widescreen romp, plagued by strange pacing problems. All of that continues this month, but it’s slowly becoming clearer what’s important to Jason Aaron.

The issue opens with the X-Men scattered throughout the various realms of the Christian afterlife, but it’s very much a story about their coming together. Aaron builds on the stupendous flashbacks that helped define last issue and doesn’t let up for a minute. To be honest, I usually try to build at least some level of suspense into my reviews, but there’s simply nothing that can justify not discussing the level to which Aaron understands the X-Men in this issue.

The highlight of the issue, by far, is the interaction between Nightcrawler and Beast. Aaron has every opportunity to simplify or stereotype the bluest X-Men, but instead he crafts a truly charming battle and an incredible flashback that is positively filled with everything wonderful about the old Xavier Institute.

Aaron draws similar emotion out of the inevitable reunion between Kurt and Logan. Though the flashback that precedes it is comparatively unadventurous, Aaron trusts his story, his characters, and his artist and the result is a moment of stunningly beautiful tenderness.

Amazing X-Men #2 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Ed McGuinness (penciler), Dexter Vines (inker), Marte Gracia (colors)

The Story: Iceman finds himself without a snowball’s chance in Hell.

The Review: As Jason Aaron’s Elysian pirate epic rolls on, we find the Amazing team split between Heaven and Hell. If that sounds awesome to you, you’re probably not alone, as, at the least, Aaron seems to be plenty pleased with the sheer scope of his tale.

Fans of Aaron’s work will remember that he previously took Wolverine to Hell in the previous iteration of Logan’s solo series. Despite that rather grim take on Logan, Aaron’s also become known for the madcap, comedic style of Wolverine and the X-Men. Fittingly, this issue demonstrates elements of each of those runs.

The tone is definitely more in line with Aaron’s more recent work, focusing on the madness of the situation rather than the horror; however the narration of the issue makes sure to reinforce the stakes. I expect that this will register differently depending on the reader. Just as some may find the balance refreshing, others may wish that the book would pick a tone and stick with it.

X-Men Curse of the Mutants: Storm & Gambit #1 – Review

By: Chuck Kim (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Wayne Faucher, Al Vey, Victor Olazaba, Mark Irwin & Bachalo (inks), Antonio Fabela & Bachalo (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: Storm and Gambit try to break into Vampire Island to steal the body of Dracula.

What’s Good: If you’ve followed the X-Men for any length of time, you’ve been burned by these one-shot/miniseries that tie into whatever event or status quo is going on in the main X-books.  Sometimes these one-shots are just complete crap, but I tend to buy them because I hope I’ll get what this issue had.

Considering this issue stars two of my least favorite X-Men (Storm and Gambit), it is (surprisingly) a lot of fun as they make their way through Vampire Island to steal Dracula’s body.  Both are a little out of sorts because they end up relying on their thief-skills rather than their mutant powers and that was a nice change-up because we’ve all seen plenty of Storm zapping things from on high or Gambit slinging glowing purple objects around.

It also had some good guest starring roles for Emma, Dazzler & Northstar.  I love the way some writers just seem to really enjoy writing Emma and her snarky attitude.

Of course, backing this all up is art by Chris Bachalo (who is one of my favorite artists).  There are a few issues with it that I’ll discuss below, but also a few panels/pages that just sing and demand that you linger before turning the page.

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