Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Marc Silvestri (Pencils), Michael Broussard, Eric Basaldua, Tyler Kirkham, & Sheldon Mitchell (Pencil Assists), Joe Weems w/ Marco Galli, Eric Basaldua, Rick Basaldua, Jason Gorder, Jay Leisten, Sal Regla, Jon Sibal, and Ryan Winn (Inks), and Frank D’Armata (Colors)

The Story: A riot breaks out as the March for Humanity (led by Simon Trask and his Humanity Now! coalition) reaches San Francisco’s mutant population. The confrontation sparks a wave of violence between mutants and humans that spreads throughout the streets of San Francisco and other nearby cities. With chaos reigning, Norman Osborn sends his Avengers in to restore some order by any means necessary. There is also another plan at work, something far more sinister…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The best thing about the first chapter of Utopia is its strong ending. It’s genuinely surprising and it brings to mind a number of interesting possibilities. What’s disappointing though, is how long it feels like it takes to get the ending that makes the Utopia one-shot worth reading.

While Matt Fraction does a very nice job of ramping up the tension in San Francisco and establishing a sense of scale to the mutant/ human conflict, too much of Utopia #1 feels like fluff. What Fraction establishes in over thirty pages could have easily been taken care of with less than twenty-five. Now, with that said, just because it’s padding, doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Fraction does a lot of great things with the various characters he is allowed to play with. Fluff or not, there’s no denying how well written Utopia is. The scene between Cyclops and Toad is absolutely fantastic, as is the short Hawkeye/ Bullseye appearance. The page showing how others are reacting to the San Francisco mess is also very effective in a “short, but sweet” way.

What bothers me about Fraction’s story is that it makes Cyclops look rather foolish early on. The March for Humanity had apparently been marching hundreds of miles for quite sometime before reaching San Francisco. I find it hard to believe that a character like Cyclops (or any other “X” leader) would not be on top of things regarding how to deal with Trask’s march. Yeah, I know, that complaint is a bit of a nitpick in the larger scheme of things, but after all the character rehab Cyclops has gone through…

By now you’ve probably noticed that I have yet to mention Utopia’s artwork. There’s a reason for that. You know that phrase “Too many cooks in the kitchen?” Yeah… The artwork in Utopia #1 brings that phrase to mind quite often.

Now I’ll leave the “Top Cow” style stuff for you to decide on (expect subtle scenes to look anything but subtle…poses aplenty). What I will discuss, however, is the fact that the first issue of Utopia has visuals that are, when taken as a whole, quite disappointing. For every great looking scene, there is one that serves as a terrible reminder that the art team is made up of fourteen different people. Simply put, Utopia #1 is wildly inconsistent– visually. At least the whole thing has a cohesive look to it though. It really could have been so much worse considering how many people had a hand in creating the artwork.

Conclusion: The Utopia crossover shows a lot of promise, but it takes a while to understand why. If you can deal with the occasionally rough visuals and the sense that things have been stretched out a bit, you’ll find a lot to like about the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia one-shot.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #505 – Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Terry Dodson (Pencils), Rachel Dodson (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While a bit scattershot, I really enjoyed the first chapter of Matt Fraction’s new Uncanny arc. It was loaded with fun character moments and it left me feeling as though the writer is having a blast playing in Marvel’s mutant sandbox. Now it’s time to see what plans he has for everything that was set up last month.

The Story: The latest issue of Uncanny is put together very much like the last. It continues to develop a number of different storylines at once by jumping from one location to another throughout the book. Colossus meets a Russian from his past that has an offer for him. Emma Frost continues to ponder her place among the X-Men and in mutant-kind in general. Beast continues to go through the process of recruiting members for a science team that can work to solve the current state of the mutant race. Lingering above all those stories is the politician, Simon Trask, and the outing of the chaos that happened as a result of the birth of the “Messiah” baby.

What’s Good: The best thing about the current state of Uncanny is that Fraction is doing a real nice job of weaving the smaller, more personal stories in and out of the Marvel universe as a whole. The latest issue manages to touch upon X-Force, Dark Reign, Cable, and the bigger aspects of mutant life without ever feeling forced or unnatural. It makes the book easy to like whether you only care about mutants or are a full-blown Marvel zombie.

As for the individual stories being told, they are filled with personality and hold a lot of potential. In addition, the attractive, vibrant visuals by Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Justin Ponsor do a great job of complimenting the storytelling. The colors pop and the characters display an impressive level of emotion and liveliness.

What’s Not So Good: Despite how dense the issue feels due to the large amount of dialogue, the storylines don’t really develop enough to be considered satisfying. In short, I like where things are headed, but I don’t really like the glacial pacing being used to get there. There is a whole lot going on, and I give Fraction credit for keeping things well in order. However it almost feels as though the issue has a bit too much on its plate.

Conclusion: There is a lot to like about Uncanny X-Men #505, but at times, it feels like it could buckle under its own weight. While the various stories being told at once are interesting, they are moving forward at a pace that is sure to irritate some. In other words, it will leave you wanting more, in ways both good and bad.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny