Avengers #33 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (story), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers try to save the Wasp from Lord Gouzar and leave behind the Microverse once and for all.

The Review:  Comics like this are really frustrating, particularly when it comes to reviewing, let alone grading them.  What the hell do you do with a comic that is so perfectly inoffensive?  Bendis and the Dodsons give us that this month, providing us with an issue that is completely passable on every front but not a whole lot more than that.  There’s not a lot to praise, but there’s also nothing to really gripe about either.

That being said, in giving us a by the numbers “fun” Avengers story, it can definitely be argued that this issue feels a bit like comfort food.  It’s archetypal “big” superhero comics and everything is adequately and professionally done.  As such, it’s a nice, easy read and a fun way to pass the time, without causing any real irritation or frustration.

At the very least, Bendis gives us a nicely balanced comic here – there’s a good amount of action, plot progression, snappy dialogue, and humour, as well as genuine emotion in the reunion of the Pyms.  Overall, it’s a fairly rounded experience that never drags.

The Defenders #7 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciller), Rachel Dodson (inker), Sonia Oback (colorist), and Clayton Cowles (letterer)

The Story: Black Cat gets recruited by weirdoes to steal weird stuff; the Defenders take their hunt for John Aman to Wakanda.

The Review:  As my top picks for this week can attest, I was looking forward to this issue, but this actually managed to exceed expectations.  Suffice to say, should Marvel ever consider a solo Black Cat series, Matt Fraction would definitely be on my short-list for the book.

Fraction’s has a naturally strong handle of Black Cat and her particular voice and he wisely has her narration the portions of the book in which she appears, allowing him to show off his understanding and clear love of the character.  Felicia Hardy is just as she should be: sassy, living on the edge, thrill-seeking, and cocky.  She leaps off the page and showcases everything that makes her a fan favourite.  Put simply, it’s impossible not to like Fraction’s Black Cat.  The way she’s introduced is also a stroke of genius: we get to see Felicia working an office job, which is comedy gold.  It also, of course, helps to have the Dodsons on art.  While their work overall on the issue is beautiful, as expected, having them draw Cat is a natural choice, given that drawing good-looking women has become one of their trademarks, having published several sketchbooks dedicated solely to doing just that.

Taking the Defenders to Wakanda is also a nice touch.  I’m really enjoying Fraction’s using this book not only as a way to spotlight disparate, B to C list characters, but also as a way to visit the far-flung corners of the Marvel Universe.  It adds a sense of vibrance and diversity to the book that makes it rather trippy, setting it apart from Marvel’s line.  I also cannot emphasize enough how much I loved the way Fraction introduced Wakanda itself: as the Defender’s land, they’re accompanied by narration that sounds like a voice-over from a cheesy old adventure movie or travelogue; it’s so amusing, that it’s guaranteed to have you hearing it in your head.

The Defenders #4 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Michael Lark (penciler), Stefano Guadino with Brian Thies (inker), Matt Hollingsworth (colorist)

The Story: In honor of  Ghost Rider: The Spirit of Vengeance, a Nicolas Cage quote: “The problem with dating dream girls is that they have a tendency to become real.”

The Review: I am stunned; the turnaround in this book has left my jaw on the floor. Last issue, The Defenders #3, was a painfully bad issue, failing to deliver meaningful action, interesting characters, or a worthwhile conclusion to its story arc. But issue #4 is, honestly, one of the best comics I’ve read this year. A tight, character driven story; eerie, powerful magicks; stellar art; this issue has it all. What happened?

I think a good part of its success is rooted in its scaled-back story. Rather than trying to wow us with interdimensional-costume-changing powers and tiger-flown spacecrafts, this is a story about four very human people and their desires and losses. The small scale for on personalities allows Fraction to display a flair for characterization that has been absent in the previous three issues. One of these characters is Molly, the young woman we found in Dr. Strange’s bed in the first issue, here still wracked with misgivings about the tryst. I’m charmed that we actually get to meet her again, and see her as a character rather than a plot device used to show Dr. Strange’s state of mind. Clearly uncomfortable with her sexuality and upset with her discomfort, she punishes herself throughout this issue for what she sees as moment of weakness in the hands of a scoundrel.

Meanwhile, Steven is having difficulties of his own. Having relocated the concordance to his chambers (as well as Prester John’s brother), he meditates before it, and accidentally summons back from the dead a woman he loved during his college years. After a few days of bliss, it slowly becomes clear to him that she is not back merely for his own enjoyment, and troubles arise; at the same time, a street magician tries to capitalize on Strange’s preoccupation by having a look at the concordance for himself…which goes about as well for him as you can imagine.  It’s a melancholy little story, but brilliantly executed, and has me far more interested in the Concordance than all the talk of its wibbly-wobbly impossibility in the previous two issues did.

Defenders #3 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciler), Rachel Dodson (inker), Sonia Oback (colorist)

The Story: The Defenders prove their incompetence.

The Review: I’m not sure what just happened. I enjoyed The Defenders #1, and while I wasn’t particularly impressed with #2, I still thought the series was on good footing. But after reading The Defenders #3, I have to question this book’s right to exist. The series has gone downhill fast, with several factors undercutting any chance it had at success. I would be sad if weren’t so comical. I’m going to put a SPOILER warning on for this entire review. If you just want my opinion before reading it, know that I think it’s bad. If you want more of a blow-by-blow analysis, read on.

The book opens fine, with Prester John explaining to the Defenders that he is going to allow Nul, the Breaker of Worlds, to destroy the Concordance Engine, a timey-wimey spacey-wacey thingy which, when destroyed, will end the universe and propel John and his spaceship/arc into a new universe. John’s motivation is basically that he thinks that this universe is sick, God is dead, and there’s no point in sticking around any longer. When finished talking, he then walks off, telling the Defenders they can join him on his spaceship, or stay and be killed when the universe dies.

The Defenders declare that they need to A) stop Nul from breaking the Concordance and B) stop Prester John from leaving the universe. Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know than B) relies on A) being done, so as long as A) is stopped, the Defenders don’t need to worry about B). So, naturally, the Defenders split up to try and stop both. Right.

Silver Surfer goes off to stop Prester John, and the rest stay behind to stop Nul, thinking, “That much madness…that much power…” The thought and narration boxes really try to sell you on the idea that John is insane, but I’m not buying it. Comics are a medium rife with madmen and lunatics both good and evil, so “madness” isn’t a word you can just toss around. As is, John simply acts more like an over-powered curmudgeon than a deranged psychotic. He’s not even ranking at a level of J. Jonah Jameson madness.

Defenders #2 – Review

By Matt Fraction (writer), Terry & Rachel Dodson (artists), Sonia Oback (colorist)

The Story: Dr. Strange gets a new nickname.

The Review: In my review of The Defenders #1, I complimented Fraction’s use of that issue as a way to introduce the team rather than diving into a dense plot right away. It presented a good foundation to build some group chemistry and highlighted the group’s diversity. Now, however, I’m a bit confused as to why he went through all that effort, as he doesn’t seem interested in building on it.

The heroes are remarkably dull, which is really an accomplishment when you consider the group Fraction is working with. Worse, they sound very much the same as one another. There are still some token reminders that these are distinct individuals—Dr. Strange drops some mystical history on the group, and Namor shouts “Imperious Rex!”—but it all feels oddly shallow. Even the narrator and the villains sound eerily alike. They’re like skittles; each character has a different veneer, but they’re really just different degrees of tart, and don’t actually taste a hell of a lot like the fruits they’re meant to.

The Defenders #1 – 3 Reviews in 1

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciller), Rachel Dodson (inker), Sonia Oback (colorist), John Denning & Jake Thomas (assistant editors), Alejandro Arbona (associate editor)

The Story: “Hey Iron Fist! We’re getting the band back together… Wanna be our roadie?”

The Review: You might have heard that Matt Fraction described this book as “the Avengers meets Casanova.” I’m not certain I agree yet. Instead, after having read The Defenders #1, the book looks pretty much like what you would expect it to: a group of the outsiders of Marvel Comics working as a team to take on a dark, mysterious force. It doesn’t display a lot of ambition, but what you get is palatable enough; this sentiment holds true for all aspects of this issue.

Part of the strength of the Defenders has always been that it is composed of characters you don’t expect to find on a team at all, much less with each other. Fraction seems to understand this, and after delivering a very effective opening that establishes the Big Bad and shows us what it can do, he slows down to let this issue be about who our heroes are and why they wind up together.

As a result, we don’t get to see the plot advance much; basically, after finding out that Nul, the Breaker of Worlds—who was last seen possessing the Hulk—is still up to no good, the Defenders reassemble, get on a plane, and promptly crash it. So instead of plot developments, we’re treated to a series of vignettes that reintroduce our heroes. Some work; some don’t. The parts showing us what the Surfer and She-Hulk get up to in their spare time are fun and rather inspired, but Namor’s introduction is too brief and frankly unoriginal. The introduction of Iron Fist gets the lion’s share of attention, but there’s a Kung Fu fight in zero gravity during his introduction, so I can forgive the unbalanced presentation. I cannot, however, so easily forgive the reason Iron Fist joins the group. After all, everyone else either has been on the team before or is an obvious stand-in for a former member, so what’s so special about Daniel Rand that merits his inclusion? Apparently, it’s that he has a plane.

It’s the tone, however, that is a biggest stumbling block. After a fairly nasty and unsettling opening, Fraction spends the rest of the issue striving for a witty, charming appeal. While in theory this could be a good use of juxtaposition, the jokes feel forced as often as not, and the charm only works in fits and bursts. Light, humorous dialogue isn’t what you expect from Fraction, and while it’s cool to see him try something different, it’s clear he’s a bit outside his comfort zone.

The art team deserves a nod for delivering solid work. Terry and Rachel Dodson offer up good, straightforward storytelling, but while the layouts accomplish the basics, the nuances don’t take it over the top. Characters look good, but don’t emote wonderfully. The artwork always supports the narrative, but never makes it shine, even in instances where it really should have stolen the show.

Conclusion: The Defenders #1 is technically competent, and with a little more life and a bit more purpose, it could be a really engaging experience. But this issue isn’t going to hook you right off the bat.

Grade: C+

-Jim Middleton

Some Musings: -Any one know what’s up with the leaves of grass at the bottom of the pages? I’m kind of digging it.

– So, if Nul is still around, are Kuurth, Skirn, and Nerkkod too? Someone should really look into that. I nominate the Desert Stars.

Point One #1 – Review

By: Various.  (Seriously….it’s half the creative talent at Marvel)

The Story: Marvel teases what is to come in 2012 in this 7-part, 64-page anthology-ish issue.

Seven Things:

1. Behold the Watcher.  This was the spine of the issue and it showed a couple of guys in spacesuits fiddling with The Watcher while he slept.  And here we get the essence of the issue: What these guys downloaded from The Watcher is supposedly what is to come in the Marvel Universe in the near future.  That’s a pretty interesting way to glue together a bunch of 7-8 page teasers.  Ed Brubaker get’s writing credits here and does a fine job, but the scene-stealer was Javier Pulido and Javier Rodriguez on the art.  Pulido reminds me of a playful version of Jack Kirby and Rodriguez matches the playfulness with bright colors.  LOVE this art.  Every time I see Pulido art I decide I need some for my collection, yet I can’t find if/where/how the dude sells his original art.  So, if anyone knows….hook a brother up so I can give the man some money.

2. Nova: Harbinger.  Most marvel fans have seen the teaser images showing the Phoenix coming back, right?  Well…..here’s a story further teasing that story and if those prior images of a flaming Phoenix effect left some doubt about what precisely was going on, this makes is pretty clear: The Phoenix force is returning to the Marvel Universe.  Loeb and McGuinness do a nice job with this story of Nova (when did he come back from the Cancerverse?) trying to stay one step again of the Phoenix force.  Still unclear what titles this story will occur in.

3. The Scarlet Thread.  I really enjoyed this intro to the new Scarlet Spider series by the creative team of Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman.  It showed Kaine trying to just get away from it all, but ultimately showing that he can be a Spider-Man…..just not the Spider-Man.  And, that’s really the best way to use the clone guys: Emphasize the “nurture” part of “nature versus nurture” and show that genetics only goes so far to explaining why Peter Park is the hero that we all know and love.  A guy like Kaine with different life experiences is going to be a different type of character.  Bonus points for setting the story in Charlotte, NC!

Uncanny X-Men #538 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: The conclusion of the deposed Powerlord Kruun’s attempt to get revenge against the X-Men.

What’s Good: This was a fun and quickly paced issue.  As I’ll get into below, I think it had some flaws in execution, but the flow of the issue was pretty strong.

The high point is that we have Kitty back.  Yea!  She’s such an important part of the X-Men and family of comic X-titles really suffered for her absence (first while she was in the space bullet and then when she came back but was stuck being insubstantial).  It’s also nice to see that she and Peter maybe have a chance to be together now.  If you’re remember, one of the cruel twists of the Whedon Astonishing X-Men run was that just as Peter returned from the dead and they began their relationship, Kitty got stuck in the space bullet and was gone.  Of course, I’m sure they’ll be stuck on opposite sides of the upcoming Schism storyline just to show how serious the Schism situation is. [NOTE to X-writers: That would be a pretty lazy story choice unless there is a really good reason for it.]

It is also pretty cool that San Francisco is continuing to get played up as the most welcoming city in the U.S.A.  I thought it made a LOT of sense when the mutants relocated to SF around issue #495 or so and it has been fun to see the mutants close relationship with the mayor.  So, pretty cool that SF is going to give a home to the Breakworld aliens.

Quick-Hit Reviews – Week of May 25, 2011

A whole LOT of very solid comics last week.  We can’t review everything in-depth, so the least we can do is give you a quick-hit letting you know what we thought of an issue and whether it is worth picking up.

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #6 – Talk about not being what I expected!  I was honestly starting to lose the narrative in issues #4 and #5 of this series once Spider/Wolvie ran into that Luke Cage-looking guy with the diamond-encrusted baseball bat.  So, I really wasn’t looking forward to this issue at all, but it really came together nicely.  Silly me, how could I doubt Jason Aaron?  The guy still hasn’t told me a bad story.  This issue dispenses with the diamond-encrusted baseball bats and Mojo and finds Peter and Logan stranded in the Wild West where Peter finds love and Logan comes to realize how much he likes Peter.  I’ll need to reread this entire series, but I think it might just be one of those modern classics that you could just hand to people as a good Spider-Man/Wolverine story.  Really nice art by Adam Kubert.  Grade: A-

Uncanny X-Men #537 – Kieron Gillen has got a nice little story going on in Uncanny and it is making me very optimistic about how his run on Uncanny might turn out.  The story in this issue follows the deposed Powerlord Kruun from Breakworld as he attempts to exact revenge upon the X-Men who caused him to lose power during Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run.  What makes this story work so nicely is that Gillen is only playing with a few of the X-Men at one time.  Less is always more when doing an X-Men story!  Most of the action in this issue is Kitty-centric as she has to find a way to get help when no one can hear her.  Her solution is pretty darn clever.  I wish the Dodson’s could do all the art on Uncanny and it should be a law that every issue that the Dodson’s do illustrate feature Kitty and Emma Frost because they draw the hell out of those two characters.  Grade: B

The Tattered Man – This one-shot from Image by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray is a very straightforward.  It’s Halloween and some druggie kids take advantage of the holiday to get an old man to open his door, they bust in wanting drug money and get a little more than they bargained for.  There are some parts of this story that are a little familiar, but the execution is really tight and the creators bring it home by not being afraid to kill a few characters who you would usually think are “safe”.  The highlight of the issue was probably the old man recounting his background as a Holocaust survivor (just going to show that you can tread familiar ground if you do it well).  Nice art, especially on the design of the supernatural force of vengeance that shows up.  Palmiotti & Gray could have a nice creator-owned winner with this and this could easily become an ongoing series.  Grade: B

The Incredible Hulks #629 – This was a very good conclusion to a pretty good story arc that teamed up Bruce Banner/Hulk his ex-wife Betty/Red She Hulk.  The story has lots of good Hulk moments.  What Pak does really well is sell the “Oh no!  Now you’ve made him mad!” moment.  You know, the scene where the bad guy whacks the hell out of the Hulk, Hulk goes flying 15 miles through the air and smashes into the ground, but when Hulk climbs out of the crater you just know that the other dude is in HUGE trouble.  It’s hard to capture that moment, but Pak does it really well.  We also get some really good Banner/Betty stuff in this issue.  Betty wants to be with Bruce, but as Red She Hulk, she has other plans.  The only downer in this issue is that I don’t see how the ending jibes at all with what happened in Fear Itself #2 where Banner and Betty are working out their issues in a rain forest.  Is there a writer who cares less about that sort of contemporaneous action than Matt Fraction?  Great art by Tom Grummett too.  Grade: B

Spider-Girl #7 – There are some good elements in this issue, but the negatives kinda balance things out.  The good is seeing Spider-Girl teaming up with Spider-Man to take down some bad guys.  We’re so used to Spider-Man being “the kid” who is always the one being childish and inappropriate and annoying the piss out of the other heroes, that it is kinda fun to see the role reversal and Tobin handles that really well.  There is also a very creative moment when Spider-Girl overwrites the code of a murderous robot’s AI with the game Angry Birds to keep the robot from attacking (unless someone acts like a pig, of course).  But, the downsides are here too.  For one, I don’t want Spider-Man in this book.  Nothing screams, “This character cannot carry his/her own title!” like having Wolverine or Spider-Man co-star.  The other problem I’m having is that this issue is full of Spider-Girl punching out room’s full of commando guys.  Spider-Girl has no powers and is a ~80 pound teenage girl.  I don’t care if she was “trained by Captain America”, she just can’t hit hard enough to have her main attack being punching and kicking 230-pound guys.  Watch some MMA and get creative with how these undersized characters can take down a bigger dude!  And we have a classic Marvel cover fail that shows Spider-Girl punching Screwball (who isn’t even mentioned in the issue).  Grade: C  

Uncanny X-Men #536 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: Would you let the aliens from Breakworld sleep on the couch?

What’s Good: If you liked Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run from a few years ago, you should really enjoy this issue because Gillen is playing with most of Whedon’s stories from those issues.  Isn’t it funny that a series that was only marginally “in continuity” back when it was published has ended up being so influential today?  Just goes to show that there is a difference between “continuity” and “things happening simultaneously” and those things like really late issues don’t matter so much years down the road.  Time surely grants perspective.

Anyway, Gillen clearly has a good handle on all the characters at play here: Agent Brand is prickly, Emma is haughty, Cyclops feels responsible, Colossus is dutiful and loyal, Magneto is driven, etc.  As fans, we could rattle off the personality attributes of the core X-Men, but I think it is a lot harder to write dialog and pencil and ink the pages such that those characters we know and love come shining through.

The action in this issue is all good and I’m sure it won’t come as any surprise that the Breakworld aliens are not quite as benign as they make out and I’ll be very curious to see how [SPOILERS] them attacking Magneto with “the cure” will work out.  My recollection is that he isn’t really a mutant any more and that the High Evolutionary did something to him that approximated his mutant powers.  We’ll see, but Magneto clearly has a role to play in this story (along with the “space tin”) and it’ll be fun to see what happens.

The Dodson’s again do a great job with the art.  I really love artists who have a distinct style where you can open the comic and say, “This is drawn by Terry and Rachel Dodson.”  One thing that I find really impressive about their work is how much acting and emoting their characters do given their grounding in realism.  And, their faithfulness to human anatomy (beyond the huge boobs) is pretty uncanny.  I never get distracted by the length of a finger or a muscle that seems to be in the wrong place.  Very nice…

Uncanny X-Men #535 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Joe Caramagna (colors), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: Remember the Breakworld mega-story from Joss Whedon’s awesome Astonishing X-Men run?  Well, the X-Men have to go back there!

What’s Good: My life as a comic fan is just better when Uncanny X-Men is good.  That’s the title I became a fan with back in the early 80’s and while Uncanny has had awesome moments over the last 100 or so issues (mostly in the X-events), it hasn’t been consistently great in a long time.  So, any time a new writer comes onto the title, the anticipation grows because THIS might be the time that Uncanny recaptures the Claremont/Byrne/Romita/Smith magic.

This is new writer Kieron Gillen’s first “normal” issue (discounting the .1 issues last week), and if he keeps cranking this kinda stuff out, it’s going to be really good.  For one thing, he runs with a really smart story.  The Break World saga from Astonishing X-Men is probably one of the better non-event X-stories of the last 15 years, so it makes sense to go back there because as rich as Whedon’s story was, there is a LOT left to be done.  I think too many writers try to introduce new things in their first story on a title just to show how creative they are, but sometimes us fans just want to watch the X-Men fighting the established bad guys.

One way that the X-Men have sagged for the last couple of years is by being stuck on Utopia.  There are many things great about the Utopia setting, but it leads to having too many characters around.  So, Gillen does a smart thing here by picking a group of X-Men and sending their asses on a mission.  This way, we shouldn’t have too many outside distractions and we can watch this particular team gel together (even if it is a pretty classic team).

X-Men: Second Coming – Review

Writers: Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Matt Fraction, Zeb Wells, and Mike Carey

Pencillers: David Finch, Terry Dodson, Ibraim Roberson, Greg Land, and Mike Choi with Stuart Immonen, Lan Medina, Nathan Fox, and Esad Ribic.

And so here it is: the last installment of the “Messiah Trilogy” or Messianic X Cycle (Say it. Make it catch on!). We’ve been through Endangered Species, Messiah Complex and Messiah War. Now it’s time for Second Coming, the event that concludes three years of X-Men stories. It’s been some of the darkest times in X-Men history. They’ve exiled themselves to an island nation after Norman Osborne and the Dark Avengers attacked them in San Francisco (Read Utopia for that), which then caused Magneto to return—with his powers back—and pledge allegiance to Cyclops. The Black Queen raised an army of dead mutants to attack their new home (Necrosha). In the meantime, Cyclops has been sending his own wet works team out to kill every threat to mutant kind, and they kill plenty. And Cable is off the future raising Hope, the mutant messiah, in a wasteland of a timeline literally blown to pieces by Bishop.  But X-Force has killed pretty much all except for their first target: Bastion, the robot-made-man-then-decapitated-and-later-made-cyborg-by-attaching-the-head-onto-a-Nimrod-sentinel-from-the-future. You know, one of those. And Cable has stranded Bishop in a future so distant that the sun is about to consume the Earth. It’s time for Hope to go back to the present and join the X-Men.

Now, that creative team. Well…it’s not the magic we had in Messiah Complex, nor is it the uniqueness we had in Messiah War. Kyle and Yost basically own this series. Pretty much every majorly important thing that happens in Second Coming happens in their issues.  Still, Mike Carey and Zeb Wells are both fantastic too. In fact, Zeb Well’s is surprisingly good as he was the one writer everyone expected to fall short. Unfortunately, it’s Matt Fraction’s writing that sticks out like an ugly chick in a swimsuit catalog. It’s not always bad, but it’s hard to believe that Fraction read a single issue of Cable or X-Force before writing Hope. When Wells, Kyle, Yost, and Carey are writing, the character is consistent. Yet Fraction writers her (and I’ve said this before) like a bipolar Pixie. His transitions are awful. At the end of the first act, Colossus is freaking out about Illyana being sent to limbo but shuts up when he sees Kurt’s dead body.  Fraction begins act two with Colossus smiling and suggesting a vampire movie to Kittie as she’s confined to her ghost chamber. What the hell? Everyone who was in the field are still standing around Kurt, he’s scared to death that his sister is dead too, and for some reason he takes the time to rent Twilight for his ghost girlfriend? And the thing is…that’ not even the only inconsistent part. Let’s move to the transition between act 2 and 3. In the end of Act 2, Beast gives an update of the wounded, including the fact that “Iceman has third degree energy burns over 25% of his body.” That sounds relative serious and a good reason why Iceman should be out of the game, right? Apparently not because we see Iceman without a scratch taking down a Nimrod with Psylocke and Fantomex. At this point, the other writers seem to have said “F it. Fraction ignored his injuries, we’ll use Iceman too.” What made Messiah Complex and Messiah War awesome was the proof that the writers were working together. In Second Coming we get four writers who do and one who ignores his peers. Having said that, the times Fraction is good, he’s really good. When Nightcrawler learns about X-Force in the second chapter was very well written as was the very last segment of the crossover, which we’ll get into later since it’s the end, but Fraction makes up for a lot of his bad writing there. Nightcrawler’s funeral…. not so much. But back to the writers who really brought their best to the plate. Carey is unsurprising. His last full issue of Cypher taking down the Nimrods is superb (in its writing…we’ll talk about art next). He writes every character perfectly. Even when he’s thrown a new one like Hope, it’s like he sat down, read every issue of Cable took a deep breath and said “yeah, I see what Swierczynksi’s doing with her. She’s not just young female Cable, but she is her father’s daughter nonetheless” and then wrote her. Prodigy describes Hope as the “voodoo doll for the whole mutant race.” Carey is basically the voodoo doll of every X-writer, and yet, like Hope, still has his own kind of power. Wells gives the best line of foreshadowing ever. When Hope and Dani are fighting, Dani says “I’m not the person you want to be putting your hands on.” The fact that Hope powering mutants by touch doesn’t happen until after Second Coming, and only for newly powered mutants, makes this line pretty awesome when returning to the crossover. But his best writing is in the first chapter of the last issue (confusing, I know) when he writers from Professor X’s point of view after Hope destroys Bastion and simply wants to curl up next to what is left of her father, and then when she wakes up and talks to Magneto for a little bit. We get the two seniors of the X-Men and both written so wonderfully. And Kyle and Yost? Well, seriously, their last X-Force issue when Hope comes into power is just fantastic, but it’s also their little beats along the way. For instance, at the end of act two, as Cyclops is about to send Cable and X-Force on a suicide mission. Wolverine blames Hope for what happened to Kurt,  but instead of telling Cable to hurry up and move out, he tells him to “get on with it.” “Get on with it” basically telling Cable to go to Hope, tell her he loves her, and goodbye. They (Cable and Wolverine) both know they’re going to die. Not even Wolverine can be callous towards a daughter about to lose her father, even if she doesn’t know it. And it prepares the reader. Why would Wolverine think it important to make sure Cable does this? Because a few pages later, Cyclops admits to having sent them all to die.

Onto art…sadly, the crossover falters a lot in this department. The only main artists that fit here are Ibraim Roberson and Mike Choi (all the “with” artists do no harm). And while Terry Dodson’s art isn’t bad in any way, it just doesn’t match the story. It’s jarring. His art would be great for a fun Spider-Man story, but for the story about the X-Men making their honest-to-god last stand? It’s just not serious enough. But at least Dodson’s art has quality. Because the fact they not only included Greg Land and his pornographic style, but paired him with one of the best writers of the series is just a sin. A comic book sin. His style doesn’t match, and his art is just bad. Every woman looks exactly the same. At one point it really looks like he just drew the same female boy twice but gave one a gun to indicate which was Hope and which was Rogue. And let’s not forget the most awful double page spread ever where he cuts out Hope’s legs but gracefully leaves her vagina. But we’ve heard every Greg Land complaint a thousand times before, so let’s just move on. You know who really should have been the artists here? Well, everyone from Messiah Complex would have worked, but instead, I would have loved to see Ariel Olivetti and Clayton Crain. Pairing them with Choi and Roberson would have given that “this is it” feeling to the entire story. And I really would have loved to see Olivetti’s Nimrods. That would have been awesome. Oh well.

X-Men: Second Coming #2 – Review

by Matt Fraction, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Mike Carey & Zeb Wells (writers), Terry Dodson, Ibraim Roberson, Esad Ribic, & Greg Land (artists)

The Story: With Bastion’s assault on Utopia and the X-Men over, the mutant community mourns their fallen and ties up loose ends.  By the end of it all, friendships lie shattered and a new generation of mutants looms on the horizon.

Thoughts: Just as I mentioned in last week’s review of X-Force #28, this concluding chapter of Marvel’s latest (and greatest) X-epic is more of an epilogue to the story than a conclusion.  That fact didn’t affect my enjoyment of this issue in the least, though, as Second Coming #2 is still filled with the wonderful character beats and “Oh crap” moments that we’ve come to expect over the last three months.  This issue is separated into four separate chapters, each produced by the creative team of each X-title involved in the crossover.  I was struck with the fear that such an arrangement might give this installment a disjointed, anthology feel but my fears were misplaced.  The X-creators deliver their usual (well, almost) seamless storytelling here and the story flows with nary a bump in the road. Let’s break it down, shall we:

Chapter 1:  Wells and Roberson pick up from the cliffhanger and, smartly, decide to show this from the POV of Professor X.  The Professor has been getting short shrift as of late and it’s nice to see his reaction to some of these events.  The creators also deliver what has to be one of the saddest moments of the story as we see Hope cradling Cable’s bionic arm, reminding us of the little girl she truly is, despite all the messianic hubbub about her.  It’s nicely framed by Roberson.  Extra kudos go to Wells for Magneto’s somewhat sinister advice to Hope.  It’s one of many small moments in this issue that makes me excited for where the characters and their relationships will go next.

Chapter 2: Carey and Ribic get the emotional scene, as they deliver an appropriately dour funeral for Cable.  Carey, as he always does, gets all of the character beats right, from Cyclops’ failure to deliver a eulogy for his son to Hope’s flashback and her thoughts about her “father” to the rift formed between Rogue and Scott, an argument in which I found that I agree with both sides.  The choice of Ribic as penciller here was a nice choice.  His somewhat loose, sketchy linework works well in visualizing the funeral.

Uncanny X-Men #525 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (artist)

The Story: Hope hates Cyke for maybe killing her dad.  Utopia starts exploding.  The X-Men battle Nimrods on the streets of San Francisco. X-Force arrives in the future and finds out, yep, it blows.  Then they decide, screw it, let’s just kill everybody.  The Avengers and the Fantastic Four show up to help, but that don’t really work out.

What’s Good: Fraction redeems himself with this chapter of Second Coming by delivering a near perfect script as we enter the third and final act of the crossover.  Whereas the writer has had problems with keeping characterization consistent in the past, especially with characters from other titles, here he gets everybody almost right and the story’s breakneck pace benefits from the lack of distraction.  (Okay, Archangel acts a bit of a wuss, but I’ll chalk that up to stress for now.)  One point that Fraction seems intent on spotlighting is that Hope is, despite years of military training and being on the run, still a teenager, prone to a teenager’s angst and mood swings.  While that doesn’t always fit with her pre-established character, it works well here as she flips her lid when she discovers that Cyclops has sent her father-figure, Cable, on a suicide mission into the future.  This is exactly how a young person would react in such a situation, and the scene is strengthened by this portrayal of Hope.  Another benefit of the script is the injection of some humor into the proceedings.  While the storyline has succeeded primarily on its unrelenting direness and desperate, last stand-like tone, a little humor never hurt anyone.  If anything, it serves to make the serious scenes more weighty.  Dr. Nemesis’ reply to Mr. Fantastic’s appraisal, Cable’s first thought to the odds stacked against them in the future, and possibly the only time that I have ever liked the character of Fantomex.  “Ha Ha.  That film was stupid.”  Indeed.  Notable mentions go to raising the stakes by bringing in the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, the Professor’s peace with Scott, the “red sky” battles of the Bay Area, and the allusion to Days of Future Past.  All admirably visualized by the Dodsons.

Uncanny X-Men #524 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (artist)

The Story: The X-Men regroup and mourn their fallen teammate as Bastion continues to push his machinations against mutantkind forward.  Meanwhile, now that Hope, the so-called mutant messiah, has finally returned, she finds that she wants no part of the expectations that come with the title.

What’s Good: The breakneck pace of the Second Coming storyline has come to a halt with this chapter, and, surprisingly, the story doesn’t suffer from it.  If anything, Fraction has used this issue’s primary plot (the mourning of Nightcrawler) to transform that high tension from action-oriented to character-oriented.  Not only that, he utilizes the fact that Kurt sacrificed himself to save Hope in a such a way that he can also explore how Hope’s return affects Hope herself.  Not only has she fallen headfirst into a crowd that expects her to be their savior, but she’s also looked upon as responsible for the death of their friend.  Not an easy first impression to have to live with.    As is usual with every chapter so far of Second Coming, there are many wonderful small moments thrown in amongst the forward momentum of the tale.  Beast’s return to Utopia and his condemnation of Scott, Colossus’ catering to Kitty, Pixie’s annoyance, Scott’s look on his face as he finally meets the one person he’s hedged everything in his life on, including his morals.  The strongest character work here, as expected, falls on Wolverine.  His reaction to his best friend’s passing is a slow burn that works it’s way subtly through the book until he finally explodes on the final page.  Everything that he says and, more importantly, doesn’t say is excellently portrayed by both Fraction and Dodson.  If most X-fans had to imagine what Logan would speak at Kurt’s funeral, I’d imagine it would read a lot like what’s presented here.

Uncanny X-Men #523 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciller), Rachel Dodson (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors)

The Story: Time-travelling bodyguard Cable and guarded body Hope, the mutant-messiah-to-be, are on the run from mutant-hating Bastion’s forces, led by a bevy of the X-Men’s past foes. Meanwhile, a squad of X-Men attempt to catch up with the duo but first must deal with strife within the ranks when a dirty secret comes to light. That dirty secret’s name? X-Force.

What’s Good: As a fan of X-Force, it was nice to see Cyclops’ dirty little secret finally come into the light. While the readers were aware that it had to happen some time, it’s nice to finally see it play out. Wolverine’s reply, in both action and words, to Nightcrawler’s demand of answers was well-handled. He definitively places himself on one side of their debate, while leaving very little room for Kurt to fall anywhere but on the opposite side. It’s a powerful moment that has been building for a couple of years in the X-Books, and the payoff shows good signs of deserving the wait. Cyclops continues to be handled well in this story-line, as well. The last few years have really been a renaissance of Scott Summer’s character, showing what he’s capable of when given the reins of an army after decades of hinting at it. When confronted by Nightcrawler about the existence of his death-squad, he efficiently addresses his concerns in a diplomatic yet matter-of-fact way that anyone would be hard-pressed to dish out considering all the other pressures the man is dealing with. Agree or disagree with the leader of the mutant race, you’ve got to give it to him.  He knows what he’s doing.

Speaking of knowing what they’re doing, artist Terry Dodson delivers another wonderful looking issue of Uncanny X-Men. Since Issue #500, Dodson has been switching art duties with Greg Land, who is no favorite of mine. Whenever Dodson gets a turn, my enjoyment of a new issue of Uncanny goes up considerably. He continues that trend here, handling all of the characters ably. His rendition of Hope in particular is strong. Her innocence and the ability with which she can switch it off in order to ensure her survival are conveyed nicely. Her youth is also communicated appropriately in the artwork.  It’s always nice when a teenage girl in comics actually looks like a teenager, and not a sexed-up vixen.

Uncanny X-Men #519 – Review

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

The Story: Emma enters Scott’s mind while Magneto works to keep the island from sinking.

What’s Good: Much like last issue, the Dodsons breathe so much life into Uncanny.  The characters all look significantly more individual and lovable under their capable hands and the book has a vitality, an intimacy, and an intelligence that it doesn’t have under Land.  As I said in my last review of Fraction’s book, the Dodsons have a style that is simply “fun” at its core level.  #519 is actually a much stronger effort than their already solid work last month.  There’s a lot more detail and their depiction of the Void-contaminated version of Scott’s mind is a great amount of fun.  Meanwhile, their “nice guy” Magneto looks Disney-huggable.  I also absolutely loved Emma Frost’s military-styled outfit when in Scott’s mind, as well as the Mark Buckingham-styled paneling and borders during these portions.

This is also some of the best work I’ve seen out of Fraction on Uncanny that’ll have you wondering why the series couldn’t always be like this.  This is the kind of human soap opera that Uncanny should be and this comic actually feels like it was penned by the same guy who writes Invincible Iron Man.

All the characters have individual voices, all of the dialogue is characterful and tight, and all the interpersonal dynamics are fun and nuanced.  Emma and Scott’s adventure is well done; Emma is human, loving, and empathetic while retaining hints of her trademark high-nosed arrogance.  Scott is heroic and stalwart, as we’d expect him to be, while Fraction nonetheless has the Void complicate this portrayal by giving voice to his flaws and insecurities.  Meanwhile, I’m loving “nice guy Magneto,” and his conversation with Namor is spot-on and really enjoyable; it’s clear that these two characters have a unique chemistry that Fraction is beginning to explore.  Both are brazen characters willing to do what others won’t, but neither are the most socially capable.

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

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Mike Deodato, Terry Dodson, & Rachel Dodson (art), Justin Ponsor & Christina Strain (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The ultimate showdown between the X-Men and the Dark Avengers/Dark X-Men.

What’s Good: It’s really nice to be surprised every now and then. With every issue of this crossover ranging between mild and complete suckage, I couldn’t help but expect this final double-sized issue to be a total catastrophe. Shockingly, what I got was actually pretty damned good.

Fraction still keeps it simple, but this time without falling into chasms of vacuous stupidity. This issue is nonetheless one giant action scene, but you really get a feeling that this time, all these fights actually mean something; the reasons for the giant brawl make sense.

The action is explosive, bombastic, and well-plotted out. The pairings are all logical and hence are quite fun. The fights between Daken and X-23 and Hawkeye and Archangel were particular favourites of mine.

I also greatly enjoyed the use of the Sentry this month, with Emma’s entrance to his mind being a definite highlight. Going into his mind, it was very different seeing a Bob that was completely sane and dressed like an ordinary guy (I’m talking a t-shirt clad, short-haired Bob that is pretty much unrecognizable from the golden god we’re used to). For once, the vulnerability that we so often see in Bob’s dialogue actually manifested itself physically– sort of.

I guess Fraction’s greatest achievement though is finally grabbing a hold of characterization in a way that he hadn’t managed thus far. Osborn sounds like the frustrated, tantrum throwing villain and Scott sounds like the intelligent, heroic leader. Both characters finally felt engaging and true to their roles. Moreover, I especially liked how Scott essentially takes a tactic Norman has been living off of since the beginning of Dark Reign and uses it against him.

That said, I’ve saved the best part of Exodus for last: the art. This crossover has been very uneven art-wise, but make no mistake, this book is absolutely gorgeous. There are so many images and splashes here that will have your jaw dropping. Sentry leaving the planet was a highlight for me, as was Mimic’s battle with Iceman. Just beautiful, glittering superhero action that pushes both Deodato and the Dodsons to their maximum potential. The art transcends “summer blockbuster” territory, delivering something that feels utterly enormous and breathlessly explosive. It’s hyper-detailed, bright, and features some dynamic panel layouts. One would worry that splitting art between Deodato and the Dodson’s might be disastrous, but it’s actually put to good use, with each artist getting whole separate scenes and not interspersed panels.

What’s Not So Good: The very first scene of the book is abyssmal. If it had taken place in the first issue of the crossover, it may have worked, but at this point, it feels rather pointless. What’s worse is that it was accompanied by a caption advertising a future tie-in book. Yes, this issue essentially began with a promo for another book.

A minor complaint, but while I enjoyed the Sentry this month, I’m not entirely sure if Fraction’s treatment of the Void makes sense. Seeing the Void in physical form is a little weird and I didn’t realize that the Sentry thus far has essentially been the Void the entire time, with Bob unaware of everything. It completely goes against those great conversations between Osborn and the Sentry in Dark Avengers.

Conclusion: I actually enjoyed this! Quite a bit!  For once, I got the “everything has changed” vibe I’m supposed to get out of a crossover, and in a way that actually has me excited for what’s to come.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Uncanny X-Men #514 (Utopia) – Review

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

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Utopia has been pretty weak so far. While it hasn’t been awful, it certainly feels like it’s getting in the way of better things. Dark Avengers was on a roll prior to Utopia, and Uncanny X-Men finally seemed like it was getting back on the right track.

The Story: The Dark X-Men deal with Simon Trask’s new bio-mechanical Sentinels while Cyclops begins to put his offensive plan into action.

What’s Good & What’s Not So Good: This may sound a bit strange, but the biggest problem with Uncanny X-Men #514 is the big Utopia banner that’s plastered on the cover. It’s an unfortunate piece of baggage for a comic that’s, at a basic level, pretty fun (albeit somewhat average). The action scenes are cool, the artwork is solid, and the writing is pretty sharp. While that’s all well and good, I expect more out of an issue of a crossover. A lot more. Especially when it’s an issue of a crossover that’s been as heavily hyped as Utopia.

See, the thing is, the latest chapter of Utopia makes something painfully obvious: that there was really no need for the crossover in the first place. Why? Because Utopia is an “X” story through and through. When the mutants are taking front and center, everything just works much better. It is great? No. But, with that said, it’s still pretty decent. As for the Dark Avengers? They are really just taking up space, getting in the way, and, unfortunately, helping to sell books.

Had Uncanny #514 been part of a regular “X” arc (because that’s how it reads), I would have less of a problem with it. Sure, I might have complained about how all of Terry Dodson’s females have the same face, brought up the storytelling issues (which I’ll get to), or mentioned that some of Cyclops’ dramatic lines are a bit lame, but as a whole, I would have been satisfied with what it delivers knowing that Utopia is the “X” story being told. Unfortunately though, the latest issue of Uncanny is not just a regular issue. It’s stuck being part of an ill-timed crossover between the Dark Avengers and the X-Men. Therefore, it has to be judged as part of something that’s, according to Marvel, something of high quality and importance. So judge I shall… By asking a few questions about Uncanny X-Men #514…

-Why is there no mention of Beast and Xavier (I thought they were important), yet pages (3) dedicated to a pointless scuffle between Bullseye and Wolverine’s kid?!

-Those people in the hospital completely turned to robots after their eyes lit up?! I can handle comic book logic but it seems a bit silly to me…

-Why is Iceman so intimidated by the Dark X-Men!? And by that same token, why does Cyclops see them as such a challenge?!

-According to the back page, there’s only two chapters of Utopia left. Why do I get the sense that things are being rushed along?!

-Why does Wolverine emerge from the water like he’s some sea creature?!

-Did anything of importance happen in regards to Utopia? At all?

Conclusion: Uncanny X-Men #514 is a pretty decent “X” comic if you can ignore the whole Utopia nonsense. I certainly wish I could…

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #513 (Utopia Chapter 2) – Review

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

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The Uncanny X-Men and Dark Avengers crossover, Utopia, got off to an unremarkable start. It laid the foundation for some interesting things though, so I look forward to seeing where Matt Fraction takes the story now that most of the pieces are in place.

The Story: If the Utopia oneshot was all about setting the stage, then Uncanny X-Men #513 is all about introducing the rest of the arc’s players. As riots continue in California, Norman Osborn institutes a curfew and introduces a new team of X-Men. Lead by Emma Frost and Charles Xavier (is it really Xavier?), Cloak, Dagger, Beast (from another timeline), Namor, Daken, Weapon Omega, and Mimic makes up the team, ordered to restore peace between humans and mutants. Meanwhile, Cyclops regroups with other mutants to plan another move. As for the hospitalized Simon Trask? Let’s just say that he’s got something else up his sleeve…

Simply put, Uncanny X-Men #513 feels a whole hell of a lot like the Utopia oneshot; which is a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways.

What’s Good: The solid looking second chapter of Utopia continues building momentum for what looks to be a promising crossover. While it’s too early to make any real judgments, the Dark X-Men team shows a lot of early potential. It’s made up of a few interesting, oft-ignored characters (Cloak, Dagger, Mimic, etc.) that could turn out to be the breakout stars of the crossover if Matt Fraction handles them right (he’s definitely on the right track).

Speaking of Matt Fraction, he does a nice job of juggling an extremely large cast of characters while still moving the story forward at an acceptable pace. What’s especially notable is the way that Fraction quickly and efficiently introduces the mutants that the average reader might not be instantly familiar with. Cloak, Dagger, Mimic, Weapon Omega, and Dark Beast all benefit from Fraction’s occasionally/usually annoying/clever – pick your pair note boxes.

What’s Not So Good: The biggest problem I have with Uncanny X-Men #513 is that it feels filled with stuff that probably should have been put into the Utopia oneshot. Remember all that filler I talked about in my review of the book? Well most of that filler should have been taken out in favor of using the space to do almost everything that’s done in the latest issue of Uncanny.

More time is spent introducing characters and establishing the current social climate than moving the story forward in a satisfying way. In other words, in Uncanny X-Men #513, plot threads are still being created while most remain unused. While the pacing is still acceptable, it’s also somewhat frustrating. To add on, that’s not all that’s maddening.

The visuals, while solid, are a bit of a headache at times. I’m usually a fan of Terry Dodson’s attractive art style, but it’s a poor fit for Utopia because the crossover is absolutely packed with characters. Too many faces look exactly the same, some panels are way too oversimplified, and a few scenes look a bit silly. Also, why does Venom/Dark Spider-Man look like a snake?!

Conclusion: The second chapter of Utopia feels a lot like the oneshot that introduced the crossover. So much so, that it gets the same grade, but for different reasons.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

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 #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

Uncanny X-Men #504 – Review

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

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since hitting the big #500, Uncanny X-Men has been extremely hit or miss. As such, the bigger picture being created by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker has felt extremely disjointed. On top of that, the first arc, while fun at times, was marred by some odd characterization, a fairly generic story, and divisive artwork. That said, with the beginning of the second arc featuring a new artist and a single author, I can’t help but feel that Uncanny can still be straightened out rather quickly.

The Story: This issue is all about setting up the new story arc, introducing multiple situations involving each character in the team.  While doing some soul searching, in an effort to get past the death of Kitty Pryde, Colossus is confronted with an old enemy. In addition, Emma Frost heads into the mind of Cyclops in an attempt to figure out why he has been acting strangely since the encounter with the Hellfire Cult. Also, Beast and Angel have a meeting with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Nemesis regarding the state of mutantkind and what can be done to reverse the effects of the Scarlet Witch.  Oh, and the Mojoverse comes into play as well.

What’s Good: Though very light on action, this is the best issue of Uncanny X-Men since the move to San Francisco took place. While consisting almost entirely of set up, Uncanny X-Men #504 does a good job establishing the direction of the series for the near future through interesting, entertaining character moment,s and impressive visuals. As a fan, I couldn’t be much happier with the way the issue addresses and handles the various story threads surrounding the X-Men in general.

Truth be told, the book is filled with successful moments. In particular, the surprisingly poignant Colossus segments, Matt Fraction’s extremely well-written handling of Dr. Nemesis, and Emma Frost’s encounter with the residents of the high class hotel (or mental bordello?) located within Cyclops’ mind.

What’s Not So Good: My only real complaint has to do with the overall structure of the series itself. I like how Fraction and Ed Brubaker are looking to explore all aspects of the X-Men (and mutant characters/enemies in general), but it seems as though it comes at the cost of a cohesive, long-term vision. While I have no doubt that they will be able to pull all the various threads together when the right time comes, it leaves each issue feeling a bit light. There is a bigger picture for mutantkind, but it feels like we only get a small feel of it with each passing month.

Conclusion: A stylish, well-written book all around, Uncanny X-Men #504 is easily the best issue of the series in quite some time. While I wish it had a little bit more meat to it, I can’t complain too much about something so thoroughly entertaining.

Grade: A-

Looking for a Response: Is it just me, or does the news report at the end of the issue feel long overdue? Seems to me as though the shockwaves of the event should have been felt a long time ago. Anyone else agree? Or is my grasp of the “X” timeline a bit off?

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #500 – Review

By Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction (Writers), Greg Land and Terry Dodson (Pencilers), Jay Leisten and Rachel Dodson (Inkers), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

I confess myself unimpressed. While Uncanny X-Men #500 provides for an entertaining read, it is no where near as good as it should have been for such a landmark issue. If nothing else, it felt like your average (though slightly longer) set-up to start a story arc. After two brief prologues which I’m sure will have importance sometime in the future, we are given a tour of the new X-Men complex through the eyes of San Francisco’s mayor. While this was informative, it certainly didn’t seem necessary, it could have easily been a back-up feature somewhere else and not taken up precious page space of the milestone #500.

About a quarter of the way in, the plot finally develops as we see the return of two long-time X-Men nemeses. While this seems interesting at first, the manner of their return is quickly revealed by some quick detective thinking on the part of the X-Men. (Anyone else instantly reminded of old sleuth shows like Scooby-Doo in this scene?) The confrontation between the team and their old foe might be somewhat entertaining, but for the most part it seems to lack depth. It’s a pointless fight and there isn’t much motivation to spur it on except for, “it’s a bad guy, let’s fight!”

After this quarrel, the X-Men send out a message to all mutants that San Francisco is now a safe haven for all their kind and their allies. While I’m guessing this is supposed to be some long-awaited positive experience for the X-Men, does anyone else think this new status quo just feels too happy? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind optimistic storylines, and I’m a sucker for happy endings, but it seems that everything is too perfect right now. I’m hoping that Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction are just establishing something that is going to be interfered with soon( to show the dichotomy between the two), otherwise this mutant near-utopia could get old fast.

As the issue ends, we get a few more teasers as various villainous are characters introduced. But all-in-all, this is nothing but set-up for what is to come. The question is, is the set-up intriguing? In my opinion, not really. I already read Uncanny simply because it is one of Marvel’s flagship titles, but if I wasn’t already reading it, I wouldn’t find this issue compelling enough to read into #501.

The art seems to follow the trend of the story and it certainly isn’t bad. The action is well conveyed, the various characters look lifelike and unique, backgrounds are usually filled, etc. It’s just that the art isn’t overly memorable either. I’ll never be disappointed to hear that Greg Land and Terry Dodson are teaming up on a project, but if this issue is any indication, I’ll never be overly excited either.

Looking back, this seems a very negative review, but that is not how it’s intended. There really isn’t much wrong with this issue. Mostly, I’m just severely disappointed that #500 feels more like just another Uncanny issue instead of more, well, epic. (Grade: C+)

-M. Staples

A Second Opinion

As a San Franciscan, I have one question: Why is San Francisco’s mayor a woman? Why didn’t they use the most progressive, and most high profile mayor in the country with Gavin Newsome? Makes no sense. That said, this issue is boring as hell.

As the landmark 500th issue, I was expecting a big change for the team. Sure, moving to San Francisco is a start, but if anyone’s read previous Uncanny issues or Astonishing X-Men #25, this is old news. With the X-Men making their mark and announcing to mutant-kind that San Francisco is now a safe haven, I’m sure we’ll see a bolstering of the population. Of course with that will come problems (like evil mutants). That’s what’s being set up here and it’s all too easy to predict. The introduction of the “Sentinels as art” is a stupid plot device that anyone (with half a brain) will see coming. Magneto’s appearance is painfully forced, but even more forced is the conflict that erupts. This battle (if you want to call it that) is disjointed, sloppy, and horribly orchestrated. Having two artists (one with talent and one without) switching off pages doesn’t help either.

Greg Land’s art continues to suck. Emma Frost sometimes looks like Tricia Helfer, then Cameron Diaz, and so on. His panel work is a complete mess and his field of depth is non-existant. Terry Dodson does the best he can, and his art is the only factor that seems to have any semblance of the word competence in this issue. But even fans of Dodson’s art will be disappointed when they turn the page only to be hit by a grueling series of photo-traced spewage by Greg Land.

If Uncanny X-Men #500 is any indication of what’s to come with the X-Men, I want off this train. Oh wait, I stopped buying this series months ago. Thanks for reminding me, guys.

Just horrible. (Grade: F+)

– J. Montes

A Third Opinion

After months of hype, the 500th issue of Uncanny X-Men is finally here and, to be honest, I’m quite disappointed. I expected something fresh and new, but instead what I got was something that felt comfortable and familiar. While that works to an extent, as part of the issue does have a “classic” feel to it, I can’t help but feel that this milestone issue should have been so much more.

Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker are two of the best writers in the industry, but you wouldn’t really know it from their Uncanny debut. While the dialogue and storytelling isn’t bad in any way, it did little to get me excited about the “new” direction the series is taking. I understand the necessary evils of having to establish a new status quo (one that isn’t all that new anymore as Jay explains above), but couldn’t they have saved some of the more unnecessary parts of this process for a less important issue? Also, I must mention that the set up for the overarching plot is nothing that would have hooked me had I been a new reader. I am interested in where this story will eventually go (as an X-Men fan) and have confidence that Fraction and Brubaker will bring the goods, but this issue was a pretty boring way to start things off.

As for the art, Jason pretty much covered it all. I would like to add a mention about how creepy the faceless characters look in some of Land’s panels. I understand that detail needs to be sacrificed when a panel is small, but at least put something there to at least try to show that the person isn’t a faceless creature (or a member of the Dynamo 5). Also, I am pretty sure the chest area of Emma’s costume changes throughout the issue. Terry Dodson’s work looks nice enough, but it can’t do the heavy lifting necessary to elevate the issue as a whole.

Simply put, Uncanny X-Men #500 is not the issue that it should have been. The story is average at best, the art is either awful or decent (depending on the page/artist), and it’s too early to tell if there is much potential in the arc being set up. What a letdown… (Grade D+)

-Kyle Posluszny