I must first confess that I’ve not read an X-Men comic in years. I’ve tried to follow the news and roughly kept up with the story but with the launch of the new story arc … and my convenient launch of a mobile comic bookstore/online store… it felt like a good time to give the Uncanny X-Men a fresh look. Here is my quick review of The Uncanny X-Men #1.
The interior artwork is perfect. I don’t really have much to say about it. It’s quintessential comic art. It’s accessible and fun, it flows and matches the tone of the story, it also has some impressive moments… like a dragon in Mexico. Artists David Marquez & Matthew Wilson just knocked this one out of the park.
For this introduction of a new story arc and new team, writer Gail Simone is tasked with the daunting job of pioneering a new direction for some of our favorite X-Men (in this issue: Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, & Nightcrawler) in this post-Krakoa era. Issue #1 covers a lot of ground. Xavier’s mansion is being turned into a prison, there is a dragon in Mexico, there is new threat coming
called the "Endling,” some bad stuff is happening in Louisiana… and did I mention there was a dragon in Mexico? Gail Simone handles the pace and responsibility of this pilot issue expertly. If I’m being 100% honest… I wouldn’t have minded a little more dragon in Mexico time lol, but the absolute most important thing a comic book needs to do was done… which is making the reader excited to read the next issue.
I have this tangent that I want to go on anytime I’m exposed to Rogue and Gambit. There is a fine line between playfully absurd caricatures and insulting entire regions of the southern United States. This isn’t the fault of this current team of creators, it’s just how the characters have always been. I felt like Rogue and Gambit were less annoying in this presentation than they have been in the past.
The only actual thing that stood out to me as a negative is that this comic has one of the dumbest lines I have read in a very long time. A line that took otherwise excellent pacing and momentum only to slam the breaks and rip me out of immersion. A line so dumb that I paused from reading for a moment just to like… try and piece together why it was written and what it actually meant. I’m sure it was just a throwaway line, but it felt like the Steve Buscemi meme where he is “disguised” as a teenager and is trying to fit in. I respect the fact that they… idk … “swung the bat” and a miss is better than not playing but it was just unnecessarily cringy.
But here’s the bottom line… this comic was so good that the only negative thing I can say about it is a single line that I thought was stupid. The Uncanny X-Men #1 is a fantastic entry point and opportunity for new readers to step into the franchise. I give it 4.5 Mississippi “Sugahs” out of 5!
You can buy The Uncanny X-Men #1 by clicking HERE as well as other Marvel, DC, Independent Comics, and XanCon originals on the xancononline.com store!
"PROFESSOR X... IS GONE!
A core group of essential X-Men rise FROM THE ASHES to face a world without a home - and without Professor X! All bonds among the mutant community seem to be slipping away, and ROGUE reluctantly finds herself as the hero designated to bring them back together... but a fearless, malignant power is out there hunting mutants, and it has a terrible secret that may destroy what remains of the X-Men!"
The Uncanny X-Men #1
Writer - Gail Simone
Artist - David Marquez
Color Artist - Matthew Wilson
Letterer - VC's Clayton Cowles
Comentarios