Welcome back ComicAttackers and X-fans to this week’s edition of the All-New Uncanny X-Piles where a handful of our merriest mutant loving reviewers have dropped by once again to regale you with their thoughts on that one X-Title that has impacted them the most, be it good or bad, from last week’s releases. The Comic Book Clergyman is away on a mission to infiltrate the Purifiers’ annual Pig Roast Barbecue, but keep reading, true believers, to discover what SpidermanGeek and Infinite Speech have to say about your favorite Marvel mutants’ adventures and don’t forget to leave a comment to tell us what YOU think!
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Amazing X-Men #7
Writer: Kathryn Immonen
Artist: Paco Medina
Amazing X-Men takes a little break and offers up issue number 7 as a light-hearted team-up that hopes to cash-in on nostalgic 40 year old fans of the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends animated television show.
It’s game day. Logan has sent Firestar and Iceman to pick up some snacks and other items. Before we know it, they come across a seemingly abandoned baby in their shopping cart and Spider-Man shows up for the adventure to unfold from that point on. Essentially, Spider-Man found the strange baby, who seems to be some sort of alien, but he is holding onto it as leverage to negotiate the safe return of a goat, who is coincidentally the mascot of one of the teams set to play in that day’s game and that has been kidnapped by what Spider-Man believes are the baby’s parents.
I don’t know if Kathryn Immonen was just working for paycheck here, but the writing in this issue is a little on the weak side. There are a few things that detract the reading enjoyment of what is meant to be a fun superhero team-up comic book. Personally, I’m a fan of Firestar, Iceman and obviously, of Spider-Man. Putting these three together should be a no-brainer, but these characters are written as such extreme versions of their normal selves that I couldn’t just go along with the adventure. Icemam’s obnoxiousness, Firestar’s overbearingness and Spidey’s sense of responsibility to ensure the safety of a goat just don’t jive in any sort of relatable or fluid way.
Paco Medina is a great artist, but like Kathryn, it feels like the work found in here was for a quick paycheck. Also, and this is probably just being nit-picky, but Spider-Man’s costume is slightly inaccurate. Medina seems to have based its design on the version found in the latest Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Whether or not this was intentional is unknown to me, but it should be enough to send continuity buffs into a raging frenzy. Also, where exactly does Firestar’s costume come from after she “flames-on” and what did she do with her civilian clothing?
The artwork overall seems rushed compared to what we are used to seeing from Paco. This could be in part due to Juan Vlasco’s inking, but Medina’s pencils just don’t seem to carry the weight or sense of density that they usually do which is odd considering that this duo has collaborated quite frequently in the past and most recently on Nova (which contains stellar artwork) and Original Sin. Again though, everything about this issue screams “rush to print”.
The bottom line is that Amazing X-Men #7 had the potential of being a pretty fun team-up adventure perfectly suited for this series, but ultimately just fell short on all accounts and had me quite annoyed by the time I reached the back cover. The final page was particularly groan inducing. – SMG
Rating: 3.5/10
Uncanny X-Men #21
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
Bendis has not been making things easy for Marvel’s favorite mutants since taking the reigns of the title and he doesn’t show signs of letting up any time soon. Scott’s team has constantly been hunted and attacked by Sentinels and something stinks over at S.H.I.E.L.D. who unknowingly have Mystique in the form of Dazzler in their ranks. While the real Dazzler was captured and is being used as the provider for Mutant Growth Hormone. Oh, and the two X-teams STILL don’t trust each other very much.
So as you can see, Bendis has piled things on pretty thick and each step into it has been one great issue after another. There’s a lot of finger pointing and mistrust in this issue between the various factions and Bendis makes sense out of it all without it becoming boring and stale. Let’s face it, the whole Schism thing has been going on for quite some time and probably should have ended a few months ago. This is probably the only thing about the title that still bothers me after so long. However, Bendis does keep things interesting and worth going further into the story. The high point is probably the sequence involving Magneto finding Dazzler and Blob. Just when you see a flash of who you really think Magneto is, Bendis brings it around and shows you another side that keeps you guessing his true motives.
Bachelo can stay the artist on this title until it’s 100th issue before it’s time for a break! There’s just so many moments that look exceptional in this issue it’s really hard to nail down just one. His panel layouts are some of the best and when the script calls for big moments you get huge and dynamic art for your eyes to enjoy. His use of colors to change the mood is still top notch as well and just brings things full circle.
So once again Uncanny X-Men stays one of the top X-titles and hopefully this Schism thing ends soon and we can see where Bendis takes things from there. Also, WHO IS THE MYSTERY GUY PULLING ALL THE STRINGS?! – IS
Rating: 8/10
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What did you think about this week’s X-books? Let us know below! You can check out more X-Piles right here!
infinitespeech@comicattack.net – @InfiniteSpeech
jeff@comicattack.net – @FrJeffJackson
spidermangeek@comicattack.net – @SpidermanGeek
