Uncanny X-Men #8
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Greg Land and Guru eFX
‘Tabula Rasa’ comes to a close on a very high note. Though this arc had a solid story, it was plagued with awkward pacing. The arc had a solid conclusion within the last issue. Here, we pick up the loose ends as Colossus delves deeper underground to find his sister, Magik, who has been captured by ‘mole’ natives. We also tie up Hope and Namors diplomatic expedition underwater; both of these story beats were introduced within issue 6, so you can see the pacing problem. Again, this arc does concludes on a high note, portraying some fantastic character development.
To get you up to pace, ‘Tabula Rasa’ is a rapidly developing ecosystem created by Archangel (possessed by Apocalypse), during ‘The Dark Angel Saga’ within the pages of Uncanny X-Force. This wildly advanced and growing ecosystem was left unchecked and Psylocke, whom inadvertently took part in the events leading up to the creation of ‘Tabula Rasa’, brings its existence to Cyclops and his Extinction team attention. Upon arrival, the X-Men discover a humanoid race, who revere Archangel their God… carnage ensues.
As noted before, Kieron Gillen filled these pages with shocking character moments; further exploring Peter Rasputins transformation into the Juggernaut. Hope and Namors adventure underwater was humorous and downright nasty, revealing Namors fishy fetishes. This allowed penciler, Greg Land, to draw a jaw dropping image of Namor locking lips on a undwater squid queen! Just what I was hoping for when I cracked this baby open.
Greg Land produced solid pencils throughout; with woman well endowed, as always, yet he kept a proportionate female frame. One terrifying image comes to mind of Colossus giving into the demon Cyttorak, himself being disfigured and looming over his sister, Magik. This was a great scene, as Magik motivates Colossus to remember who he is and that the demon is only a part of that. Magik having her own personal demons to have overcome, this turned out to be a powerful scene.
Overall, this arc has a strong backbone of a story, but is oddly paced which made the overall arc feel stale. But again, this concluding issue was great. The closing scene is one I’ve been dreadeding to come and see the light of day, the first crack in Magneto’s ‘hero’ charade (unless you’ve been reading Magneto:Not a Hero mini). This larger than life team is revealing a lot of chaotic elements where I can’t imagine the statue quo surviving the upcoming event of ‘Avengers vs. X-Men’. But it’ll be a hell of a last song!
Story: 8
Art: 8
Personal Recommendations for the week:
Swamp Thing #7 – This series has been gold! The return of Swamp Thing!
Age of Apocalypse #1 – Surprised me, considering the state of affairs the universe was left in Uncanny X-Force.
Avengers: The children’s Crusade – Just give the Young Avengers back their own book already!!!!
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