Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #4, Two New Students Join the School

January 12, 2012

Wolverine and the X-Men #4
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Nick Bradshaw and Justin Ponsor [Colors]

One of the best things to come out of the X-Men’s “Regenesis” is a greater amount of cohesion between books in Wolverine’s corner of the Marvel Universe. Wolverine, Uncanny X-Force and Wolverine and the X-Men all directly impact one another, and nowhere is that better evidenced than in Wolverine and the X-Men #4.

In the aftermath of Rick Remender’s “Dark Angel Saga” in Uncanny X-Force, Warren Worthington (aka Angel) had his mind wiped after he was “cured” of being Archangel/Apocalypse. In that same story, Fantomex’s secret experiment — a clone produced from the DNA of the ultimate mutant villain Apocalypse, but nurtured by a loving-but-artificial family — was revealed. Both Angel and the boy, Evan (aka Genesis), were both sent to the Jean Grey School.

Dealing with how the two fit in (or don’t) at the school — and how its headmaster, Wolverine, can also head an elite mutant covert ops squad by night — is the overall focus here.

The faculty meeting in the opening pages provides some of the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever read outside of a Spider-Man book, and “witty” and “Wolverine” are two things you typically wouldn’t expect to go together. But Aaron makes it work, just like he makes the special guest lecture from Deathlok — the cyborg assassin from the future — work to hilarious effect, especially when paired with the quips from problem student Quentin Quire (aka Kid Omega).

Oh, and we finally learn what Wolverine is a professor of — English Lit. Go ahead and imagine that class for a moment…

All isn’t fun and games, though, as Ice Man learns the truth about what happened to Warren (who now believes he is a real angel), Genesis suspects people at the school aren’t telling him something and Deathlok sees a grim possible future where Genesis still becomes Apocalypse. Even other students notice that he kind of resembles Apocalypse, so that’s bound to be broken to the kid at some point.

New artist Nick Bradshaw handles the transition from Chris Bachalo well. If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know I’m all about facial expressions and body language, and the art here does a lot with that to not only better sell the dialogue and action, but to tell you more about who the characters are, as well.

If you haven’t given the flagship book for “Team Wolverine” a chance yet, now is the time.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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REVIEW: Wolverine #300, or is that Wolverine #3000? Dude’s EVERYWHERE.

Roger Riddell

January 12, 2012

Wolverine #300
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Adam Kubert & Paul Mounts [Chapters 1, 4 & 7], Ron Garney & Jason Keith [Chapters 2 & 5], Steve Sanders & Sotocolors [Chapters 3 & 6]

Wolverine #300 doesn’t just mark the return of the series to its original numbering (assuming that’s how Marvel worked this out), it also marks the beginning of Jason Aaron’s final story arc on the book — Wolverine’s return to Japan.

Last issue (Wolverine #20), the stage was set for a war between the Yakuza and the Hand as a result of the Silver Samurai’s death way back in the “Wolverine Goes to Hell” storyline that began in the first issue of this volume of Wolverine. Wolverine’s well-known for being an X-Man and an Avenger, but his history as a samurai (he’s like 200 years old, you know?) is something that some fans may not be up to speed on. This super-sized issue, and the story arc in general, seem to be a great primer on that so far. It features his Japanese love interest, his adopted Japanese daughter, the aforementioned Japanese mafia and ninjas, and the son of the Silver Samurai.

Oh, and Sabretooth is back from the dead. How this happened has yet to be explained, but if the teasers for next issue (and 2012 in general) are any indication, there will be answers soon.

Overall, this is exactly the kind of story fans of the Ol’ Canucklehead have come to know and love. It strikes the right balance of ultra-violence and pulp fun — see the in-flight fight between Wolverine and a plane full of ninjas in the opening pages, or Sabretooth with a jetpack, for example — rounded out with smart dialogue and solid writing. There are really only two or three spots in the book where the story seems to jump around inexplicably (when the Yakuza approach Sabretooth in the Japanese brothel, and when Wolverine and Sabretooth are suddenly in the Hand temple after being in an underground tunnel), but considering the amount of action condensed into this issue, it’s somewhat forgivable. Although, I did find myself checking to see if my copy was missing pages like a recent issue of Secret Avengers I purchased…

The art remains solid throughout, as well, which is surprising given the three art teams that worked on this issue. I didn’t even realize three teams of artists worked on this issue until I looked at the credits again afterwords. It’s almost that seamless, although the Steve Sanders and Sotocolors chapters are noticeably more polished than the others.

Like the main story, the back-up story — which presumably teases the upcoming “Sabretooth Reborn” story by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi — also left me wanting to see what happens next.

Overall, a solid 300th issue — if it really is the actual issue 300.

STORY: 8.5/10
ART: 8.5/10

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Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer S.09 #5 “A Really Gross Hickey…”

Matthew Sardo

January 12, 2012

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S.09 #5
Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Art: Karl Malone and Andy Owens
Cover: Steve Morris

Issue five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a stand alone tale within Season Nine of the series. Artist Karl Malone substitutes as penciler, with regular series penciler, George Jeanty, returning next issue. Writer, Andrew Chambliss, puts a lot of new cogs and devices into play and drastically changes Buffy’s up and coming status quo. All exciting concepts awaiting to be fleshed out within this new series.

Surprisingly, this issue does not pickup issue fours cliffhanger; as “Freefall” arc’s villian, Severin. in defeat gains an unexpected yet familiar ally. Instead, this issue begins with our slayer experiencing strange reoccurring dreams. Remember the first slayer, dressed in tribal rags and face paint… usually has the stance of a Lowland Gorilla?… Well she’s back to once again harass Buffy’s subconscious while bearing cryptic messages about B’s future. She reveals that there may still be power contained in Buffy’s broken scythe (a legendary artifact to be passed down the slayer line), but is Buffy the one capable of accessing it?? You’ll have to pick up this issue to get the rest of the goods, as all this occurs within the first six pages, and you truly cannot pass up the cliffhanger, especially if you call yourself a fan of the Buffyverse.

Stand-in artists, Malone and Owens, craft a grounded and fluent presentation. Not quite the detail Karl Malone’s proven in the past, for example: Joss Whedon’s slayer of the future “Fray” and Frays arc within Season Eight was also pencilled with greater detail by Malone. As the backgrounds suffer most, his facial expressions are expressive as ever and accents Adrew Chambliss’ shocking story beats well. Also worth mentioning art wise, is Steve Morris’ beautiful with a touch whimsy cover art. He has been producing imaginative covers for “Buffy” and “Angel and Faith” since the beginning and I can only hope he’s in it for the long haul!

I’m very much enjoying Chambliss’ interpretations of our slayer as he hits Whedon-esq moments pretty flawlessly. It’s an incredibly important style that any writer must perfect before jumping into any Buffy character. With the events of Season Eight, primarily with the destruction of the life seed and Giles unfortunate end, we have a much smaller cast as must of the Scooby Gang is A) Dead or B) trying to live out the rest of their lives as normally as possible. That means we get a lot of Buffy time and that is a good thing.

Andrew Chambliss puts a lot into play for the series future and I’m finally feeling the excitement and the building momentum of Season Nine. The cliffhanger at the end of this issue opens the door for the series to crash head first into Christopher Gage’s “Angel and Faith” book. If you are by some odd chance reading “Buffy” but not “Angel and Faith”, I’ll have to kindly ask you to head to your local comic book shop and pick them up as they have been consistently enjoyable starting with issue one. And it also picks up heavily from the fallout of Buffy Season Eight. I’m ecstatic at the idea of the inevitable crossover between these two series!

Make Mine Whedon!

Story: 8
Art: 7.5

Also Recommended this Week:

Magneto: Not a Hero #3 – Magneto battles Josephs cloned version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!
Wolverine and the X-Men #4 – The fallout of “The Dark Angel Saga” has dramatic repercussions on the Jean Grey institute!
Batgirl #5 – To save the life of Bruce Wayne…

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Review: Carnage U.S.A. #2, I’m Slowly Forgetting That ‘Maximum Carnage’ Ever Happened…

Roger Riddell

January 12, 2012

Carnage U.S.A. #2
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Clayton Crain

The Carnage symbiote, after devouring all of the cattle in the Midwest town of Doverton’s meat packing plant to increase its mass, has taken a small town hostage via its water supply for its host — the psychotic mass murderer Cletus Kasady. A team of Avengers including Captain America, Wolverine, Hawkeye and the Thing, in an attempt to put an end to the terror, were compromised and placed under the symbiote’s influence with the exception of Spider-Man, who has found refuge among a group of the town’s survivors.

What’s the government to do, aside from, you know, napalming the town and everyone in it to contain the disaster?

They put together a task force of their own symbiotes, of course. Unfortunately for Uncle Sam, however, heavy hitters like Venom (AWOL — See current issues of Venom), Anti-Venom (Inactive — See recent “Spider-Island” event story in Amazing Spider-Man) and Toxin (Missing — You’re on your own here, kids) are unavailable.

That’s not to say there are no options whatsoever. After all, a new symbiote (Scorn, aka Dr. Tanis Nieves) was “born” in Zeb Wells’ first Carnage mini-series last year. And it turns out that symbiote is a hybrid of symbiote and machine, allowing Nieves to “form sympathetic bonds with technology.” (Yeah, I had a hard time suspending disbelief for the whole ‘hyrbid of organic creature and machine’ bit, too, but this is a comic book, so deal with it.)

Don’t think Scorn is going to the dance alone, though. Back in the swingin’ symbiote heyday that was the 1990s and early 2000s, there was another symbiote called Hybrid (though I can’t recall at the moment which symbiote it was an offspring of…Who do I look like, the Maury of comicdom?). It was an amalgam of 4 different symbiotes, though it was — as conveniently explained in four pages of this issue — “de-amalgamated” to be put to use by a four-member special forces group, a by-product of the success (or lack thereof) of “Project Venom.”

Each member of this special forces group trained its symbiote, rendered catatonic by the aforementioned “de-amalgamation” — to serve a specific purpose in the battlefield. The coolest of the bunch? A symbiote bonded to a military dog called Lasher.

Anyways, that’s enough synopsis babble. You want the details and whether or not this is worth your hard-earned $3.99 (or less, if your local comic shop offers discounts to regulars like mine does).

If you love Carnage, darker Spider-Man stories, Zeb Wells’ writing, Clayton Crain’s art or all of the above, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Wells, who I praised briefly in my review of this week’s Amazing Spider-Man #677, really gets how to handle a dark Spider-Man story and manages to make Carnage a deeper, somewhat-more-interesting character while he’s at it. (The guy is creepily longing for a family! It’s…mildly disturbing and minutely sympathy-inducing…) I know I give Wells a ton of praise on his regular Avenging Spider-Man series for being a fun, light-hearted Spidey team-up book, but these dark stories are where he really hits the ball out of the park. Again, I hope Dan Slott stays on the flagship Amazing Spider-Man for as long as possible, but if he ever leaves, I want to see Wells get the job.

Once again, Clayton Crain’s individually painted panels really fit the tone of the story. I know people who complain that he doesn’t have much detail in his backgrounds, and maybe that’s part of why this story was set in a tiny Midwest town, but it’s the characters that really make the story. The facial expressions on the townspeople alone really drive home the despair of the situation.

Two issues into this five-part mini-series and, unlike the majority of Carnage stories from the ’90s, I’m not hoping it ends yet — especially now that a private zoo stocked with lions, gorillas and other wildlife was briefly mentioned this issue. Like that’s totally not going to come into play later on…

Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10

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Review: Amazing Spider-Man #677, What Was That Saying About Cats and Bad Luck Again?

Roger Riddell

January 11, 2012

Amazing Spider-Man #677
Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Emma Rios & Javier Rodriguez [Colors]

Though I enjoyed the vast majority of “Brand New Day,” there were always three writers during that era of Amazing Spider-Man that I hoped would get the permanent gig when the book inevitably became a one-writer publication again. The obvious first choice was Dan Slott. The other two were current Avenging Spider-Man scribe Zeb Wells and acclaimed Daredevil writer Mark Waid.

That said, it’s a pleasure to see Waid handling this two-part Daredevil crossover story, “The Devil and the Details,” while Slott catches up on the scripting for (I assume) his big Doc Ock event story that kicks off in a few months.

At the beginning of Amazing Spider-Man #677, Spidey (who is still lamenting his break-up with forensic investigator uber-babe Carlie Cooper) runs into Black Cat and — awkwardly — goes about trying to score a rebound with his old friend-with-benefits. Unfortunately, smelling of desperation and Axe body spray (which are one and the same) doesn’t get you very far, and Pete is left to sulk alone on New York’s rooftops while Black Cat returns home to…Be arrested?

It turns out that Felicia (or someone imitating her) was caught on video burgling a prototype “H-Phone” from Horizon Labs, and there’s only one thing that can clear her name — a terrific team-up in the mighty Marvel manner!

Sensing that something is amiss, Spidey consults his old pal, legal counsel, and New Avengers teammate Daredevil to help him get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, for all their investigating, cracking wise and constantly trying to one-up each other, things might not be as they seem with the theft-prone Ms. Hardy.

Overall, Waid delivers a fantastic first part to this story, providing a nice reminder of what made his previous work on the book great and exemplifying why his run on Daredevil appeared on so many “best of” lists for 2011. The dialogue is clever and well-written, and interactions between characters are sold even more by the body language conveyed in Emma Rios’ art. Not to mention that this issue had a cliffhanger ending that I didn’t see coming from a mile away for a change.

I can’t wait to see how this ends next week in Daredevil #8, although I’m worried I’ll end up adding yet another book to my pull list before this is over with.

Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10

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Review: Witchblade #151 : A New Era for Sara Begins in Chicago

Matthew Sardo

January 6, 2012

Witch Blade #151

Story by: Tim Seeley

Art By: Diego Bernard

Review Score: 7.5/10

I will start of by saying that I’ve never read Witch Blade before so I decided to check out Top Cow’s Rebirth / Relaunch of the character . This issue manages to be a great starting point for new readers while establishing its history and direction to fans of the book in the past . Seeley chooses to use Eddie Estacado aka The Darkness to catch the readers up to speed and sets up some plot threads that should play out nicely as the book progresses.

Seeley being a local Chicago writer decided to Move Sara from New York to Chicago and it works really well . The reasoning thus far is because the Witchblade has decided this is where she needs to be which is fine for the first issue . What works really well is the city itself . Seeley uses real locations around town (Sara lives above the Green Mill and follows a lead that brings her to Club NEO) which is really fun for someone who also has been to both locations. He also creates a more realistic take on Sara that feels natural and not forced. Seeley writes Sara as a strong character who has more than a few insecurities which makes for a complex character thus far. As I read further into the issue I was interested in seeing how Sara was going to end up getting out of the mess she stumbled into.

Diego Bernard does a good job in his first issue . He uses photo references for his exterior shots . The Green Mill has its trade mark neon sign and the layout inside of NEO as well as the alley way is accurate . He draws Sara / Witch Blade the way most would expect her to look and has a nice sense of direction with the last few pages of action. I will say his strongest work is in the Prologue pages involving The Darkness and the 13 Weapons of Fate.

If you’re a fan of Witch Blade and live in Chicago this is definitely going to be a fun and rewarding book to read. If you’ve been following Witch Blade for a while now the new direction Tim Seeley and Diego Bernard are taking the series in should prove an exciting and fun start for the character.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: X23 #20 ‘Laura chooses a side…’

Matthew Sardo

January 4, 2012

X23 #20 “Girls Night Out part1”
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Phil Noto

Laura Kinney begins her last adventure, before the unfortunate cancellation of the series with the next issue. Unfortunate indeed, as this series has been superb from start to finish. It was dark and touched on subjects that I wouldn’t have expected, like underage prostitution and trafficking. Considering Laura’s upbringing, that shouldn’t have been a surprise and this series wouldn’t have been as truthful to X’s character if these weren’t the paths taken. The series could take a complete twist, being fun and mystical, with X battling dragons or being the vessel for a cosmic entity. I thought this series had it all! Also, Marvel’s collection is highly lacking in female solo books… the only one after X23 is Ghost Rider… and her face is on fire!

With that said, Marjorie Liu has penciled one hell of a run.

This issue kicks off with a four person touch football showdown, starting with a lighter note! May I add that it is always a pleasure to see X interact with X-Men that she regularly wouldn’t and for this instance, it’s Iceman! Laura’s mind works like a computer, always analyzing but never feeling anything, so there’s always an interesting dynamic when she interacts with new characters. The inevitable question gets poised: Which side will X23 take, progressed by Wolverine and Cyclops ‘Schism’. Thanks to Vampy-Jubes (Vampire Jubilee) who steals Laura away before she could answer for a night on the town and, you guessed it, adventure ensues! The plot gets a little heavy, as is Liu’s style but then ends on a happy note!

Artist Phil Noto does a fantastic job within. His subtle style is perfect for the grounded storyline. I must add, that Noto does both art and coloring, which makes every panel personal. The color tones and highlights are perfect. Worth adding is a scene within a nightclub and every other panel had a different solid color tone, to mimic the changing lights; reminded me when I used to watch Batman Beyond when I was younger.

x23 21 — Cover to X23 #21 Series Finale!

I’m incredibly saddened to know that issue 21 will be the last. Laura has already begun her next adventure within another title and though I have very much enjoyed her character from her time spent with the students as the ‘New X-men’, I will not follow her exploits as a “superhero”. I was mad to here that the series was getting the boot and I was pissed to hear where she’s ending up, until I read this issue. There is a female guest-star, I won’t spoil who, her interaction made it all click. This series has been about Laura trying to find life inside of her, to make herself feel again and the progression into hero-dom now makes sense, I just feel it was forced on too soon due to the books cancellation. This series still had great forward moving potential and if there’s a petition out there to keep this series going, sign me up!

Story: 9
Art: 9.5

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Reviews: Swamp Thing #5 and Animal Man #5 – For Those About to Rot We Salute You

Matthew Sardo

January 4, 2012

So after 5 issues of both Animal Man and Swamp Thing in the books things are looking worse than ever for both of our heroes . Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire are in top form on their respective books , finishing up their first arcs on the way to introducing Dead World to us starting with issue six. Without further adieu , lets get to the reviews for both Swamp Thing and Animal Man.

Swamp Thing #5

Story by: Scott Snyder

Art By: Yanick Paquette

Review Score : 9 / 10

Issue five of Swamp Thing starts in Brazil far removed from Texas where we last saw Abby Arcane and Alex Holland .Snyder introduces us to yet another carrier of the Rot and immediately reminds us that this is a Dark book . The Professor reveals a nasty case of the Rot under his shirt and the Tribesman stare in Horror as it infests and snaps their necks and sends them into the depths of the jungle.

Back in Texas Abby and Alec are stocking up supplies getting ready to head Towards her Rot infested younger Brother William. Scott Snyder chooses to let Alec share another moment with Abby that helps set up that Alec continues to borrow memories from the former Swamp Thing and his Love for Abby. As soon as they leave the store Abby and Alec are greeted by William and his undead Army of cattle and pigs. Snyder finally amps up the action and lets Alex tap into his powers just enough to show us how much potential Alec has as Swamp Thing in the future.

Yanick Paquette handles the art this entire issue and his ability to lead into certain scenes by using framed panels is nothing short of amazing . He may just be the best lay out Artist at DC. What begins as a page broken up by vines eventually gives way to blots of Blood helping create the tension from page to page. When Alec starts to tap into The Green this issue its Yanick’s pencils that show us how powerful Alec is . The variation from page to page is constant , this is a Damn pretty book.

After Alec makes short work of Williams army , he shares a kiss with Abby and that one kiss is just what William and the Rot were hoping for . The moment is drawn beautifully and the sudden shock that Alec is now infected by the Rot is all the more painful when Scott takes us back to Brazil where we see that the Professor has located the Parliament of Trees. This issue delivered at every step and sets up the next Arc Dead World nicely. You owe it to yourself to read this book . If this isn’t in your pull list at this point you are truly missing out on one of DC’s best titles of the Relaunch.

Animal Man #5

Story By: Jeff Lemire

Art By: Travel Foreman , Steve Pugh and Jeff Huet

Review Score : 9.5/10

Animal Man #5 begins with the Baker family split up . Clifford and Ellen are fighting for their lives versus the Final Hunter while Buddy and Maxine rush to come to their rescue. The action in this issue is fast and gut wrenching . Each member of Team Animal Man has at least a moment to shine in this issue and its nice to see that when things get dire , this family sticks together . It’s a testament to Jeff Lemire as a writer that you care for every one of these characters . There are several moments in this issue where I was scared that this would be the last time I saw them alive. It’s that sense of anything can happen that truly makes Animal Man a special book.

Buddy and Maxine arrive just in time to have Buddy take on the last Hunter and the results are horrifying. Travel Foreman must be a troubled person . He manages to draw things that are so out there and grotesque yet manages to ground the book in reality at the same time. This issues climax alone made me both squeamish and in awe at what i was seeing on the page. If Yanick Paquette is one of the best layout artists in DC then Travel Foreman is one of the most imaginative artists. The Hunter is truly grotesque and his ability to draw clean and well structured scenes around such a complicated figure needs to be commended. It also should be mentioned that Steven Pugh works in tandem with Travel Foreman on this issue and it their work together is a bit cleaner than any of the past issues . I would have liked to see them do the entire issue but Jeff Huet comes in for the last few pages and does a nice job.

Maxine getting a sense that her Dad is in serious trouble uses her powers of The Red and sends every Animal in the Forest after the Final Hunter . The animals come down in a fury and begin eating the Hunter but it turns out that’s exactly what the Rot wanted as it has now made its way into the Reds lifeline and infected all living things it comes into contact with. The Baker Family narrowly escapes from the Rot and with the Baker family wondering what to do next . Its their new Cat Socks that tells them “Only Swamp Thing can save us now” . Setting the series up for its crossover with Swamp Thing in perfect fashion. Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman’s Animal Man is one of the best books on the stands and I can’t wait for the start of Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder’s Deadworld.

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Review: Uncanny X-Force #19.1, Enter the Age of Apocalypse (Again…)

Roger Riddell

January 4, 2012

Uncanny X-Force #19.1
Writer: Rick Remender
Art: Billy Tan and Jose Villarrubia [colors]

Spinning out of Rick Remender’s recent “Dark Angel Saga” in Uncanny X-Force is the new ongoing Age of Apocalypse series, and Uncanny X-Force #19.1 is essentially a prologue designed to draw in readers for that series. Essentially, this is the second prologue written for the series, as the first appeared in the Marvel: Point One one-shot.

Here’s the synopsis: There’s an alternate reality in the Marvel Universe referred to as the “Age of Apocalypse.” In this reality, Charles Xavier died, and his dream along with him. As a result, Apocalypse ended up taking over the world (hence the name) and Magneto led a group of X-Men against him. This very basic plot description all played out in a 1995-1996 crossover event in the X-Men books that were being published at the time.

I’ll admit right now that I’ve never read the original “Age of Apocalypse” stories. It’s something I’ve been meaning to go back and do, but I haven’t done it yet. All I know based on what I’ve read in Uncanny X-Force is that Apocalypse fell at some point and Wolverine took his place as the new Apocalypse, continuing to hunt down and exterminate humanity.

In Uncanny X-Men #19.1, it’s revealed that The Exterminated (a human resistance group led by William Stryker and the daughter of Bolivar Trask) have cloned the Scarlet Witch after discovering that she was able to “cure” the X-Gene in an alternate universe (i.e. Earth-616, the mainstream Marvel continuity). Their plan is to have Jean Grey use this clone’s powers to have her do the same in their universe to wipe all mutants of their powers.

This plan kind of works, but of course it goes wrong big time or you wouldn’t have any reason to follow the series.

If you’ve read my reviews before, you already know how I feel about Remender’s writing. This is as well-written as anything else he’s done. In all honesty, the only thing keeping me from being a regular Age of Apocalypse reader is the amount of books already on my pull list. Times are tough and comic prices ain’t what they used to be, you dig? Even if Remender couldn’t write well, this book could almost sell on the merit of Billy Tan and Jose Villarrubia’s artwork alone. It’s crisp, clean and reminds me of the more basic comic art of yesteryear — not unlike what you typically see in Uncanny X-Force.

If you want a story somewhat removed from the typical, mainstream X-Men fare, Age of Apocalypse is definitely for you. The only thing about this that throws me off is that, if I remember correctly, Marvel’s “Point One” initiative was designed to give new readers the perfect “jumping-on point” to a series, yet this issue promotes an entirely new series. Is it really necessary, given that they already did another prologue in the collected Point One one shot?

Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10

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Review:Uncanny X Men #3 The Celestials Arrive

Matthew Sardo

December 28, 2011

Uncanny X-Men #3

Story By: Kieron Gillen

Art By: Carlos Pacheco , Paco Diaz , and Rodney Buchemi

Review Score: 7.5 / 10

Cyclops and his new X-Men start this issue off fighting Sinster’s clones while Sinister proceeds to monologue away high a top his chair . I never really thought Sinister was a good villain to begin with , and while Kieron Gillen’s take on the character is creepy and self-indulgent he still remains a boring foil to Cyclops and his group. During the fight there are a ton of great character moments showing us that Gillen easily has a great handle on what makes this team work so well . Almost everyone gets a moment to shine , Hope using multiple powers to battle Sinister , Emma showing just how strong of a telepath she is in her own right, Namor using his palm as a makeshift tourniquet and finally Danger showing shes’s more than just a data entry Robot . These little moments are why this book works.

The art in this issue is by Carlos Pacheco with Diaz and Buchemi handling the breakdowns . Unfortunately there is a noticeable dip in the art when Pacheco leaves the page. Facial features are a bit off in several pages later in the issue and this issue of 3 different colorist really hurts the book. Again the level of inconsistency is jarring enough to take you out of the book.

Sinister manages to get into Hopes mind and says just one word to her that resonates “Phoenix” . After that Sinister tells Cyclops that things are going to get far worse in his life and that he will be there to see him when he’s at his lowest point. Sinister manages to disappear and leave The X-Men to deal with the Celestials who have made their way to Earth . Cyclops and Hope manage to get through to the Celestials and it seems that his plan on becoming the world best Team of Superheroes is starting to work.So the first Arc in the series wraps and I have to say again while Gillen nails each characters voice and makes this team look very formidable , the story was definitely hurt by his choice of villain as well as the pacing . If this story was collected I believe it would have been easier to read. Uncanny X-Men is off to a slow start but it does show a lot of promise with its cast of mutants . I get a clearer sense of what Cyclops ‘s purpose is for this team , but not a clear sense of whats in his way .

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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