Uncanny X-Men #10-11
They’re doing odd things with the collections of Brian Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men. The first collection, titled “Revolution”, covers issues #1-5. Volume 2, “Lost in Limbo”, covers #6-11. But this doesn’t match up with the story arcs – the Limbo arc actually appears in issues #5-7, so it’s been split between the books. And issues #8-11 are just kind of lumped in with volume 2.
In fact, they’re not really an arc at all; they’re just issues of an ongoing series, a storytelling structure we don’t see that often. Calling issues #10-11 an arc is a bit arbitrary, in fact, but since the “Battle of the Atom” crossover starts next month, it’s as good a place to stop as any. And they’re both drawn by Fraser Irving.
So. Issue #10 is largely a talk issue, with everyone comparing notes at HQ, and Magneto being given “Dazzler” (who was replaced by Mystique in issue #9) as his new handler from SHIELD. Then the X-Men spontaneously decide to attend a pro-mutant rally and instantly get attacked by a robot calling itself the “Blockbuster Sentinel.” Issue #11, unusually for Bendis, is basically a fight issue, as Scott’s slightly dodgy X-Men team take on the latest killer robot as best they can, while everyone (including SHIELD) ask themselves the obvious question: how did the robot show up so quickly when the X-Men only teleported in on a whim?
So in the grand scheme of things, it’s set-up for a future villain. All told, though, this is a pretty solid two-parter. Action issues have never been Bendis’ strongest suit, but this one does the job of giving the various characters the opportunity to showcase their schtick, while setting up both a mystery about the villain and furthering the idea that everyone still thinks Magneto might be betraying them.
It’s Irving’s art that sticks in the mind most from these issues, though. His swirling colours and hazy images are a drastic break from typical superhero style. So instead of recycling elements of the typical Sentinel design for the umpteenth version, this time we get a weird looking thing with what looks like a staticky hologram instead of a head. It’s a design that probably wouldn’t translate well to the styles of a lot of other artists, but if it’s not intended to be recurring, who cares?
Irving is an interesting choice for this book’s secondary artist. When you’ve got Chris Bachalo as the lead name, there’s an obvious question of what you do on the other issues. There’s nobody out there with a closely similar style, and you want to avoid an impression of imitation or blandness. Irving probably represents the best solution – somebody with such a strong style of his own that he immediately avoids Bachalo’s shadow.
The downside, of course, is that you lose a lot of consistency in the book’s appearance. But with so many X-Men titles out there already, that’s less of an issue. Besides, both artists share an oddness that makes them appropriate for this team. Cyclops’ squad is a wonky shambles with a dubious claim even to use the name, and steering well clear of an artist with a conventional superhero style fits the vibe of the book. And Irving also turns out to be able to handle some of Bachalo’s more unusual designs; a lot of artists have seemed to struggle with the current Cyclops costume, but Irving gets the blankness to work for him.
I’m largely enjoying Uncanny at the moment – there’s a sense of direction here, and a rather better pace than the often sluggish All-New. There’s still work to be done in giving the recruits an opportunity to develop their characters, but Fabio’s getting there and the others at least show some potential. If these issues are filling time before the crossover, they’re doing it pretty well.
Have any comics really been building to the crossover? I’m only reading WatXM so I’m unsure if there have been any building blocks in place. I know it’s supposedly a reaction to ANXM, but is the story a reaction to anything happening in that title, or just a reaction to that title existing?
Yeah, I’ve been reading the core x-books and there really hasn’t been much of a build except, as Matt pointed out, a general reaction to All-New X-Men. I’m assuming X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1 will kick off the true “plot” of that crossover.
I’m sure Marvel will have a press release or interview out some time later today stating how the last 5 years’ worth of stories have been building to Battle of the Atom.
“There’s nobody out there with a closely similar style”
i think skottie young would probably work… somewhat similar to bachalo, but distinct and talented enough.
not that im complaining about irvings art. its gorgeous.
I really disagree with the feeling that this feels as though its less sluggish than All-New, as I still get the sense we’re 11 issues in and nothing is really happening. They’ve recruited some new kids, there was an unnecessarily tangent about Limbo, and now we have a new villain being foreshadowed (not quite introduced). And that’s about it. Cyclops/Magneto/Frost’s powers are still broken, the kids are still kids learning to use their powers, and Cyclops’ big revolution consists of sitting around the base and occasionally making a public appearance before running away. Yawn.
I do hope the new characters get a chance to stick though, Goldballs, Tempus and Hijack definitely have potential. (I won’t be surprised if they’re immediately ignored by whatever new writer takes over whenever Bendis leaves, of course)
I do agree strongly that Irving is the one person so far who is able to make Cyclops’ new uniform not look silly.
The biggest problem with the build-up, or lack of, to the crossover has been Bendis’ pacing. In the time the teen originals have been around (about 3 days?), WatX has had the circus arc, the one issue that did partly react to All-New, the Savage Land, the time capsule, and the Hellfire school. Wood’s book has had an opening arc and a downtime issue. Somehow, Rachel wasn’t at the school in the issues after her mom turned up, even though in WatX, she was there.
There might be a way of fudging it by having all of All-New before most of these WatX stories, but then you have to believe that Jean and co. are taking way too much time to find out the basics of how things are now – at the start of the crossover, they don’t know what Cerebro is like.
That’s Bendis through and through. His Avengers from HoM to secret invasion seems like the characters lived through 5 days.
Gotta say that i got a kick out of one of the characters in BOTA.
But man, this series might even be too much meta for a guy that studied self-referentiality in grad school. 🙂
Irving’s figures are great and his palette is striking, but his storytelling suffers from a lack of backgrounds. Smoke, smoke, atmosphere, texture, more smoke, a wall of color with dirt on it, oh look there’s a faint silhouette of a tree and a house. For a fight happening in a crowded public space, issue 11 provided almost no visual sense of where the space was. And every issue of “Uncanny” he’s drawn is the same. Even “Xombi” and “Klarion” suffered from this, although not as much. I want Irving on this book, but he needs to stage his action clearly.
Has anyone sometimes had trouble telling the various long, straight, blond female team members apart, especially when out of uniform?
Emma, the Cuckoos, Magik… I groaned when Dazzler was added because it meant another blonde who the artists would make all but indistinguishable when out of costume.
(I was glad that one of the cuckoos decided to rebel against the gestalt and go with shorter black hair.)
@dp: Yes. Especially with Bachalo making them all wear black, low-cut leather.
@D: It could be worse. It could be Greg Land, where a single blonde looked different on every page.
Marvel changed the second volume’s title from “Lost in Limbo” to “Broken”:
http://www.comiclist.com/index.php/lists/marvel-comics-extended-forecast-for-09-11-2013
I guess the fact that the veteran members’ powers are still “broken” kind of works as a unifying theme for the collection, but it’s still odd to start it with the second part of the Limbo arc.