Uncanny X-Men Volume 3: Hope It Survives The Experience

Growing up, I built up my vocabulary of adjectives by reading comic books:  Amazing. Astonish. Impossible. Incredible. Invincible. Fantastic. Mighty. Savage. Sensational. Uncanny.  

The strangest one being, of course, uncanny.  Which, ironically, means strange.  Did that mean it was the opposite of canny?  And what did canny mean?  Apparently, it means clever or shrewd, so I'm not sure how something strange, eerie, or mysterious is the opposite of clever or shrewd. 

Anyway, remember when only one superhero team was uncanny?  And remember when there was only ONE X-Men comic?  It's hard to conceive of now.  Now, there are three uncanny teams: Avengers, X-Force, and X-Men.  It kind of lessens the uniqueness and impact of the word, the team, and the comic, doesn't it?

The original Uncanny X-Men series ran for an -- get ready for it -- astonishing 544 issues.  That's pretty long for a comic book series.  Of course, following DC's restart of all their long-running series (including Action Comics, Detective Comics, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman), Marvel decided it was time to restart their long-running series as well.  Following the "schism" between Cyclops and Wolverine seemed like the perfect opportunity.   It also allowed for the entry of another X-Men comic (Wolverine and the X-Men).  And not only another X-Men comic, but an X-Men comic starring Wolverine.  (He's one busy fella!)

Sadly, volume two of The Uncanny X-Men only lasted for 20 issues.  Then along comes
Brian Michael Bendis and the Marvel NOW! initiative.  I'm sure the conversation went down something like this:

Marvel: "We'd like you to write the X-Men." 
Bendis: "Okay, but only if I can start with a #1 issue."
Marvel: "But we just restarted the Uncanny X-Men after 50 years."
Bendis: "I don't care.  Take it or leave it." 
Marvel: "Sigh... Okay.  Let's axe volume two and start all over again."
Bendis: "Deal." 

Now came volume three in 2013.  Hopefully this one will last significantly longer than volume two.  Unless, of course, Bendis leaves and Marvel wants another high-profile writer to take over who has high demands. 

The current Uncanny X-Men features Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, Magik, and a bunch of new young "students."  Cyclops sports a new costume with a headpiece that really reinforces his codename's namesake (although his costume looks too similar to DC's new Superboy costume, which itself is too Tron-like for my taste).  Emma Frost sports a new, all-black costume, thus reinforcing the idea that she is no longer the Hellfire Club's White Queen (but how about a new codename?).  And I'm not sure what's up with Magneto's new look.  Wearing a white and black costume that resembles the Punisher's?  Bald?  I'm not loving Emma's or Magneto's new costumes.  

Now let's talk about artwork.  Chris Bachalo's art is a bit unflattering to the characters.  It's very rough-looking, and it certainly doesn't bring out Emma Frost's sexiness in the least.  And because nobody's costume is very distinguishable and the artwork is a bit sloppy, I sometimes can't tell if the woman in a panel is Emma, Magik, or one of the Stepford Cuckoos without some additional clues.  And don't even get me started on the new characters.  Who's who?  Who knows? They all look too similar.  Is that Rogue?  No, it's a new student who also has a white streak of hair.  Really?  The entire book is very dark, too.  There's no real color to it; just shades of black and gold, which makes it doubly difficult to decipher between characters.  Visually, the entire book just isn't very appealing to me.

I'm still reading the book, though, because Cyclops and Emma Frost are two of my favorite characters (even though they've gone through some pretty drastic changes over the years).  And Bendis does provide good dialogue between the characters, even though the characterization isn't optimal.  Are those the personalities we know?  Are these people always in costume and running around?  Do they ever do anything else? What about their private lives? 

A great, new recent addition to the comic is the underutilized Dazzler.  She's now an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., but her costume is very new Fantastic Four and Magneto-esque.  Unfortunately, she, too, is pretty indistinguishable from the blond-haired Emma, Magik, and the Stepford Cuckoos.  In fact, when she first appeared, I didn't even know who she was until someone spoke her name.  Why not make characters more recognizable?   Isn't that the point of distinguishable costumes?  Readers should be able to instantly recognize their favorite heroes or villains, no matter which artist is drawing them.  She, too, doesn't seem to be very Dazzler-like in her characterization.  Does Bendis need some Cliff Notes on each of the team's members?

Let's hope that Marvel can one day bring its flagship X-Men title up to the level in which it was in the 1980s, quality-wise.  It has a lot to live up to.  Welcome to Uncanny X-Men, Volume 3, hope you survive the experience.

 

My Annual Dilemma

Comic book annuals used to be something exciting that were "must haves" because they featured the debut of a new character (Rogue in Avengers Annual #10 from 1981), featured a big reveal (Jade and Obsidian discover their mother is Rose/Thorn in Infinity Inc. Annual #1 from 1985), or wrapped up an important storyline ("The Judas Contract" finale in Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 from 1984).  They also used to be annual.

  
I think the big two comic companies have lost sight of the purposes for annuals.  They're not just to increase sales in the summertime.  They're supposed to give the readers something in return, too.  I used to look forward to DC's and Marvel's annuals.  Now they just feel like a huge waste of money.  $5+ for a comic in which they test out on me new writers with bland, generic stories and artists with dubious art?  No thanks. 

I've been reading the "Zero Year" storyline in DC's New 52 Batman series.  Unfortunately, I've been less than impressed.  So when I saw that the latest Batman Annual #2 (2013) also featured part of the storyline, new writer Marguerite Bennett, and about 16 different artists, my first impression was, "Ugh."  What happened to quality storytelling?  What happened to consistency in artwork throughout one freakin' comic book?  Those were questions I asked myself as I set aside some extra time and waded reluctantly into Batman Annual #2.  

As I began to read it, I was quick to note that the dialogue was very appealing.  It didn't feel amateurish, forced, or untrue to character (hello, Felicia Henderson).  It wasn't full of crappy action scenes with no direction or plot.  I didn't even notice the changes in artists.  Everything felt seamless.  And I was actually drawn into the story and into Arkham Asylum, where the entire story takes place.  The introduction, history, and character of the Anchoress, Arkham's longest resident, was intriguing as well.  I think Bennett did a wonderful job, and I'm actually a bit green with envy.  (I overlooked the fact that this woman who looked like a frail 90-year-old was holding her own against Batman.) 

Batman Annual #2 gives me hope in summertime annuals again.

Still Hungry for More...NOW.

I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out what the big deal was about the Age of Ultron limited series.   I was prepared (and excited) for something colossal to happen.  What I got was a mishmash of storylines and characters.  There was no cohesion.  Every issue featured different characters.  And issue #10 was so "top secret" that it had to come in a sealed polybag?  So they saved the universe from Ultron's threat by changing the timestream.  And...the big revelation is bringing some scantily clad chick named Angela over from Image Comics' Spawn series?  Meh.  Even Flashpoint was more interesting, and I hate what that did to the DC Universe.

Figuring it was a tie-in to the conclusion, I pre-ordered what was previously listed as Age of Ultron #10UC before Marvel changed the title to Hunger.  Wow.  What an idiot I am.  As hinted at, it *does* feature Galactus (just a tiny bit), but it's mostly about teenage punk Rick Jones from Marvel's Ultimate Universe, which I don't even read.  

Because I've always been a fan of the Vision (especially when he and Scarlet Witch were a couple in the 1980s), I also picked up Avengers A.I., thinking a team full of robot-like characters sounded pretty interesting and something unique.  Sadly, the first issue was pretty disappointing because it was extremely...average.  I didn't care about any of the characters (even Vision who wasn't even in the story enough, being that he's probably the biggest draw). 

Age of Ultron (and anything related to it) has -- so far -- been pretty lame.  DC's Flashpoint at least made some sense.  I don't get the whole Marvel NOW initiative.  What exactly are they trying to do besides just restart series with #1 issues for the sake of sales?  Where are the big, life-changing events?  More importantly, where are the decent stories?



 

Time for Another Threesome

The word "trinity" is becoming as synonymous with DC Comics as the word "crisis."  It usually refers to DC's oldest and most commonly known icons: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. 

In 2003, a three-issue mini-series titled Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity was published, written and drawn by Matt Wagner.  It told of the first meeting of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

In 2008-2009, a weekly series titled Trinity replaced the 52 weekly series.  It, too, featured Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.  

Now, in 2013, DC Comics is offer the "Trinity War" storyline.  While it does feature the three superheroes again, the "trinity" in this story refers to the Trinity of Sin:  Pandora, Phantom Stranger, and the Question.  It could also refer to the three Justice Leagues -- Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark -- as the story runs through all three titles, and the consequences of the war is supposed to affect all three teams.  I'm only halfway through the complete crossover story, but so far, it's one of the better stories I've read by DC since the New 52 began.  Unfortunately, typical New 52 story fare shows all the superheroes as "angry" and "stubborn," two qualities I prefer my superheroes not to have, unless it's Guy Gardner.  "Trinity War" also depicts the characters as angry (since the three teams are fighting one another), but at least it's a better told story. 

I like the character of Pandora, and I'm glad that DC gave her her own series.  (Kudos to DC for adding another female solo superhero comic!  She now joins the ranks of DC's growing number of female-led comics such as Batgirl, Batwoman, Birds of Prey, Katana, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Worlds' Finest (starring Power Girl and Huntress), and the forthcoming Harley Quinn.)  Pandora reminds me of Pariah from Crisis on Infinite Earths.  She's doomed to witness the woes of the planet/universe for all eternity.  She also wears a dark, creepy hooded robe, like the pre-New 52 Raven. 

Since Pandora first appeared at the end of the Flashpoint mini-series which led to DC's New 52 (that wiped out every character's history and personality), I've always had hopes that the New 52 was temporary and Pandora would help dissolve this new world and bring DC back to its former glory.  I fear that's not going to happen with "Trinity War," but one can still hope. 

At any rate, I'm enjoying the storyline and the lame-up-til-now Justice League comics. Let's hope Pandora not only rocks my world, but hers as well.