Here at POTW we make the tough decision of what to buy if you only had money for ONE book coming out that week… this is easily the best book coming out any given Wednesday…deal with it. I know this edition of POTW is two days late, but don’t worry I haven’t read my pick even though the book is already out. That’s right, I love you all enough to hold my anticipation two whole days more than I should have.
Uncanny X-Men is a book that I was staunchly against rebooting. It was a sole survivor when it looked like every single book had been canceled and started over for the sake of a quick sales burst. How could they do this. After reading writer Kieron Gillen and artist Carlos Pacheco’s first issue I wondered how I was ever against THIS? While numbering is a trivial thing that us fanboys like to hold onto, we are bigger fans of well told stories. Gillen and Pacheco are obvioulsy striving towards a goal of making this volume of Uncanny X-Men matter more than the last.
The plot revolves around Mister Sinister tapping into the sleeping giant Celestial that took residence in a San Francisco park a few years ago. Of course Mister Sinister is all about the destruction of the X-Men so he causes mischief. Little did Mister Sinister know that he’s only able to take out half of the X-Men since Wolverine took the other half back to New York. This leaves Cyclops and Emma Frost leading Magneto, Danger, a Juggernaut-ized Colossus, Magik, Namor, and Storm to stop him.
Gillen has done nothing but impress me since he has taken over the X-Men. His work on Generation Hope has also been strong, and gives me much hope for the future of California’s mutants. While his choice of team isn’t my ideal roster, I have no doubt that he can tell a better story with this team than most writers could with a classic roster.
I’m doing something that is quite rare for my POTW, and that is endorsing a book with an artist I’m not a big fan of. Carlos Pacheco is an artist I’ve not been fond of lately. His art as of late has been lacking. Often his figures that vary shape and size consistency. Facial shapes sometimes come off as inhuman, as well. His art in issue 1 wasn’t his worst, and I’m actually hoping he can step up game to deliver the same quality he could circa 2003. A lot of what has helps is colorist Frank D’Armata’s ability to establish a tone for the book. His colors can save Pacheco’s sometimes shoddy artwork. All this should speak to how strong I think Gillen’s story is.
Its rare that I find a writer can overcome the weakness of his artists. This is sure to be an excellently written comic and will further establish the role of Cyclops’ X-Men team. This is a perfect place to start if you are unfamiliar with the X-Men. They’ve just started a new mission that is surely the start of an interesting path.
