Uncanny X-Men #1 review

So, Krakoa…

Anyway, back in the States, the X-Mansion is being turned into a prison, and the Warden, one Corina Ellis, she’s nasty.

Down in Mexico, three amigos are checking out the local wildlife.

And in Oregon, a young woman runs for her life.

Uncanny X-Men #1 (Legacy number, God Only Knows) is a wonderful read. Writer Gail Simone and artist David Marquez focus on three classic X-Men, reminding us why they’re great through action of the physical and emotional variety. Much of the issue is narrated by Rogue, letting us see Gambit and Wolverine through her eyes, but we also get to form our own impressions by listening to them, watching how they act.

And they act like heroes. Even when facing a person-eating dragon, their instinct isn’t to kill. And after putting the lizard problem to bed we see a wonderful example of compassion in action as they visit a young fan.

It’s a new beginning for our merry mutants, as they put the Krakoa experiment behind them. Logan has lived through decades of upheaval and is typically stoic, ready to see what life sends his way next. Remy’s devil-may-care ways have him happy to live in the moment. But Anna Marie is feeling a little lost.

Do I get a vote? I say polish up the X-Men name, clear the mansion of scumbags and make a better world. Given the strangers who turn up at issue’s end, it’s fair to assume our heroes will at least find an immediate purpose.

I enjoyed this issue hugely. Focusing on a handful of X-Men allows the characters to breathe. I especially appreciate the relationship between Rogue and Gambit, the sense of love is palpable, conveyed via Simone’s dialogue and Marquez’s body language.

Has Rogue been using her given name for awhile? She thinks of herself as Anna Marie, a cameoing Cyclops calls her Anna Marie, a differently cameoing Nightcrawler calls her Anna Marie, a cranky cameoing Kitty Pryde calls her Anna Marie… in-story, it makes sense, she’s long outgrown being a ‘Rogue’ but after 40 years it’s hard to rewire my head. I shall try.

I’ve never been a Gambit fan. It’s the headsock and the phonetics. But here he is just excellent, a great friend, husband, team-player and strategist. And he looks fantastic, headsock and all.

As for Logan, he’s at his best here, at heart a loner, yet a solid, supportive X-Man.

I’m thrilled we’re back in the US – I found the Krakoa setting creepy and suffocating – and loved the winged serpent encounter. Sadurang the God-Snake has a wicked tongue, but it also has some insight into our heroes, making its scene more than a hugely satisfying slice of action.

The breeziness of this comic feels thoroughly modern, but Simone gives us a classic feel with cutaway subplots, an element missing from 90 per cent of today’s comics (made-up statistic, but basically true).

And the visual storytelling… I don’t know if Marquez and Simone have worked together previously, but they are soooo sympatico. It feels like they’ve been a team for years. Marquez lays down some very stylish lines, somehow he can set a very detailed image by a cartoony figure and it’s great, just what the story needs. Standout panels include a close-up of Sadurang, and an old friend of Logan begging the occasionally deceased mutant for reassurance about an afterlife.

My only niggle with the storytelling is that we hear the dragon has a hugely intimidating eye but we don’t actually get a proper look at it until it’s been removed. When Logan says the dragon’s own eyes aren’t the ones they should be worrying about, the close-up is this.

A regular eye. Well, a regular monstrous eye. It’s actually a few pages on that we’re told the creature’s Really Scary Eye is an Eye of Agamotto, and a few pages after that, that we learn it’s located on the belly of the beast. That’s when we finally see a very recognisable EofA. I wonder if the panel above and the dialogue could be tweaked for the collection, to make things a tad clearer.

Matthew Wilson’s colours add another level of goodness to the book, with scenes lit beautifully and convincingly. The dragon is a standout, its feathers as intense as its flame. And a page-to-page transitional close-up of Logan, nicely drawn by Marquez, benefits greatly from Wilson’s tones. Meanwhile, Clayton Cowles’s letters are always appropriate, with my favoured fontwork this time coming as Anna Marie punches that mean dragon while making me feel very, very old.

The cover is a simple idea, brilliantly executed by Marquez and Wilson, and it’s so great to have the classic logo back. Bring on the busy corner box!

Uncanny X-Men #1 is a textbook example of how to do a first issue – characters and situations are clearly and entertainingly introduced, there’s humour, action and poignancy, and the feeling that everyone involved knows exactly what they’re doing. This is what an X-Men comic should be – mutants have rarely felt so human.