Uncanny X-Men #500
Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, story
Greg Land and Terry Dodson, pencils
Jay Leisten and Rachel Dodson, inks
Justin Ponsor, colors
Marvel
review by David Uzumeri of Funnybook Babylon

Uncanny X-Men, the last major Marvel book to hit the big five-oh-oh, pumps out a big anniversary issue this week that finally starts unearthing the machinery through which Marvel plans to resurrect the hope of the mutant population. It’s half-drawn by the talented Terry Dodson, and features a smart script that, unlike Ellis’s first issue of Astonishing, fully embraces and explores the X-Men’s new status quo as the Marvel Universe’s ultimate army of genetically enhanced yuppie liberals. In my opinion, it’s a hat that fits very well, and finally gives some much-needed superhero presence to the west/left/best coast.

What really makes this issue noteworthy, though, is that for the first time since House of M, the X-Men - and, more importantly, the creative team! - feel like they have a mission and a goal. So this issue gives us a distinct product of recent continuity, picking up elements from Endangered Species and X-Men: Legacy to really drive the next phase of mutantkind’s story forward. This new beginning is accompanied with the introduction of new cowriter Matt Fraction, who joins regular writer Ed Brubaker in steering this, the flagship of the line. His presence is keenly felt - in comparison to recent issues, the dialogue is snappier, the ideas are more adventurous, but Brubaker’s rock-solid plotting and pacing influence is intact as well. It’s nothing but an improvement.

We also see a return to the social themes Claremont started referencing and Morrison really expanded on, exploring how this change in scenery is affecting the general mutant quality of life, as well as some logical (and illogical) public reactions. It’s a big issue, seeding plot points for what seem to be many future arcs, and it’s broken down into an explicit prologues-chapters-epilogues structure like old anniversary-issue/annual comics from the silver and bronze ages. It’s a well-written comic that honors the past and points to the future. So far, so good.

However, your theoretical enjoyment of this issue depends largely on your level of tolerance for Greg Land’s art. If you enjoy it, or can look past its more controversial natures (tracing ‘allegations’ from inappropriate source material), then it won’t be a problem. However, if Land’s… stylistic tics… have a tendency of removing you from focusing on the story, then the quantity of it in this book will probably prevent you from enjoying it on its own terms - if nothing else, the patented “pornface” doesn’t seem to be in effect too much. Land is joined by Terry Dodson, who does a predictably great job with solid storytelling (if he’d done the whole book, this paragraph would have been all praise).

So, if you’re interested in the spine of Marvel’s mutant saga over the next solid period of time, and can deal with art that sometimes looks like cut-up photos placed on a sheet of construction paper like Colorforms, then you’ll probably at least enjoy the read as Brubaker and Fraction deliver a promising start to what definitely seems like an extended arc. If you don’t care for either of those things, well, you probably won’t enjoy this comic, as it’s not a self-contained epic like the duo’s previous work together on Immortal Iron Fist. It’s a new start for one of Marvel’s tentpole commercial franchises, and despite the major artistic hiccup it’s pretty damn great at that.