Uncanny x force series#
The colors give the series a sort of Blade Runner-esque, neo-noir tone that meshes well with Humphries' energetic writing. Offsetting the traditional approach are the colors of Marte Gracia and Israel Gonzalez. "Weight" and "definition" are areas inker Danny Miki excels at. I prefer this approach, as it gives the characters and their surroundings more weight and definition.
Ron Garney returns to a more traditional inked style after several years of books where his pencils were left un-inked and then digitally colored. With the characterization hitting and missing in issue #1, it's more the visuals that help establish Uncanny X-Force's place in the crowded X-book lineup. There's no reason to ramble disjointedly about Puck's time in Hell when it has no particular bearing on his role in this book. I'm sure they have some use as far as introducing the lesser-known characters to new readers, but the trade-off when it comes to the flow of the script and general readability is too great. They read more like extensive editor's notes than integrated pieces of the script. Humphries delivers captions for most of the main characters that explain who they are and what recent trials they've faced. One other area of the writing that proves problematic is the use of narrative captions. Between these two and the continued exploration of the Fantomex family, it's refreshing to see an X-Men book that doesn't hinge on the same handful of A-list characters. Spiral is more a visual presence than anything in this issue, but her rivalry with Psylocke already makes for some heated drama. He has a great dynamic with Psylocke and Storm and generally replaces Fantomex as the roguish imp of the team without all the deception and misdirection. Puck in particular stands out as a great addition. Why would that Storm serve on a team like X-Force? I have no real complaints about the rest of the cast, however. She's still the Storm we all know and love, which is the whole problem. Instead, Humphries writes her pretty much exactly as the rest of the X-writers have been. I was hoping for a darker take on her personality to reflect the return of the punk look and Ororo's generally sour mood in the wake of AvX. If anything, Storm suffers the opposite problem as Betsy. Cursing fits the darker mold of this series, but if Marvel isn't going to actually allow cursing in the book, there's no point in halfway including it. At times it's like reading a middle school-approved version of Huckleberry Finn. For that matter, Humphries' decision to pepper the script with curse words might have worked better if they weren't invariably censored by black bars. For her to be physically lashing out at Wolverine's students and cursing like a sailor seems needlessly extreme. Remender gave Betsy a pretty happy ending in his final issue, all things considered. And while that's valid to an extent, Humphries goes a little overboard. He writes her as being very restless and psychologically damaged following her various ordeals in the previous volume. Humphries' depiction of Psylocke will likely draw the most attention. The plotting is solid, but the characterization is more uneven in this first issue. Neither of these characters have any apparent relevance to the current conflict, so their pages feel tacked on and arbitrary. If anything, I would have preferred that Humphries had left Bishop and Cluster out of the picture for now. The History of X-ForceIn some ways the approach could be described as "slow burn," but the pacing is such that the book remains exciting and brisk regardless of the low-key nature of the conflict. This issue features the entire cast displayed on the cover in some form or another, but readers won't learn yet what exactly the mandate of the new team is or what entices characters like Spiral and Psylocke to work together.
Luckily, Humphries delivers an engaging script that sidesteps some of the formulaic buzzkill so common to first issues. Uncanny X-Force #1 isn't the only new #1 issue from Marvel this week, much less the entire Marvel NOW relaunch.
The result is a book that will still appeal to fans of Remender's series, but is more aimed at new readers in the end (sometimes to a fault). Of the old Uncanny X-Force crew, only Psylocke remains in a starring capacity. Unlike Humphries' takeover of Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates from Jonathan Hickman, this assignment offers a much cleaner break and more room to develop new characters and concepts. Wisely, Humphries doesn't stumble over himself trying to follow in Remender's footsteps. Can any writer really hope to pick up where that book left off, particularly with there already being another X-Force series on the market? Remender's series was consistently one of my favorite reads every month and set a new standard for the various X-Men books to aspire to. I don't envy Sam Humphries in his task of following up Rick Remender on Uncanny X-Force.