It was only about nine days ago since the last volume of Uncanny X-Men, and to be honest I somewhat forgot about it. I was surprised to see the eleventh volume pop up in a few feeds of mine so soon, thinking it was more a general announcement of the release rather than it actually being out already. These past few volumes haven't been the strongest and have slowly lost some of my interest as I found other comics that felt like they were more fun to read. I've mentioned throughout these volume reviews how the comic has shifted a bit, from artists changing hands to the story taking some odd routes that don't quite make sense or fit the narrative. But the previous volume did pick up a bit, it felt like it had a bit more direction finally and that the comic was moving forward somehow. With a lot more development and context given to the younger mutants that the comic had been following for most of the comic; previously their presence was quite thin and didn't offer much to the greater narrative. It felt a bit stuck between two concepts: Rogue and her want to become something more than a mutant on the run, and the endless hunting that follows the remaining X-Men as they're all fragmented and barely capable of trusting each other in the current era. There's so much more the story could've done to build its world from here, but it has been painfully slow to really say anything beyond some interesting fight panels here and there.
The previous volume saw a younger mutant getting killed off though it was quite clear that they would be capable of returning. I liked that a character was being killed off finally since it felt a bit more serious for once, though knowing that the character would return did sour some of that feeling a bit. It does need some weight to it, something needs to happen beyond the characters jumping between each other and then going back home to complain about their lives. Warden Ellis has also been painfully boring with her assumed interest in either controlling the remaining mutants or killing them off, though there's not really anything happening from her that displays a clear intent. The previous volume saw underdeveloped robotic hounds hunting the teenage mutants in a mall in broad daylight for the world to see, with the young mutants saving civilians in the mall and figuring out how to destroy them. This event had the warden panicking, while the mutants had media coverage that portrayed them as heroes. Quite the opposite effect of what was intended. This is where the volume felt like it had some direction, where something had happened that felt like narrative progression, albeit some clear passing of the torch structure with the older X-Men and the younger mutants. I haven't been a big fan of that side of things, though any development is welcomed now that we're eleven volumes in. So that brings us into the eleventh volume!
Previous volumes had us seeing some of the life of the younger Charles Xavier, coming from the private journal of his. This initially had something to do with the woman that was hunting down Rogue and almost killed her. We saw the earlier snippets of Xavier's life that saw him falling in love and finding someone that really wanted to be with him, even into starting a family together. It has been a few volumes since we started off in this journal manner, but volume eleven felt the need to return to that. This was a pretty cool introduction since it showed us the ways in which the prisoners live, how they're kept under strict rules and drugged whenever the seem to be acting slightly out of the norm. Xavier in this dream state in which he has nightmares of his daughter. The ways in which the prison treats its prisoners by even wanting to dissect them and harvest their brains for additional research in the event that they die under their control. It felt dystopian, and also quite cyberpunk in its design. A major change in the scenery for once that was really nice to see, significantly more immersive. But just as things got really interesting, we cut back to the farmland where the main mutants reside. I wasn't a fan of this change, I am a bit tired of seeing them returning to this location and constantly just complaining about the same things. Little development in the characters whenever this environment pops up.
Fortunately this side of things was short lived. It felt like a much smaller volume with how often the story kept jumping between characters, but I didn't mind that at all. It felt like it was actually in motion with many different pieces moving at once. Xavier slowly waking up to the point in which the drugs within his system no longer functioned. The tumour in his brain leading him to see and act out in a state of anger, breaking free of the prison in search of his daughter that he hopes to save. Xavier now this all-powerful but dysfunctional being that probably can't be controlled even by his friends. Coincidentally panels before showed the main X-Men training the students a bit more, realising that they aren't quite ready and still remain a bit naive and weak. Realising that they need much more training that will be more brutal to them, and that their current training just isn't going to cut it when it treats them so kindly. This does suddenly feel like something's forming here. Perhaps a later conflict between the two groups against a troubled Xavier that's lost in his own mind? I really liked that for once a volume had me curious, had me really thinking of what might be coming next. How things might continue to take a turn for the worst and bring the remaining X-Men together at their weakest.
This one was a solid volume. I really liked it, and the art was significantly better this time. Much more engaging. Though it did have its moments where certain characters just looked a bit weird in certain perspectives. But the rest really makes up for it. And now I'm back to being excited for the next volume!