I wrote a post recently stating I had next to zero understanding of the X-Men franchise. I know there have been some pretty awful films in the past, and even in the present its general attention is thin compared to the rest out there. Even spanning into the comics I only know that the general story is that they're mutants that aren't particularly accepted within society despite making their best efforts to just live ordinary lives while also having to pull themselves out of bed to save others that don't appreciate them. There's a bald guy in a wheelchair and a man that throws out spikes from his fists. That's about it. My total understanding! I do know that a comic artist by the name of David Finch supposedly helped create one of the better set of stories within the franchise back in the 90s, though I am yet to read through that one and see for myself. But I did notice that Uncanny X-Men had a recent release and is a few volumes out by now, and the first thing that caught my attention was its art style. I really, really like it! I had been reading through a few of the more standalone stories over the past few weeks as well, one of which focusing on Psylocke. Though this one really caught my attention. Finally it was time to dive into something X-Men! Putting aside all the expected poor quality due to the horrendous film adaptations over the years and see what the comics side of things had to say.
While I'm not familiar with the artist of Uncanny X-Men, I have to say that I'm now definitely a fan. The style has that typical comic book look to it, but it doesn't feel overly digital in its lines, looking more like a combination of ink and paper, though I'm sure it is purely digital. The colouring is really, really nice with looks of water colour backgrounds in parts, but also really textured colours for clothing and items that makes the character design really pop. I love the way the shadows are done, particularly in drapery. It's a style of heavy detail and simplification that creates a really immersive set of panels. A lot of more modern comics don't quite look like this these days, with a bit more emphasis on the digital side of things which often look a bit rushed and cheap. I didn't feel any of this going through the first volume of Uncanny X-Men, to the point where halfway through I went back to the start and looked at the names of the artists to see what else they've done online. While art definitely does catch my attention quickly if it appeals to me, I've been quite surprised at the quality of the character designs and story so far. I admit I always thought the idea of the X-Men seemed a bit lame, but this story seems to be one of slight nostalgia and touches on the characters with a bit more sympathy, it feels a little more depressing and I really like that.
Volume one shows the aftermath of some sort of collapse for the X-Men, I don't know if it's related to previous comics or something, but it shows their main house as a place that's abandoned, that mutant school now being roamed though by some villains that are ready to destroy whatever is left behind. Introduced are a few characters I have never stumbled across in a comic or seen in a film before, and that was something I really enjoyed about it, less focus on the usual characters that tend to get all the attention, and instead I was instead to Gambit and Rogue, though I have seen art of them elsewhere from other artists. Though Logan also has a bit of an appearance alongside the two. Getting to know these characters a little more was quite fun, especially with the differences in nationality they had: Gambit having a bit of a French accent, Rogue sounding a little US southern. These little accent additions to the dialogue was quite fun, giving them a bit more personality that makes them a bit more distinct, especially with how I wasn't all that sure what they were capable of in the first place. Rather than just throwing around powers (Gambit seems to like cards, I gathered), they seemed a bit more normal, just in costumes. And speaking of which: their designs were pretty cool, Gambit looking a bit more futuristic and Rogue's design a little more simplistic. Costume and a leather jacket thrown over.
This first volume felt incredibly long, and I mean that in a really good way. Whereas the other comics I have been reading as of late feel like they're a bit too stuck in one story, featuring generally less events and probably even less pages as a result. It felt like it had its moments of action and its breathers, where the characters would interact with each other properly in a more authentic manner, from phone calls to general downtime. That introduction of pacing was significantly more immersive, especially with how it sort of jumped into some of the action and characters without wasting a lot of time trying to introduce them, it instead spanned over their general nature, the sympathy they have as well as fears, thrown in with little bits of narration of dialogue with others. I'd say it was incredibly well written, and with that aforementioned great art, it was difficult to not want to read on. Logan's brief moments showcased his lack of fear regarding death, how it was actually peaceful and how he somewhat misses it. For Rogue, we saw how she fears rejection, and constantly feels alone as a result. These emotions tend to be what these characters feel, where society rejects them and has them guessing themselves despite their best efforts elsewhere. They don't feel like 'superheroes' through this, but more regular people thrown under weird circumstances they cannot escape even if they wanted or tried. Somewhat displayed in that interaction Logan has earlier in the comic with a dying old man.
Thankfully this doesn't appear to be a shorter story that just sees five or so volumes, and I think the quality so far really shows. It's something that clearly wants to tell a larger story and the effort is right there in your face from the very start. I'm actually quite surprised at how good it is. Definitely a new ongoing favourite for now.
Congratulations @namiks! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP