Reviews – Uncanny X-Men 538, Hulk 35, Batman 711, X-Factor 221

Uncanny X-Men 538

Written by Kieron Gillen
Penciled by Terry Dodson

Reviewed by Dan

Breakworld’s former Powerlord, Kruun faces off against the X-Men for one last time.

THE GOOD
Kitty Pryde’s return to normal form.  At last, Kitty is no longer stuck in her phase form.  So no more moping Colossus and Kitty with and without the weird helmet.  She’s a fun character who deserves to be more in the spotlight of the main X books.  Now that she is solid again, I hope that we see more of her in action.  The Wolverine/Kruun fight was pretty cool too.  I think Gillen does a great job with the dialogue; the Dr. Nemesis mild ranting in this issue about ninjas being my favorite.  Dodson draws most of the X characters well except for Namor and Colossus.  They look exactly the same except for the ears.  Kudos to Dodson for putting a San Fransisco Giants jersey on Kruun at the end.

THE BAD
The news that Uncanny X-Men is going to be cancelled and replaced by Uncanny X-Men.  A completely unnecessary decision by Marvel to renumber the one book that has yet to be renumbered.

THE UGLY
The timing of this story.  I am a continuity nut.  I expect things to make sense.  So a timeline is obviously important.  People cannot be in two places at once.  So how is this story, the Evolutionaries conflict from X-Men, Magneto being here and in Europe hunting Legion’s escaped personas, and the events of prelude to Schsim going on at the same time???  I really hope Marvel cleans this mess up after Schism.  Two teams and two books.  Keep it simple.  Characters don’t cross over unless its mentioned in both books.  Obviously, X-Force operates outside of this because they are a secret.

One thing I am happy about is Gillen will still write Uncanny.  When I first heard the book was cancelled, I was upset with Marvel for putting one of their better writers on a book about to be cancelled.  Thankfully, he will continue to write after the renumbering.

Hulk 35

Written by Jeff Parker
Penciled by Carlo Pagulyan
Reviewed by Dan

Planet Red Hulk concludes!

THE GOOD
This was a fun story.  The Trojan Horse tactic used by the Red Hulk my favorite part.  The explanation as to how and why the Red Hulk ended up on the planet actually worked.  I am actually happy that the Red Hulk doesn’t have to battle the Omegex to save the world just yet; considering the world is already being threatened by Fear Itself, I don’t think the threat of Omegex would work at this time.

THE BAD
The pacing.  This arc lasted 2 issues.  For an event of this magnitude to happen, I feel that more time is needed for things to play out.  Instead, everything felt rushed.  Red Hulk crashes, fights, becomes king, unites people, and escapes all in the matter of a few pages.

THE UGLY
The timing of this story.  With Fear Itself going on and the Red Hulk being on the front lines (and getting pounded by the Thing), how can he be on another planet?  I really just wish Marvel could get all their books on the same page so when major events happen they make sense.  Would it be so hard to write on the first page, “These events take place before/after the events of Fear Itself”?

I almost dropped this book after Fall of Hulks and I am glad I did not.  The Red Hulk is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters and I look forward to seeing more of him in action in this book and The Avengers.

Batman 711

Written by Tony Daniel
Penciled by Steve Scott
Reviewed by Dan

Batman realizes he must track both Two-Face and the Riddler.

THE GOOD
Classic villain team-ups rule.  At least I think so.  Seeing Riddler and Two-Face plot and scheme together is just neat.  The art was fantastic, especially the cover.  Batman punching a goon so hard that he pukes was cool too.

THE BAD
Riddler’s “daughter,” Enigma, annoys the hell out of me.  I’d love to see Damian kick her you know what.  Oh, an the Green Lantern movie advertisements ruined yet another great cover.  Loved everything else though.

THE UGLY
Nothing about this book.  But I might as well use this as an opportunity to express my disappointment with DC and the relaunch.  It was recently made known that after the relaunch, Superman will be considered the first super-hero in the DC universe.  Action Comics will feature Superman’s early adventures and take place 5 years before every other book.  That means that all of Batman’s past adventures and different Robins, which apparently still exist in the relaunched universe, happened within those 5 years.  How that affects Damian, who is 12, is beyond me.  Lets hope somebody over at DC realizes how stupid this sounds and makes a few changes so everything makes sense.

Batman has been a solid book in my opinion, one that I truly look forward to reading month to month; I will definitely continue to read after the relaunch.  Swapping Tony Daniel and Scott Snyder from Batman and Detective Comics respectively shouldn’t ruin the quality of either book as both have been great.

X-Factor  221

Written by Peter David
Penciled by Dennis Calero
Reviewed by Dan

Shatterstar and Rahne, specifically Rahne’s baby to be, have attracted the attention of some not so nice demons.

THE GOOD
Peter David’s writing.  His characterizations are spot on and his stories are engaging and fun.  I’ve yet to be disappointed.  The “return” of Feral worked great too.  I am really curious as to what Pip the Trolls agenda is and who he is really working for.  Once Rahne’s baby finally comes, I am sure all will be revealed.  Needless to say, I am excited to see how everything plays out.

THE BAD
Most of the team has been notably absent from the last few issues.  I know Rahne is the true focus, but I can’t help but miss the other characters.

THE UGLY
I don’t think I will every write anything in the “ugly” when it comes to this book.  Not while Peter David is the writer.

If you’re looking for a quality book that doesn’t require you to invest in other books to get the full effect, X-Factor is it.  Absolutely one of my favorites from Marvel.

Posted in Reviews.