Reviewer: James Hatton
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Greg Pak
Penciled by: Greg Land
Inked by: Matt Ryan
Colored by: Justin Ponsor
Lettered by: Clem Robins
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Well, Phoenix is back – if you haven’t heard. That hot tamale that wields the Phoenix Force. See, but Jean just isn’t Jean – she is the embodiment of the Phoenix, and whatever was left of Ms. Grey-Summers is buried beneath the surface. Kind of like a bunch of my ex-girlfriends, she starts off all nice and sweet and ends up being clingy and just wanting more and more and more. Ah, cheap girlfriend humor – so easy.
So, what nefarious things has not-Jean done in this issue.. let’s find out!
Story!
We’re momentarily past the Quenton Quire portion of our story, which I’m happy about. Not to say it was a bad part of the story – it actually was excellent to see that Pak is trying to tie together things that most of the mainline X-Writers don’t pay attention to. Now, though, Jean has found Wolverine again and they are going to duke it out. The team of X-Folks are stopped by the Shi’ar and have a discussion about the morality of killing. Oh, and in the teaser – I mention Jean dying 20 times. It does, in fact happen – almost comically… almost.
That is the issue in a nutshell – with the ending that, for the most part, reveals what this book has been touting all along. Phoenix is looking for Cyclops – but, not for the reasons they would lead us to believe. A good twist, working on the yin and yang of Jean/Scott’s relationship, I must say. Now, how does the writing stand? Strong. So strong, I immediately want Chris Claremont banned from Uncanny and Greg Pak put in his place. The man knows his X-Books well, and is more than happy to toss in little nuggets from all of the mainline writers to make it feel like a consolidated universe.
Having read this issue twice now, just to make sure I loved it as much as I did, I kept noticing other little nuances that made me feel comfortable with all of the characterization – Emma’s smarmyness towards Kitty – the obvious, and lesser so, costume changes by Jean. All work to make a seamless story.
Art!
Oh, Greg Land, you dirty, dirty boy. The cover of the book itself makes me want to go write bad fan-fiction. Might I also add, that the cover, albeit they aren’t wearing the right costumes, is –wait for it– ACTUALLY A TELLING SCENE! It’s pin-upish in nature, but all of Land’s art is. The momentary second prior to a kiss between Phoenix and Wolvie tells quite a bit about what goes on in the latter portions of the book, as well as is pretty to look at.
Internally, it goes without saying – Land is good. I was a bit put off by him at first, as each panel of the first issue looked like a stiff pin-up – but he is obviously now finding his footing. The action is high, and the sense of movement is there.
Overall!
The first mini-series in forever that, not only moves a story along, but seems that it might actually have some interesting repercussions has been high on my reading list and will continue to be so. Pak & Land are a fine team, and I want them on Uncanny…
