This is less a review on this particular item and more so about Fraction's entire run. It is very uninspired. It lacks the fire and balls out writing that has made the X-Men iconic. Under his pen, Uncanny X-Men has officially lost its status as the X-Men flagship title to Astonishing X-Men. And if you really want some great X-Men stories, check out Carey's X-Men: Legacy.
I'm a younger reader. I came to X-Men as a result of the 90's cartoon. I don't mind that the X-Men have grown up. I think it's great. It's amazing to see how Cyclops has stepped up as "President" of the mutant nation; it's great to see the X-Men take their place in the Marvel Universe. However, sometimes accomplishing these goals really gets in the way of the story. The Lovelorn TPB had this problem: it was too busy commenting on events outside the story that it bogged down whatever story was there. It's just useless in TPB form, and only moderately interesting reading it when it came out.
Matt's characterizations of the X-Men do what they need to do, but there is a certain energy missing from the title as a whole. It doesn't feel special and a lot of the times the story just lacks a wow factor or is too campy (ie when Cyclops goes into Emma's head, or the Sisterhood story line). Also, look at Second Coming. Uncanny X-Men as a title didn't take the lead in a major X-event. Only the latest Uncanny contribution to the event was good, but mainly just because it kicks the story back into gear.
Ultimately, though, there is an issue with how ALL of the X-titles are arranged. Their organization doesn't reflect the X-Universe. They all seem kind of randomly chosen. And the new X-Men title that is going to pit them against vampires just feels out of nowhere.
I'm going to be self-indulgent and state how'd I organize the core X-titles.
Essentially you need about four core X-books to cover the X-Men as an educational, corporate, and political entity. Expecting one title to do it all is ridiculous. And of course, they are essentially superhero books, so each book should have superheroics at their core. There should be an inextricable link, and craftful balance, between the action and cultural focus.
Uncanny X-Men should continue being the political book. Cyclops and Emma as leaders of mutantkind. Also, this is where Grade A superheroics would go down. These are the X-Men that can handle Apocalypse and what not.
Then there should be a second X-Men title like there was in the early 90's. I think it should center around Warren Worthington (whom I'd make CEO) and Psylocke. Have them deal with X-men as a corporation. It would kind of be like Invincible Iron Man, heroics with corporate maneuvering.
Then have two younger core books.
New Mutants is just a nostalgia book right now. I say return them to what they were doing in New X-Men. Put them back into the X-corporation and have the title center around their missions for the X-corp. In New X-Men they helped handle a situation in Europe. They could go back to stuff like that. It would be like a superheroic travelogue, each story taking place in a different country, teaming up with branches of the corp in various other countries, even bringing to light historical conflicts in the lands they travel.
Generation X should come back. But they should be the teachers at the Xavier Institute. They should inherit the X-Men legacy. Cyclops and Wolverine are too busy to be teachers. Have Husk teach a class on close range combat and then Wolverine stops by for the occasional master class. Gen X would be pulling several duties that create openings for action: protecting the school from threats and taking a cast of youngin's out on training missions. Not to mention the potential for character drama as they try to move from student to teacher. I see the X-Men as being in their mid-late thirties, New Mutants as late twenties, and Gen X as early twenties.
Those core books can spring plenty of mini-series and limited series alone.
The X-Universe is in need of some serious organization. There is a lot of good stuff, but it's poorly organized and plotted. The X-Universe needs what Morrison did with the Bat-Books, or Bendis has down with the Marvel Universe as a whole, someone to come in and clean it all up and bring some coherency. Ultimately though, I'd just be happy with something as small as getting Uncanny X-Men back to being the flagship X-Men title in terms of quality and spark.
And just another indulgent rant: Why did Ice Man give the eulogy for Nightcrawler's funeral? Cyclops said a first generation X-Men should do it. But why? The second generation has been around for so long that the differentiation between first and second gen shouldn't even matter. Nightcrawler himself was second generation. Fraction's writing just seems indulgent. And Joe Q defended the run saying that because sales are still good people must like it. Way to take advantage of loyal readers. Who says many aren't buying it DESPITE the weak storytelling? Maybe we are hoping things will turn around for characters we have loved for years. I'm sure some people love it, but it doesn't seem to be the general attitude.Get more detail about Uncanny X-Men: Nation X, Book 1.
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