Uncanny X-Men 35 review

With Uncanny X-Men 600 delayed until October, it makes sense that the comics leading up to it are delayed to space themselves out better. The last issue of Uncanny X-Men focused mostly on Dazzler arresting Mystique after everything she put her through, and the kids in Brian Michael Bendis’s X-men run tagged along. It teased that the group would set out in the world as a team, and that’s what today’s comic is about.

Uncanny X-Men 35 shows the team dealing with a problem mutant who first appeared early in Bendis’s run, with the power to summon all sorts of strange monsters. The confrontation is a great action scene and a fun way to open the comic. The real story starts later however, when a video of Goldballs taking down the mutant goes viral and the team becomes famous overnight. In a way, this comic feels like a commentary on how popular Goldballs has become during Bendis’s run, while talking about how chubby guys aren’t the typical superhero build and how he defied the norm.

The whole setup makes this fun comic mean something more. As with all X-Men comics though, reality sets in when everyone realizes he’s a mutant. There’s actually a lot going on with the drama in this issue. Although Goldballs is the main character, each member of the team has something to do, whether it’s contribute to the opening fight in their own unique ways (Benjamin Deeds) or finding the viral video (Hijack).

The art by Valerio Schiti is great. It’s a simpler look at first, but it’s bright, colourful and well-detailed when it needs to be. The opening action scene is full of demon-like monsters and bystanders fleeing in terror. He makes good use of background details, throws in a couple of visual Easter Eggs and draws several great magazine covers that could have just as easily been this issue’s main cover. On that front, this issue’s only real problem is that the cover is misleading – neither Cyclops nor Emma Frost even cameo.

This is a great comic, and one that ties into X-Men themes very well. I hope these kids show up somewhere after Secret Wars because they’re a fun bunch. It’s a bit late to jump into Bendis’s X-Men run by now, but if you’re an X-men fan who hasn’t given it a chance yet, you really should. That goes for All-New X-Men as well.