Uncanny X-Men #14

By Brian Michael Bendis, Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend

This issue of Uncanny X-Men takes place before the original five have showed up, so it’s able to be a stand alone story. While the changes coming in the X-books will be pretty exciting, it’s also nice to get these little one-shots too.

Benjamin Deeds seems to be struggling to handle his training. Cyclops is being particularly harsh on him and he doesn’t feel he can cut it. What can make him believe again? How about a night of training in Atlantic City with Emma Frost.

There are many things you can say about Brian Michael Bendis, and one of the things that comes up most, is that the man has a good sense of humor. This stand-alone issue highlights Benjamin Deeds, who really hasn’t gotten much attention in the book at all. Bendis makes it very funny and actually pretty poignant as well. Emma and Magik shine as side characters, while Ben realizes what he’s capable of. Bendis makes it easy for us to root for a character like Ben, because everybody’s been in his shoes before. There is a good chance you’ll come out of this issue wanting to see more of what he can do. A very good read.

Chris Bachalo does a decent job with this issue. There are some very funny panels here, including Ben turning into Emma and checking out his body. Bachalo’s art works very well this issue, because his art, like the story, is fun. A minor gripe that bothered me, is that characters seem to lose their pupils throughout the issue, which as I said, is just minor. Overall he does a good job, and doesn’t take anything away from the story telling. He does seem to get more comfortable drawing the new characters, and that will enhance the overall quality of the book.

Uncanny X-Men continues to be a great title for character development. Bendis and Bachalo are pulling out all stops and honestly making this a fun read. There doesn’t always have to be life or death battles for this book to be enjoyable, and Bendis and Bachalo are proving that with this issue.