Uncanny X-Men #7

By Cullen Bunn, Ken Lashley and Nolan Woodard

Uncanny X-Men has been one of the best titles to come out from Marvel since their most recent re-launch. It has an edge to it that many current titles don’t seem to have. When reading this book you can tell that Cullen Bunn treats these characters with respect and that is something you don’t always see in other comics. As we march onto the seventh issue, “Apocalypse Wars” continues and we get futter glimpses of characters done right.

Cullen Bunn has been the breakout star of these X-Men re-launch titles. He’s clearly a fan and it shows through his work. Maybe it’s the fact that the first storyline was very good, but this issue was just mediocre. Angel being the mouthpiece for a church just isn’t that exciting. While everyone was written well, there wasn’t much excitement here. The side story featuring M and Sabertooth is decent. The morlocks are always an interesting bunch, and Bunn comes up with a plausible way for them to survive the terrigen mist. The tension between Sabertooth and Calisto is felt in many pages whether it’s an off handed comment about the X-Men employing murders now or little jabs throughout the issue. Bunn also reminds us what a good character Callisto can be in this issue. She is rarely used, but he shows her as strong and determined; a leader who would do anything for her people. This may not have been the most exciting issue of Uncanny X-Men, but it’s still better than most of the other books on the shelf.

The pencils this issue are handled by Ken Lashley with colors by Nolan Woodard. Lashley does good work this issue, but there are some panels where faces seem misshapen or too large. This can be seen in a close up panel of the priests who are with Angel in the church. That aside, Lashley starts the book off with a well drawn flashback that features Archangel and Magneto. The colors by Nolan Woodard here are also very good as he uses a lot of gray and makes it feel like a dark time for Magneto. Lashley really succeeds in his portrayal of the morlock tunnels. He makes them look gross and disgusting, it’s always interesting to see what a new artist will do with a location like this and Lashley makes it look like Skid Row. As always, Nolan Woodard on colors is a great boost to any artist on this book. His work really makes the pencils pop.

Uncanny X-Men is consistently one of Marvel’s best books available. The Angel plot wasn’t that interesting this issue but it may heat up next month. If nothing else, have faith in Cullen Bunn. The pencils and colors were very good and this book has benefited from having some great art in it. If you’re an X-Men fan and you’re not picking up Uncanny X-Men, you’re missing out on a potentially classic run from a writer that loves the characters.