UNCANNY X-MEN #413
"Annie's Moving Story"
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Chuck Austen
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colors: Hi-Fi Design
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Austen offers up a strong, character-driven story with some nicely reflective narration, and Phillips rarely disappoints with his art, and this issue is not one of the exceptions. The creators are juggling the cast nicely, and making for a more consistent tone with what Grant Morrison and company are doing over in sister title New X-Men. Mind you, there is one story element that was quite irksome, and the plot itself is a bit on the predictable side.
Annie Ghazikhanian, the nurse who cared for a catatonic Alex Summers before the X-Men found him again, takes her son to the Xavier Institute and considers an offer to move in. She has a way and a connection with Alex, and her professional talents can always come in handy, given the X-Men's proclivity for nasty situations. The problem is, you see, that Annie doesn't much care for mutants.
Phillips brings an appropriately serious tone to the story, and I'm pleased to see the notion of the Xavier Institute being played up as a school here rather than just a super-hero headquarters. I think it's the colors by Hi-Fi that really caught my attention, though. As Professor X and Annie talk later in the book, the yellow of the professor's uniform practically glows, and it serves as a nice visual cue of the hope that he represents.
If there's one thing I dislike about the X-books is their transparent recycling of the villain-joins-the-heroes schtick. We've seen it with Magneto twice, Sabretooth and this is the second go around for Juggernaut. Sure, he's far from a hero here, but I just can't swallow the X-Men's willingness to accept him. To accept it, one must get past the fact that he's a murderer, and the heroes come off as irresponsible for tolerating not only his presence, but his freedom. Another problem was the lack of impact that the big reveal on the final page had; it wasn't much of a leap to figure it out for oneself.
Mind you, those flaws are eclipsed by Austen's strong characterization and scripting. Annie's fear of mutants is an understandable one, and Austen makes it clear that she's far from a racist. She's honest with herself and others about her feelings, and the notion that one must accept, deal with and understand one's feelings is one to which I ascribe. I also thought the confrontation between Stacy X and Paige worked quite well. I'm pleased to see Austen is making good use of previous writer Joe Casey's addition to the lineup.
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