Maybe it's just because I haven't read a lot of old school superhero comics these days, or maybe it's because of the spectacular artwork that Alan Davis is doing on this book, but I think Uncanny X-Men might be the second best of the X-Men Reload titles so far (right behind District X, in case you're wondering.) I'm sure that Joss Whedon and John Cassaday are going to show me something impressive on Astonishing X-Men, but for classic X-Men feel, Uncanny X-Men is really doing the job right now. Oh, sure, the dialogue can get hokey at times and the characterization borders on overly soap opera, but there's a terrific blend of action and character development and it's fun to see Claremont getting into a groove with some of these classic characters, like Nightcrawler, Storm and Wolverine.
I'm not sure if this issue will go over as well for those who haven't read Captain Britain (a comic that Claremont has obviously always had a fondness for), but for those who have read that book, the villain in this issue will be chillingly familiar. It's one of those villains that borders on too dangerous, as the only way to defeat its flexible powers is to be exceptionally clever in the writing or to cheat, and the latter can ruin a story. However, it brings a nice air of mystery and foreboding to the title, since the characters have never faced it before, and the first confrontation in Braddock manor feels for all the world like a the start of a good horror/action movie like Aliens or Predator.
However, while the introduction of an old Captain Britain foe into the mix is a fun element for this reader, the best part of the issue overall is in the character interaction between the X-Men. I can't tell you how happy I am to have Nightcrawler rescued from Austen's clutches and back working with Wolverine again. Claremont always had a great take on this unusual friendship, and I won't deny that I get a twinge of nostalgia from seeing the banter between Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Or that I got a similar twinge from seeing Nightcrawler and Storm talking about how they've changed, and how much they mean to each other. It's the sort of thing anyone could write, but it means more when Claremont, the guy who built those bonds, is writing them. In fact, I'm starting to think that half the problem Claremont had with his return to the X-titles was that he just wasn't given the best characters to work with. Of course, that doesn't explain his work on Tessa, who is a typical Claremontian uber-powered knockout, but who is interesting nonetheless as a mutant whose powers are more intellectually formidable than physically formidable.
Alan Davis, Mark Farmer and Frank D'Armata are probably a good half of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much. Davis's connection to these characters, not just the X-Men but the Captain Britain foe, makes him the ideal choice for this book, and he provides some really classic moments, from the shattered costume of Wolverine (recalling the classic Hellfire Club sewer attack), some great uses of Storm's power and a generally old school look that somehow really works with his artwork. Davis is not on the A list anymore, having been surpassed by names like Bryan Hitch and Jim Lee, but with these issues, he's quickly reminding us why he earned a reputation as such a stellar artist, and showing readers who haven't see his stuff before exactly why he's so well-regarded.
Claremont can be a little too melodramatic in his writing at times, of course. I'm not certain anyone really uses the word "bonafides," nor do I think anyone is cogent enough, at the time they might be facing their death, to mentally put all their affairs in order as Cannonball does. And the anti-mutant sentiment tends to be a little over-the-top and cartoonish as well. However, there's still a certain resonance to the X-Men still getting prejudice even after being accepted as law enforcement, and I loved the guest star that Claremont brought in to smooth things over with local authorities, another character he has a clear fondness for. In addition, there's something about reading Uncanny X-Men now that brings back pleasant memories of a time when the X-Men wasn't a sprawling set of a dozen titles, but just a couple books with exceptionally long-running plotlines and endlessly fascinating characters.
