Laid Back Comics: Uncanny X-Force #1

Uncanny X-Force, not to be confused with just X-Force, or now Cable and X-Force, Uncanny X-Force is fairly young book with only 35 issues before getting this re-launched with Marvel NOW, we get a brand new team inside of the book as well as the creative team behind it. This shows that X-Force as almost separated itself as its own brand now with in the X-Books. As we enter the second volume of the title there is definitely a different feel to it and there is one thing I can say about this issue and new direction. There is a lot of cussing and it all coming from Psylocke?!

We should start at the beginning here, Wolverine has for most part disbanded the X-Force team and this has left a few members stranded to find a direction for themselves. In the case of Psylocke she tried to be at the Jean Grey School, but certain incidents had made things hard for everyone to be there. So Logan just in what can be assumed is one last mission to take on so she can get back into the field.

And that is the only real back story you get between the end of the last volume and to this current one, other dialog moments that come up is a call back to other series like the end of Avengers vs X-Men when Storm talks about how her marriage ended. And then a tease of something happening with her and Logan which turned more to Wolverine and the X-Men, all the while they are just heading to find their contact. The script here is solid enough with well-established beats, but then while the story is progressing it shoots back to these call backs that currently don’t have to do with the issue at hand you are reading. When we are back to the issues main story it still moves slowly as another character is introduced in Puck, the contact for the mission, and then moving down to the main action sequence with Spiral and Psylocke. But, everything goes back to the cursing; it is just so out of place and obvious. Instead of using just the random characters or even blurred out the word, they are these big black boxes in the text boxes. Your eyes draw right to that trying to fill in the blank. And many times it doesn't come off a clever writing, it just cursing because why not.

Courtesy of Bleeding Cool

I am not sure Sam Humphries was trying to push the idea that Psylocke has herself letting herself go from the end of the last volume, where she lost not only Angel but almost lost Fantomex as well. She sits on a hair trigger now and becoming loose cannon. Written to try and forget the past by throwing herself into these situations.

We are supposed to be caring about what should be a drug bust of mind control pills being spread around. The return of Spiral who Psylocke would love nothing more to just kill right in the middle of this club; but the last section of the story is so fast and hectic we are quickly shuffled off to the sudden return of Bishop last seen abandoned far into the future. And then we meet back with Fantomex and his new ‘partner’ Cluster. Which has its own twist to the story that the definition of narcissism to a literal extreme.

While the story for me is something that could be built on, the start was leaving me a little cold and confused. But, there was very much good going on, Humphries and artist Ron Garney are bring forth a different feel of this book than many of the others. Some things feel familiar like the location of Los Angles, but it feels different, like a new type of underworld they are stepping into. One where a hover car traveling down isn't even given a second look or six armed drug dealers can be the center of attention and is welcomed from the populace. You want to see this more of this sometimes unseen world. That goes to Garney on the art work, with only one moment towards the end where Cluster is jumping around in a possible one of the more awkward positions I could think of. But, also it is odd to say when we get the small visit to France where is was bright and clean as the opposite where the team current was.

Overall, the issue tries to quickly set up the team players as best it can while trying to maintain the feel of the previous volume with slight or in case of Psylocke’s vocabulary manger twist to try and leave a mark on you. The art is the saving grace to everything though as the world we see is something we want to come back to and expand on. It isn't as fast of a start to the new volume as many might like, but there is a lot to build up from here

SCORE: 6.5 out of 10

Bryan "BAC" Clendening is a comic book review and some times video producer, you can follow him on Twitter at @BAClend