Uncanny X-Men Has Escaped the “From the Ashes” Curse

The X-Men have had a lot of ups and downs over the decades. They started from the bottom — X-Men was easily the least popular of Marvel’s Silver Age output — and became the bestselling comic of all time, enthralling readers for decades. The 21st century has seen the X-Men’s fortunes rise and fall, with the current “From the Ashes” publishing initiative being one of the most contentious of the last 25 years. The Krakoa Era was a massive change to the X-Men status quo and “From the Ashes” is opposite of it, creating a status quo that is basically a mixture of the aftermaths of “Operation: Zero Tolerance” and “Avengers Vs. X-Men”, with a little bit of the Outback Era mixed in. Some fans like the books, some fans don’t, but there’s one book that is just straight up awesome and has escaped the problems with the “From the Ashes” X-Men line — Uncanny X-Men.

“From the Ashes” is the definition of uneven, but Uncanny X-Men has been spectacular. Written Gail Simone with regular artist David Marquez, along with back-up artists like Javier Garron and Luciano Vecchio, Uncanny X-Men has been the highlight of the X-Men line, a book that captures the character first feel that has made the X-Men so popular over the decades. The art and writing are outstanding, and it’s been able to escape the curse of the “From the Ashes” X-Men to give readers a pitch-perfect X-Men book.

Uncanny X-Men Shows Sometimes the Old Ways Are the Best

The X-Men came to prominence in the late ’70s on the backs of the characters. This honestly might seem like a no-brainer, but giving readers multi-faceted characters is the foundation of any great comic. Writer Chris Claremont was able to flesh out the characters beautifully, and it made all the difference. Claremont’s supehero soap opera was amazing, and it made the X-Men into legends. Gail Simone is a student of Claremont. There are lots of interesting things going on in Uncanny X-Men — the mystery of Haven House, the prophecy of the Endling, whatever is going on between Calico and Ember — but what really makes the book sing are the characters. Simone is able to capture the core of Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee, and uses them to inform the events of the story.

She’s also created four of the best new mutants of the 21st century — Ransom, Jitter, the aforementioned Calico (and her horse Ember), and Deathdream — establishing who they are with several issues focusing on them as a subgroup within the X-Men, and playing them off of the longtime members of the group. Simone remembers an important part about the X-Men that many creators forget — the X-Men are teachers. She’s able to brilliantly play the new character off the old ones. The book has two of the best written couples I’ve read in comics in a long time — Gambit and Rogue’s relationship is perfect, and Jitter and Calico’s new love is the sweetest thing you’ll see. The X-Men line has a comic that is all about members of the X-Men teaching new mutants how to use their powers in Exceptional X-Men, but for my money Uncanny X-Men is doing that same thing much better.

Simone is giving this book a cool Outback Era vibe, and I’m here for it. Taking the X-Men to New Orleans was a fabulous idea, and Simone is giving the book a Southern Gothic horror vibe that is quite different from anything readers have seen in the X-Men books for a long time. From the battle against Sarah Gaunt to the recently ended “Dark Artery” to the introduction of Mutina, Simone is doing something that none of the other X-Men writers are doing right now — taking the X-Men in new directions. “From the Ashes” has been really bad at originality so far, but every month, Simone is able to bring in something new while the using the rather constricting status quo of “From the Ashes”.

I’ve been talking a lot about the writing, so let’s get into the art. Marvel has some pretty great artistic talent on the X-Men books, but Marquez is lapping all of them. His linework is gorgeous, and he’s made Uncanny X-Men the sexiest book where everyone keeps most of their clothes on. His detail is impeccable — seriously check out his rendition of Sadurang the God Snake if you want to see one of the best looking dragons you’ve ever seen — and his action scenes have a fluidity that not every artist can pull off. His work on “Dark Artery” is sensational, capturing the eerie horror vibe of the story and giving readers the best rendition of Man-Thing ever. The back-up artists are superstars in their own right; following Marquez is no easy job, but they do a sensational job. A big reason for that is colorist Matthew Wilson. Wilson is one of the best color artists in comics (go and check out his work on The Wicked + The Divine), and he’s able to make all of the artists look amazing. Add in Clayton Cowles’s amazing lettering, and you get a book with basically perfect visuals.

Uncanny X-Men Is the Best Marvel Team Book Bar None

Marvel isn’t in the best place in general, but the X-Men books have been particularly cursed. There’s no new ideas, and “From the Ashes” would be better named “From the Rehashes”. However, Uncanny X-Men is able to transcend that. Simone is using the type of writing that Claremont did to remind people why they love the X-Men so much. Every time this book gets preempted by one of the mediocre X-Men event stories we’ve gotten in “From the Rehashes” (two in the first year, with a third coming in a few months), it makes me sad because I want to spend so much more time reading this book and what it’s set up.

I’ll admit I was reticent about Simone coming aboard Uncanny, but she’s more than proved that she deserves to right this legendary title. A lot of people love Ryan North’s Fantastic Four, but Uncanny X-Men is the superior team book. This is exactly what an X-Men book should be, and I hope Simone and Marquez stay on this book for a very long time.

What do you think about Uncanny X-Men? Sound off in the comments below.

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