by Nick Walden, CMRO Contributing Writer
Uncanny X-Men
Issue #13
Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Billy Tan
Published: August 2012
Well this was a rather ho-hum issue and seemed like they were more just going through the motions to
include this title in the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover. That is always disappointing to a reader (especially
me) because I like issues to stand out on their own as well as being a good part of either their own arc or
a cross-over. After all, we pay good money for these books and the product should reflect what we are
paying for!
So what went wrong in this book? Basically the Uncanny X-Men have to be included into the crossover
which is difficult because they are not a big part of the story. What we do get is some small filler details
which help the crossover. A little back-story is always appreciated in my opinion (which is all that
matters right?). Regardless of the crossover, the Unit is a boring as all get out villain that I care nothing
for. On top of that the Five Lights is really rather uninteresting, but could play a part later in a future
story so you have to pay attention to it.
Billy Tan does a solid job with the pencils. His art really follows the story well and he includes lots of
good facial expressions showing the sadness and disappointment of the characters (as well as this
reader). There are really no outstanding panels and honestly some of the background work was a bit
flat. But maybe he just wasn’t very fired up by the plot to put out more effort. I really haven’t been
exposed to too much of his work to draw a judgment on what he can do if given a chance.
This book rates a mediocre 6 out of 10. There was nothing really wrong with it; but it was just a bit
mundane and boring to me as a reader. There is some crossover info but nothing game-changing that
you can’t get later if need be.
