#backissuereview

As part of a new series for Heroes of the Modern Age, I will be reviewing some back-issue comics that I have accumulated over the years. I have quite a stack of them in my room and I do know they are prevalent in most comic shops, so let’s give them some love, shall we?

For this first review, I read Uncanny X-Men #400. I will also preface this article with the fact that I am not a big X-Men reader so you will have to bear with me on this. Primarily, I know them through TV shows, video games, and movies, so this was a change of pace for me to get into some written material. Overall, I thought this was a decent comic to start an arc with, and while its focus on the introduction of the Church of Humanity as a new antagonist and Stacy X as a new member of the X-Men were done well, its artwork and development of other characters was more inconsistent.

Stacy X and Chamber in the beginning of the issue.

I enjoyed Stacy X’s character in this issue. She was a new character at the time and had been introduced in the issue prior to this one, so it makes sense to feature her more prominently and go into her backstory a bit. Power-wise, she has pheromone control, which equates to her making other people lose control of their bodily functions, including vomiting and paralysis. She’s a wild character and steals the show in this one, but carries with her a vulgar edge that I couldn’t see translating to the screen or other media very well. She’s not one of my favorite X-Men characters, but she is definitely one that stands out and could be used for more mature renditions of the team.

Stacy X as she appears in her flashback.

Another aspect of her story in this issue is that of her origin; while detailed through a flashback, it is unclear just how much of it is true or not, and as a reader, I enjoyed this challenge. The mystery surrounding her character kept me interested, despite wanting to know the truth. Will we learn of her origin in future issues? Probably, but the execution of it in this scene is done well and suits the story.

Villain-wise, this book introduces the Church of Humanity, who are basically a cult of mutant hating Christians that believe God created men to be superior to mutants. There’s a whole backstory flashback detailing their origin, which reads nicely and has some slick art and graphics in it, but as an organization, I’m not sure they’re as unique as the Brotherhood of Mutants or some of the other foes the X-Men have encountered. I’m not as knowledgeable regarding that area of the X-Men, but these guys didn’t do much to interest me. Perhaps I wanted them to be more independent of an established religion, but for what it’s worth, they offer great contrast to Stacy X’s off the rails, wild-child character. Additionally, with Nightcrawler’s strong Catholic beliefs, I foresee some interesting discussions of religion, and perhaps a manipulation of Nightcrawler’s own beliefs with the Church of Humanity.  

Aside from the Church and Stacy X, the rest of the X-Men are featured in passing. Wolverine has his own brief segment where he runs off on a solo mission to get a lead on their new enemy (big surprise there) then returns to the group later in the issue; Iceman is present but provides little more than support in battles; Chamber, another newer X-Man, provides some banter with Stacy but otherwise is not much to write home about; and Nightcrawler is here as well, though only for a few panels. Nightcrawler’s role seems to set up more for later in the arc, but it is unclear what that may be. One of the strengths of the X-Men has always been the wide variety of characters and perspectives in their stories, and that is seen here, but none get as much time or focus as Stacy X or the Church. Still, each character does something in the issue and has a presence, it’s just a matter of them needing more time and space. But I suppose that is what other issues are for as well.

One of many interior shots of the Church of Humanity.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of this book is the art, which is solid all around. The cover art features the X-Men in a monochrome palette stylized in a messy, draft-like oil pastels aesthetic. Over the X-Men is the same art but in red and featuring members of the Church. It’s a striking comic, and the artwork inside doesn’t disappoint either. With the combined styles of six artists, each section of the book has its own feel and personality. Sections like the flashbacks and backstory explanation are rendered beautifully and stand on their own as stories, and scenes taking place inside the Church are illustrated in the same monochrome, dirty style that the cover is. The Church’s scenes come off as hazy and supplement their disparate ideals well.

My problem with the various artists lies in their interpretations of certain characters and how drastically they shift throughout the book. Iceman starts the book with sunglasses, messy brown hair, and a scruffy beard. As the story progresses, his hair turns blond, he becomes clean-shaven, and he looks younger. Were it not for the ice powers, I would have thought this was a different character. Stacy X faces similar issues, except hers are localized to her face and markings. First she has tattoo-like markings, then loses most of them aside from her head, then has more in her flashback sequence, and finishes the issue with yellow eyes and markings that look like scars. I’m fine with variations on characters between issues or arcs and I suppose Bobby could have shaved between the mission and when we see him next, but for them to change so much within one issue is jarring and confusing.

The X-Men back in the X-Mansion.

As a general note, I think this comic is a great period piece and works as evidence of Marvel’s early efforts of corporate synergy and also their response to real world events. This comic was released in December 2001, which is evident from the cover graphics and the designs of the X-Men’s costumes themselves. I’ve written about corporate synergy before, but essentially it is making one universal image or branding for all versions of an intellectual property. So, in this case, it’s the costumes. The first X-Men movie had come out about a year and a half prior to this comic’s release date, and the influence of black leather from the film is incorporated into similar black leather costumes with yellow stripes and jackets. What I find interesting about this choice is that each character’s suit is slightly different, and they incorporate personal shirts under the jackets, as seen with Iceman and Chamber. It’s a neat idea and one that is also from the movie, but done differently here. Of course, each X-Men has always had personal touches to their costume, but here they are done with a more realistic edge to them in this issue.

The other real world influence I noticed was the incorporation of the twin towers silhouette with a red, white, and blue striped ribbon over it in the lower right-hand corner of the cover. This comic came out just two months after 9/11 and the graphic makes that known. Around the time of the attack, Marvel took a stance and wrote a few stories dealing with the incident and how their heroes responded alongside firefighters and police officers. Following that, Marvel printed these graphics on their comics to remember the tragedy. For how long they did this, I’m not sure, but it’s evident that Marvel made an effort to remember the attack for some time.