Marvel Comics
Uncanny X-Force #11
By Dan Horn
June 2, 2011 - 14:51

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Rick Remender
Penciller(s): Mark Brooks
Inker(s): Andrew Currie and Mark Brooks
Colourist(s): Dean White
Letterer(s): Cory Petit
Cover Artist(s): Esad Ribic and variant by Mark Brooks and Sonia Oback
$3.99 US



xforce.jpg
Before I really delve into this issue, I wanted to point out that the first thing that really struck me was Ribic's beautiful cover, and the second was that Dean White was back on colors. Thank god for that! White's work makes an incredible difference. Just compare this issue to last month's less-than-impressive artistic showing. I digress.

Warren Worthington's mind has almost completely succumbed to the horrifying Archangel persona, forcing the rest of X-Force to lock him up while trying to find a way to rid Warren of his psychic parasite. Unfortunately, the only way to find a cure is to put their faith in another vicious psychopath, Dark Beast, who is able to assemble a teleportation device that will take X-Force to the Age of Apocalypse to retrieve a "life seed." The seed should abate the need for Warren's Archangel anima to assert itself as the heir of Apocalypse, unless, of course, the mutants of the AoA get to the seed first.

Uncanny X-Force has been progressing towards this story arc and more for the past ten months, and when it finally arrives, it encompasses all of the things that have made this series so wonderful from the onset: brutal combat, a fantastic narrative, incisive character development, and some much needed comedic relief from none other than the Merc with the Mouth. Aside from some silly comic tropes, like the inexplicably effortless teleportation between dimensions, Remender's storytelling chops are up to snuff in this chapter, pouring on layer after layer of dizzying character drama, playing heavily on the contributions of both of the alternate universes' occupants and how those alternate mutants are viewed by their predecessors/successors. Rick Remender hits a home run here with all of the relatively recent deaths in the X-universe of books, bringing back fan-favorites like Nightcrawler, Sabertooth, and someone else, whom I can't spoil for you, in their auxiliary forms.

Mark Brooks artwork proves an excellent foundation for Dean White and co-inker Andrew Currie and a refreshment from last month's dabble in mediocrity. Brooks' character models are fantastic and his action sequences are fluid, heart-pounding, and dynamic. This is as good as it gets when considering a good ol' fashioned comic book romp.
Rating: 9/10

Related Articles:
Cable and X-Force #1
Uncanny X-Force #1 Marvel NOW! Review
Uncanny X-Force #28 Review
Uncanny X-Force #19.1
Uncanny X-Force #17
Uncanny X-Force #14
Uncanny X-Force #12
Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 (of 3)
Uncanny X-Force #11
Uncanny X-Force #8