Uncanny X-Men #28: Good Art, Bad Story

Uncanny X-Men #28 continues the same storyline that started with issue #26. That storyline, which started out confusing and got even weirder in issue #27, gets even more ridiculous in issue #28.

Inmate X has been built up so much to the point that no matter who it was, it would’ve been disappointing. Instead of making it as interesting a character as Simone could choose, Inmate X is a brand new character that feels as shoehorned into the storyline as a character could. The rest of the characters are also written in a way that seems almost nonsensical.

The idea behind the identity of Inmate X is clearly intended to develop the Warden of Graymalkin Prison, formerly Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters; however, all it ends up doing is adding yet another plot thread to the Uncanny X-Men storyline to be left perpetually undeveloped.

Rogue was concerned for Gambit’s drug-like addiction to the Eye of Agamotto just a few issues ago, and now she’s hoping he’ll show up and use it to save the day. A moment that resolves in a single panel and is vastly oversold in the issue’s cover art, which is tonally inconsistent and does little for either Gambit or the storyline other than fill pages with needless transitions

The way Vecchio’s artwork carries the half-baked storyline is honestly impressive. The page turns come across as smooth, and the panels read like shots of a single scene. The pacing in the issue’s action scenes is fluid, which does elevate the storyline’s pacing. Matthew Wilson’s colors are able to balance multiple shades of the same color in a single panel without the textures looking bland and amateurish.