Uncanny X-Men #8

COVER ART: 4.5/5

CHRIS BACHALO does everything almost perfect in this cover! He created this great energy and buzz with this cover. We know Magneto had semi-betrayed the X-Men in the first few issues so is this going to be the "clash of the titans" between Scott and Eric that this cover is representing? Well, no, not at all, and that is why it loses a half star. Chris pulled a little bit of a switcharoo on us fans, but ultimately I am okay with it as the story was very well done and the cover itself is just beautiful.

STORY ARC: 4.5/5

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS is a real pro by now. He is a real master story teller and dialogue man. The only reason I don't give this issue a 5/5 is because it is a transition issue; however, BMB manages to give us fans a real treat at the end. After the team narrowly escape from HELL/LIMBO, it is time to come home and regroup. Well, one of the new members wants to go home home. FABIO MEDINA, AKA, GOLDBALLS, just is not cut out for superhero life and his first experience with the team was just too much. He decides he is quitting the team and; unfortunately, Scott & Emma must respect his decision and they (Magik) teleports Fabio back home. Fabio is a good kid, and I honestly feel bad for him. You can see through the script and art that he really feels badly for letting Scott down. Scott & Emma reinforce to Fabio that he is special and to ensure he makes the world a better place with his new powers. Is that something a terrorist group does and says to their new recruits? Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D and other government groups like Uncanny Avengers just don't get Scott and what he is trying to do, and justly don't trust him, not so soon after he killed Professor X as part of the Phoenix 5. Fabio and his family now are caught in this drama as we see his house and family is being watched by S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

Even though it would have been nice to have "GOLDBALLS" on the team, if the kid isn't ready, the kid isn't ready. And with new mutants popping up all over the globe, Scott and his team have a lot of work left to do. BMB does a great job scripting a great dialogue within the team that indicates they have a lot of work to do and are no where near "X-Men" ready status.

Speaking of new mutants popping up, we return to DAVID, a young man that has JUST realized he is a mutant only moments ago. He and his girlfriend are testing his theory in a parking lot. David has the strange ability, thus far, to make cars move around. When he turns ALL the cars on in the parking lot and then makes them ALL honk their horns, the Atlanta police arrive. This is one of my favorite pages.

I call this page "B!tche$ be trippin". I love how quickly she turns on her boyfriend to the fuz. Man, B!tche$ really do be trippin'! I just laugh and laugh at this page. I love the look on David's face. The racist Atlanta cops fire upon David, hitting him, and lucky the Uncanny X-Men are there to scoop him up and take him "home", or to his new home. But not before the Cuckoo triplets make the cops balance their guns on their noses. LOL. We lose one minority mutant, and we gain another minority mutant. Very PC BMB.

The next few pages are the "big fight" between Magneto and Cyclops. Even though we do not get the fisticuffs promised from the cover, we do get a very intimate and dramatic dialogue sequence beautifully penciled between Scott and Eric. This is man up time. Scott needs to pigeon hole Eric into where he stands exactly with the team and with Scott.

Even though this page seems very dialogue heavy, it is well laid out visually with the first pane breathtaking. This is where Magneto reminds Scott that he, above all other people, have ALWAYS been about mutant rights, even at the disregard of humans, and that the only way to himself any credibility with S.H.I.E.L.D, he had to give them something on Scott. We see he is still bitter about his broken powers and the loss of Charles, but is ready and willing to allow Scott to crawl back into greatness himself, as that is what he is best at. It appears Mags is full on in support of the team, and now it is time to do some training. I love this next page.

We can see that Scott his not himself powerwise, and puts his pride away and gets back to being a student. Coming home is not always easy. Especially when asking for help from a possible traitor and former enemy. I love the art and the dialogue in the last pane. "Say it with me, I am a Mutant"! Magneto and Scott are just hard core, and I love it.

SPOILER - NEW COSTUME UNVEILED.

Now that the homecoming drama has been established, we can focus on....wait...who the heck is that? That dirty traitor!

We know that S.H.I.E.L.D has recruited Dazzler to be a special agent for them. And this is her first appearance as such agent, in a new All White uniform with black accents. We know that S.H.I.E.L.D. is all up in Scott's business and they have sent their mutant traitor dog Dazzler on the hunt. I don't quite know what to make of this to be honest. Dazzler is a fairly weak character to me, with pretty weak power set and not much combat training, being a pop star and all. I am also not quite sure what to make of her new outfit. Sure, she is typically in all white, so this is just a revamp of her normal color scheme with a more military look with the pouches and the black stripes. The gold star belt buckle above her...dazzler area...is just an odd touch. This seems like she went to the same recostume shop that Magneto went to, and saw Sue Storm there and they all got some sort of group discount of their outfits.

This is a little bit of a sexier picture of her, but she looks a bit too Asian to me, don't you think?

STORY ART: 4/5

Normally, I would not be a fan of Chris Bachalo's art. It is a little cartoony to me. But, because he is charged with doing his own coloring, he is able to utilize the color and lighting to focus your eye on what he wants you to see and it all works very well.

VERDICT: 4/5This is a very well written and drawn book and a must have. Even for a transition issue, we get a new mutant to the team and a new costume unveiled, as well as great character/team development. I love this title and recommend it highly.