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One City. Most of the mutants left in the world. A world that fears and hates them.  Can we say target?

I cannot help but feel a twinge of guilt that I seem to review a lot more Marvel comics compared to other publishers these days.  Honestly though, when three-fourths of the of the new comics out in one week are Marvel comics, it really should not comes as much of a surprise.  I actually find the Marvel universe desperately intriguing these days, with Norman Osborn running the show, you never know what will happen.  Part of Norman’s deal included Emma Frost.  She acted as spokesperson for the mutants in his little cabal, unbeknownst to anyone outside the cabal.  We all knew that Osborn would not sit idly by as the mutants created a little slice of paradise in San Francisco.  It was just a matter of time before something bad would happen when you have more than half of the remaining mutants gathered in one city.  That time is now.  So much for Utopia.

The Utopia begins with a simple concept: legislate how and when mutants can breed.  The march on San Francisco that Humanity Now! (An anti-mutant organization) takes to exercise their rights is doomed to failure the instant you see it on the page.  However, the quick escalation of violence between man and mutant leaves you with a feeling that you are missing something.  Soon enough, the X-Men step in to police their own people even as the Dark Avengers step in quell the escalating riots and we all know what happens when two major super powered teams meet up.  Mix in the fact that a lot of characters acting.. well.. out of character and the last few pages should not surprise you and give a great setup for the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover.

I personally love Matt Fraction’s take on the X-Men. I have found Uncanny X-Men enjoyable to read lately and I like the style he takes with the book.  I feel he gets most of the characters and the bullet points about characters are a nice touch on the individuals.  I like the idea of the parallel where the first gay rights issues came into the public being where the mutants end up.  A city that can handle the ‘differences’ and learned to accept it over the years makes a logical backdrop. The parallels with everything happening in California the last year makes for a good story and something that will resonate with more people. No part of this feels like a forced crossover either, just a natural progression of the stories taking place in the Marvel universe at this time.

Now the art.  I know this is just a one shot, but damn I love seeing Marc Silvestri (and his team of helpers) doing an X-Men comic.  Marc’s run on Uncanny X-Men (from 218 to about 261, though not every issue in that run is him) is considered by most to be the heyday of the X-Men comics.  And, even though his art has only improved over the years, it still jumps off the page instantly as something you recognize.  The colorist and legion of inkers used to enhance his art for this issue work wonderfully.  The art on this just works.  Pacing, paneling, lighting and even facial emotions.  However, it still cracks me up that in his world, every woman has full lips and always has lipstick on. 

Utopia kicks off a mini-crossover for Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men that I find worth the read. If you regularly pick up either book, they thrust into this story, so you should probably pick it up.  The story moves along quickly, hitting all the major plot points and setting up the throw downs.  Even the wonderful art livens the book up and makes a good read even more enjoyable.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia
“Utopia” Pt1
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Pencil Assists: Michael Broussard, Eric Basaldua, Tyler Kirkham & Sheldon Mitchell
Inkers: Joe Weems with Marco Galli, Eric Basaldua, Rick Basaldua, Jason Gorder, Jay Leisten, Sal Regla, Jon Sibal and Ryan Winn
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos

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