After decades of joy and millions of dollars in revenue, Marvel concludes the solid Uncanny X-Men series to re-open a new chapter in the lives of our favourite mutants.

But is the final issue any good?

Uncanny X-Men #544
Kieron Gillen (writer), Greg Land (pencils, cover) Jay Leisten (inks), Justin Ponsor (colours), Joe Caramanga (letters). $3.99

Gah! That cover!

As the series concludes, one thing is for certain: Gillen owns these X-Men. Not since Claremont have I seen someone have such a great voice for each character. I know I’ve said that before, but it rings true. I feel that these characters are completely safe under Gillen’s rule.

That being said, he doesn’t play with a lot of different voices in this issue. A discussion between Cyclops and Iceman runs through most of the book, while a major X-villain gives context to their discussions within his/her own telling. What Gillen does with UXM is allows the reader to see is how much Cyclops has matured since first starting as Xavier’s student. Concluding as a touching story, Gillen sets up the newest storyline coming out next month with Uncanny X-Men #1.

And then there’s Greg Land. Working with mostly males in the story, he does a pretty decent job without having sexually-posed people. However, you can see Iceman aged from a twenty-something-year-old to fifty in more than one panel. A major splash page representing Cyclops reflecting on past X-events is also sullied by a stiff Jean Grey which may be easily mistaken by many other Land X-heroines. Not to mention that he’s recycling himself with many characters. . .

My only real “beef” with the book – Land aside – is actually one character Gillen seems to throw under the bus: Beast. I don’t know why Beast is the jerk he is in this issue, but yup, he’s a jerk. I’m not entirely sure what the reasoning was for Beast to metaphorically throw mud in Cyclops’ face for, but Gillen made it happen.

For the final issue of my favourite comic series, it ends somberly – closing one chapter and forcing another one to open. It’s just a shame that Land is the one doing the art.

Grade: 6.5/10

Keep on Space Truckin’!