Overall, from art to writing, this was an extremely welcome issue after the previous one. Read Full Review

Uncanny X-Men #19 does a lot. We check in with Hijack, we touch On Eva's recent trauma, and we see poor captive Agent Dazzler, who Mystique has no problem abusing because she sees her as a race traitor. There's just enough to keep these plot threads weaving without overriding the main goal, gaining momentum for the war with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the mysterious villain. For a series of essentially one shot issues, they pack a good amount of overall story development in here " I'm really happy with it. I don't even feel like making fun of the #1.NOW gimmick this time around (any issue of Uncanny really makes a good jumping on point anyway), but I do have to say I appreciate Goldballs putting on his snazzy uniform for it! Read Full Review

If you've been reading since the start yes. If you're jumping on now, not at all. I highly recommend this book but only following all of its predecessors. I just think that this marketing gimmick in particular detracts from the actual work and really makes comics less good overall. Read Full Review

Uncanny X-Men #19.NOW is a decent enough moment for new readers to jump on. While it may still be in the middle of something it slows down just enough to let people on. An awesome set piece and great dialogue help the issue sail on by but there seemed to be a bit of stalling for the oncoming storm. Read Full Review

Looks like Uncanny X-Men is finally going to tell a real story for once! That sounds good to me. It still doesn't have anything to do with Scott Summers' Mutant Revolution, but this confrontation with SHIELD has been a long time building. Read Full Review

The art isn't always so successful however. As much as Chris Bachalo has defined the look and feel of this darker X-book, sometimes it can become too muddled and murky for its own good. That's the case during this issue's big action scenes. The clash between the X-Men and Sentinels is too jumbled, and it's hard to tell what's even happening in the final panel where the final Sentinel vanishes from the scene of battle. The more dialogue-driven scenes flow much better (particularly the Dazzler/Mystique/Sabretooth material), but this definitely isn't Bachalo's strongest work on the series. Read Full Review

The previous issues with their character sketches were a good detour, but it's time for the Uncanny X-Men to get back on track. While new readers joining the rest of us will benefit the most this issue, it's a good reminder for the pull-list subscribers of the particular threads left untied and loose. For some, it's an "about time" moment when the story they've waited patiently (or not) for is finally getting its round. Read Full Review

Although highlighted by some fun small comedic moments (such as Goldballs discovering his powers work again) Uncanny X-Men #19.NOW is certainly one of the darker issues of the series so far (which is saying something for a comic that gave us a multi-issue arc in a Hell dimension). In that same vein, the latest issue also touches on events in Madripoor answering a couple of lingering questions concerning the fate of the real Dazzler and the source of Mystique‘s mutant growth hormone. Worth a look. Read Full Review

My final verdict is that the story was good and a good story is a good story, gang. I like the long game that Bendis is playing in this book. However, I think that if you're looking to read this story, do it when the entire thing can be consumed in one sitting. Read Full Review

Uncanny X-Men is finally feeling like a team book. After Bendis fleshed out some of the new students we are getting our chance to see them act as a complete unit. Chris Bachalo can be hit or miss, but he does an all right job on this issue and if he can keep it up it will make the reading experience that much better. This will hopefully be a stepping stone issue for the story of Cyclops revolution the fans have been waiting for, and with Bendis at the helm it should be epic! Read Full Review

In true Brian Michael Bendis form, we get a lot of talking and a lot of exposition and a lot of set-up that is bound to pay off eventually but just doesn't make for a compelling comic book. Read Full Review

Chris Bachalo's art is awful. Just... just... awful. More than half the panels you can't tell what in the world is going on.

The other half, you don't really care. Plus, nearly half the book had this weird sideways slant to it, for no particular reason at all. Also, instead of breaking up the action on different pages, there are these dumb white spaces there that serve barely any purpose other than to bring the story to a screeching halt.

It was pretty cool seeing Magik's, um, magical side, showing her work with Dr. Strange is paying off.

There are also poop jokes. And balls jokes. Seems like Bendis is losing his touch.