Uncanny X-Men (1963-2011) #34

Uncanny X-Men (1963)

by Roy Thomas, Dan Adkins (Artist)

Professor X has been kidnapped by the enigmatic Factor Three! The X-Men must not only rescue their mentor, but their friend Ralph Roberts as well, who has been abducted by a subterranean tyrant.

Genres: X Men, Comics, Marvel, Comic Book

21 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 1967

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Rychetage · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10

New artist, Dan Adkins who improves a lot the drawing compared to Werner Roth (Jay Gavin) that I have never really liked. Dan's faces, scenes, and use of shadows are great.

Unfortunately, the issue has all the clichés, nonsense and ridiculous typical situations of the 60s comics, as giant robots, easy trips to the centre of the earth, decisions, situations and actions that do not make sense and even incoherent. The final act of the issue is also hasty and with a very ridiculous resolution of the situation.

Tyrannus, Mole-Man and their minions are at the top of the great incompetent characters list, and hardly can represent any menace not only to humanity, but to anyone, being easily defeated by the X-Men.

[Britt Halliburton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this four stars on the basis of the artwork, but chose to stick to a three for the overall product. It is instantly noticeable that we have a change of artist. Adkin’s is so much better than Werner Roth was, with more details in faces and clothes, as well as shadows and more dynamic shots. It is wonderful to see the X-Men finally getting some illustrative love.

However, the story is about as camp and wacky as it gets, both in the fun and bad ways. I do appreciate the idea of the X-Men being a kind of third wheel to a conflict between two villains, and the splitting of the party meant more of them got to do stuff without being crowded out. But it is all very silly, and after reading every issue of X-Men, I kind of feel like Ian Malcolm asking “aren’t there mutants in this mutant comic of yours?” As the X-Men are consistently battling non-mutants. It’s not to say that’s entirely bad, but them being dragged into these engagements instead of doing the thing they were made to do does drag on a bit.

I did quite like the big stompy robot fight, the difference in sci-fi style of each one was a nice juxtaposition, but defeated by slipping off a ledge is lame. I did like seeing Cyclops straight up karate-chop the stuffing out of Mole Man too. I think the silly campness of the issue is fun, but the resolution to the story ends up being dull. I’m sure a lot of the problem lies with the comic code authority from the period, limiting the manner in which villains could be dealt with.

[Rick Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

X-Men #34, ""War -- in a World of Darkness!"

The previous issue saw Professor X kidnapped which forces Cyclops to rally the team to try and find the professor. Meanwhile, Jean learns from Ted Roberts that his brother, Ralph, has also gone missing. Working together, the team arrive at Roberts Research, Inc. where Ted reveals that Ralph has been taken by beings from beneath the Earth who covet his research with a new Cobalt based alloy. As the X-Men dig deep into the Earth, they encounter Mole Man and his Moloids, though it's revealed that the Mole Man is working against Tyrannus, the underground dictator responsible for Ralph's abduction. The X-Men temporarily work alongside Mole Man (due to an induced amnesiac state they are forced into) to take on Tyrannus. Eventually managing to overcome the amnesia, the team defeats both Mole Man and Tyrannus, leaving both of them incapacitated in the same state that the X-Men were in earlier.

[Rangga Sukmawijaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cerita di nomor 34 ini sebenarnya bagus seandainya tidak dijadikan "sisipan" di sela-sela pertikaian antara X-Men dengan organisasi Factor Three yang misterius. Di nomor sebelumnya, diceritakan Xavier diculik oleh organisasi yang memusuhi X-Men itu, tapi di nomor ini cerita justru berganti ke misi penyelamatan X-Men terhadap saudara Ted Roberts yaitu Ralph yang diculik oleh Tyrannus. Tidak hanya Tyrannus yang harus dihadapi oleh X-Men di dunia bawah tanah namun juga Moleman. Dua musuh berikut drama penguasaan Moleman atas beberapa anggota X-Men sebenarnya bisa jadi cerita yang menarik. Sayangnya, cerita ini terkesan dikerjakan secara tergesa-gesa.