Oh how I love “Uncanny X-Force”! Last issue was good but ended up feeling convoluted and a tad disconnected from the elements that have made the series great. In issue #14, writer Rick Remender yanks us out of the Age of Apocalypse and gets back to the meat and potatoes of this series – the characters. This is a fantastic issue and Remender once again beautifully mixes gritty yet artistically harmonious action sequences with poignant character moments. This feels like such a drastic change from last issue. Remender incorporates the same structured and fluid storytelling and it never misses a beat. His character work is amazing and he continues to get everything he can out of his cast. It’s such a well written issue.

I really like Mark Brooks’ work and Scot Eaton is a capable artist. But the shared art duties really didn’t work for me in the last issue. Here we get the return of Jerome Opena and he does an amazing job. I liked his work in the first arc but I wasn’t as sold on it as many others. But here he nails every page, creating a visually engaging experience. His character models are incredible and his sharp ability to convey emotion through his pencils rivals any I have seen. His art encapsulates gritty, violent, somber, and emotional and I was completely drawn in. I’m still mixed on Dean White’s colors. It’s hard to deny that his colors feed the intended tone of the issue but there are panels where I would have loved a little more vibrancy.

I was so pleased with this issue. I was wondering if this series had lost it’s uniqueness and if Remender had wandered away from his proven formula. But this issue shows that’s not the case. There are several heart-wrenching moments as well as some intense action. He raises the stakes considerably by really developing Archangel and giving us an ending that made my jaw drop. This was a fantastic comic book experience and an easy book to recommend.