Books like Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope

Generally, I have liked Matt Fraction's independent work with Image--it is critically acclaimed and fairly unique. Generally, Fraction's characters are strongly written and humane--even his female characters which can be a weak spot for some of the comic book writers of his generation and prior. I say generally because Fraction seems to be in autopilot for this series: Generation Hope sets off to undo some the plots where there are no new mutants with Cerebro finding five and Hope jumping off to get them. Yet, most of this book seems to be Emma Frost intrigue and not intrigue that moves her character much. Yes, it is in Frost's character as she has been written, but Fraction just doesn't seem to do much with her. Fraction's humor, generally his strong suit, just doesn't come out here, and he doesn't do high melodrama as well as classic X-men writers like Claremont and he doesn't seem to really play with the dynamics of the team in the same way that Morrison or Whedon did. There are rumors that these were ghost plotted by Gillian and was aimed to focus of a later run, but this just feels paint-by-numbers. Furthermore, Portacio's art is inconsistent--his figure work seems rushed here and there, and his faces are inconsistent. Key female characters are only differentiated by hair color or costume. Portacio also is stronger artist than this, but like Fraction, he just seems to be phoning it in. The whole run doesn't feel bad necessarily, but slightly tired and boring. There are key characters that have been removed from current X-men and this salve a certain nostalgia for them, but that is really the best I can say for it.