Uncanny X-Men Annual #7

"Scavenger Hunt"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencillers: Michael Golden and Bret Blevins
Inkers: Michael Golden, Tom Mandrake, Bob Wiacek, Terry Austin, Brett Breeding, Joe Rubinstein, Steve Leialoha, Sam de la Rosa, Al Milgrom, Bret Blevins
Cover: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
The X-Men are enjoying an uneventful day off when their baseball game is interrupted by a cosmic-level threat, Galactus, because he must...steal Xavier's mansion?  That is not the planet-eater's typical M.O.; it soon becomes apparent that the thief was only disguised as Galactus.  For reasons, probably. 

The X-Men chase his energy signature across the world, where the thief steals all sorts of super-hero memorabilia (Nick Fury's eye patch, Ka-Zar's sabre-tooth tiger, a Fantasticar, etc.).  Eventually, Rogue realizes that this must be some sort of bizarre scavenger hunt.  But who would be involved in such a ridiculous and unlikely quest?  The Impossible Man.  It's not really a mystery.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen, last seen in Uncanny #169, is still comatose.  The Hellfire Club is apparently keeping her under close observation...in a Sleeping Beauty-esque mausoleum.  Sebastian Shaw vows to settle the X-Men/Hellfire conflict sooner, rather than later.  

In other White Queen news, it is revealed that her condition is due to something Mastermind did to her off-panel.

Writing!
Well, it's an Impossible Man story, and this was Claremont's main contribution to Assistant Editor's Month.  Impossible Man exists to add cartoonish comic relief to otherwise typical superhero comics.  Assistant Editor's Month had most of the Marvel titles do silly things or get meta by involving the Marvel Bullpen staff.  Neither has aged particularly well with time.

That said, this issue is fun, in a nonsensical fluff sort of way.  It's not great, it doesn't add much to Claremont's current storyline, and can be pretty easily forgotten.  On the other hand, it also ends with this head-scratcher:

Wait...what?!?

Art!
Most of the pencils in this issue (except for a bit of the Marvel Bullpen part) were by Michael Golden.  Golden's comics career is a strange one --- from what I can tell, he is best known for runs on Bucky O'Hare, Micronauts, and The 'Nam.  Despite none of those being what you might call classics, he also co-created Rogue and was clearly an inspiration for Art Adams.  Check out this Adams-esuqe scene:

Golden did a good job drawing Wolverine, too.  This is probably the best Wolvie cowl I've seen since Byrne left.

One of the best moments in this issue, though, is when Golden is paying an obvious homage to Jim Steranko:

Those dialogue-free scenes feel straight out of late-60s SHIELD comics.  Good stuff.

Now, I don't think Golden's art is great in this issue --- some pages are cool, some are kind of awkward or ugly --- but it should be noted that *ten* different people inked this issue.  I'm going off on a limb and saying that there was a deadline crunch.  I will also irresponsibly speculate that Golden (like Art Adams) is a bit slow with his pencils.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The cover art (and the corner box) features Cyclops joining in the fight, but he left the team in issue #176 and does not appear in this comic.

- Hey, look, it's a Claremont-ism!  The X-Men are playing baseball!  Even though Claremont only wrote this into the script four times in his 20+ years with the characters, it is a trope that feels unique to him.  This time around, you have to give him credit for adding a new layer; having Rogue and Nightcrawler as the only fielders on a team is a pretty efficient idea, given their powers sets.

- Kitty mentions that the X-Men captured Mastermind in Uncanny #175.  Then what happened?  I love that the resolution to his scheme failing is not examined.  I guess he went to mutant prison or something?

- The editor's note regarding when the Avengers last faced Rogue is wrong.  It should be Avengers Annual #10, not #7.  

Worth Noting:
- The Iron Man in this issue is James Rhodes.  From the context, it seems like this is his first interaction with the X-Men.