Also this week...

HEROES FOR HIRE #2 - Heaven only knows what's happening with this book now that writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have signed an exclusive deal with DC; I suspect a lot will depend on what happens to sales after the initial Civil War story is out of the way.  Despite some mildly exasperating lapses into T&A - and no, it's not the only way to make your female characters look attractive and glamorous - it's actually not a bad book all told, with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing leading a group of Z-listers on the very fringes of the Civil War, and a cute closing twist that makes perfect sense.  Somewhat against my better judgment, I'm quite enjoying this.  B+

X-MEN #191 - Oh goody, fill-in art.  It's Clayton Henry this month (though he seems to have started calling himself Clay) and as expected, the visuals are less distinctive, but an awful lot easier to follow.  And when the art helps me into the story instead of putting up barriers, I have more fun.  I'm a simple soul, you see.  There's a bit of mid-story padding here, as much of the issue is devoted to a rather odd subplot with Cannonball being tricked into thinking that he's married one of the villains.  An old concept, and it doesn't really go anywhere, but at least it's neatly done, and the jumps to new scenes as Sangre rebuilds the reality to fix Sam's doubts work so much better with a straightforward artist than they would have under Bachalo.  We also get the origin of the Children - it seems they're the result of humans who were locked in an accelerated time capsule to breed for generations.  Er... isn't that exactly the same as the origin of Fantomex?  Like, exactly the same?  Surely the statute of limitations hasn't yet expired for reusing that concept.  I mean, it's a good idea and all, but come on...  Still, that concern aside, it's another strong superhero story, and Carey is doing well with this book.  B

There's more from me at If Destroyed, and if you're desperate for more Article 10 columns, you can always hunt through the archives on Ninth Art.

Next week, Giant-Size Wolverine #1 offers a 34-page Hallowe'en story by David Lapham and David Aja, which is admittedly an interesting prospect.  X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong #2 continues the Endsong sequel.  And outside the X-books, there's a ton of new titles starting, most notably Ed Brubaker's Criminal.

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