Also this week...

STORM #5 - The penultimate issue, and in the way of these things, we're now into the big fight with the not-desperately-exciting South African villains.  It's in danger of becoming a story where Storm is the damsel in distress, which isn't exactly what I'd do with her own miniseries, but I suppose it works on its own terms.  I'm intrigued by the way Dickey is writing the villains, who by normal standards are borderline clueless.  But then again, they still just about come across as a threat to the lead characters, since they're both kids.  Not the strongest issue of the series by any means, since it's ploughing through the action plot, but still perfectly sound.  B

WOLVERINE #43 - Wolverine goes hunting for Nitro, and things go boom.  Total fluff, of course, but there's nothing wrong with that.  It's Wolverine in a line-wide superhero crossover, so Guggenheim and Ramos are doing what needs to be done - an old school Wolverine story which captures the established voice of the character and then gets down to the important business of punching things and blowing them up.  They've got no illusions that they're doing anything clever here, and they're making a fine job of what they're trying to do.  There's a token discussion with Iron Man about the purpose of punishment in society, but nothing that need distract us from the fighting.  If you liked "Enemy of the State", you'll probably like this.  It's utterly silly, but it's good fun.  A-

X-FACTOR #8 - Beginning a two-part Civil War crossover, although it's actually a minor part of the plot.  Most of the story concerns X-Factor getting on with their existing storylines, learning more about the Decimation (through the simple expedient of asking one of the other heroes who knows about it), and having Quicksilver turn up on their doorstep.  Juggling subplots effectively, and with just enough Civil War contribution to stop people feeling aggrieved if they bought the issue just for that.  Personally, I'm all for keeping up the regular storylines during crossovers - after all, you do want the extra readers to come back, right?  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, yet another fresh start for the X-Men line, as Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan begin their run with Uncanny X-Men #475.  Meanwhile, with Chris Claremont still recovering, Frank Tieri takes over on New Excalibur.

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