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Also this week...
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER,
SEASON 8 #2 - Ooh. Now, you see, I liked issue #1.
I thought issue #1 was pretty good for a comic book
adaptation. It met my expectations. But this is
better. It's got a better pacing. It's got a
better grasp of the medium. It's got better jokes.
It's got better character moments. It's just plain
better. We've always known that Joss Whedon is a
hugely talented writer, but it's now clear that he's
learning and improving when it comes to this particular
medium, and for the first time this really feels like it's
in the same league as his TV work. A very pleasant
surprise, and a book that's now absolutely living up to the
hype. A+
NEW EXCALIBUR #18 - This
is the origin story of Albion, a Captain Britain analogue
who showed up before Chris Claremont's break. I wasn't
much impressed by the character first time round, but this
is a real improvement. The concept is pretty simple.
Across the multiverse, Captain Britains are supposed to get
their powers after choosing between the amulet of right and
the sword of might (this being the dodgy origin story
created for the Captain back in the 1970s). Everyone
else chose the amulet. Albion chose the sword, and got
away with his new powers before Roma could stop him.
So far, so average. But what I like about this story
is that Albion isn't simply an evil Captain Britain.
He's just a well-intentioned hawk, and as far as he's
concerned, by filling the multiverse with super-powered
doves instead of good honest ass-kickers like him, Roma has
got it all terribly wrong. So the whole system needs
to come down and be replaced with something more aggressive.
I like that angle; it's a good concept for a Captain Britain
villain, and Albion has a perfectly defensible point of
view. Good stuff. B+
RUNAWAYS #25 - Joss
Whedon takes over Runaways, and after the huge sales
for Buffy, Marvel must surely be kicking themselves
about the fact that they only put his name in tiny letters
on the cover. The kids come to New York where they
meet the Kingpin, even though that makes no sense in
continuity at all. (Supposedly it's being explained
next issue. It should have been explained in this
one.) Between this and Buffy, it's particularly
clear that Whedon has learned from the dreadful error of his
glacial pacing on Astonishing X-Men, and he won't be
making that mistake again. The story bounces along
nicely, and while there's no jarring shift in character or
tone from Brian Vaughan's run, Whedon brings his familiar
sparky dialogue to the book. It's not revelatory or
anything, but it's an absolutely fine issue, and any Whedon
fans attracted to the book should be perfectly happy with
it. A-
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.
I'm on holiday next week, so the X-Axis
will be back in a fortnight.
Next week, "The
Fall and Rise of the Shi'ar Empire" reaches its penutimate
chapter in Uncanny X-Men #485. New X-Men
#37 begins a new storyline about Magik. You know,
Magik. Blonde girl, had a magic sword, been dead about
twenty years now. Come to think of it, you probably
don't remember her, do you? And Wolverine: Origins
#13 continues the comeback of Cyber.
The week after, X-Men #198
continues "Condition Critical", while Ultimate X-Men
#81 brings back the Beast. Agent X guest stars again
in Cable & Deadpool #39. The X-Cell storyline
continues in X-Factor #18. And, running late,
there's also X-23: Target X #5.
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