Also this week... a whole bunch of stuff I haven't had time to read yet, to be perfectly honest.  So let's stick with the other four X-books and this week's other token first issue.

ANNIHILATION: SILVER SURFER #1 - Another Keith Giffen book, so we've yet to find out what the other writers are going to make of this concept.  The basic idea is that Annihilus is hunting down the former heralds of Galactus, which is as good a plot as any, I suppose.  Strangely, this leads to a major role for the Air-Walker, whom I could have sworn has been dead for decades.  If you were annoyed by the sidelining of the Surfer in Defenders, you can relax, because Giffen is taking him completely seriously here - the big theme is the Surfer trying to find some meaning in the destruction, which makes perfect sense for the character.  I'm not at all sure about the art, which tells the story perfectly adequately but has an Alex Maleev Lite feel that seems wholly inappropriate.  A decent start, though.  B+

NEW EXCALIBUR #6 - As Marvel announced a couple of days ago, Chris Claremont is taking a sabbatical for health reasons.  Apparently the next two issues are going to be drawn from his plots and scripted by Frank Tieri; strangely, there's been no similar announcement for X-Men: The End, which also has two issues to go, or any indication of what's happening to Exiles.  Naturally, I wish him a speedy recovery.  And this is as good a time as any to remind people that whatever I may feel about his stories from the last few years, he's still the writer who got me into American comics in the first place, back in the late eighties.  And this issue is a perfectly acceptable superhero team book.  I'm pleasantly surprised to see that Dazzler's non-death in issue #1 is a plot point rather than a plot hole, although the Shadow X-Men are still tiresomely one-dimensional.  Entirely decent overall, though.  B

ULTIMATE X-MEN #69 - In which Robert Kirkman is joined by artist Ben Oliver, rather optimistically billed by Marvel as a rising star on the strength of the recent DC miniseries Vigilante, of all things.  Actually, he's pretty good - this is a very talky issue and he carries it off nicely.  I'm getting a sinking feeling that Kirkman is about to push his pet new character to the moon, and he hasn't got enough personality for me to welcome that.  Otherwise, completely enjoyable.  B+

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE VS DRACULA #3 - This is turning out better than I'd expected, although admittedly I'd expected a trainwreck.  It's really an Apocalypse series with Dracula being kept as a looming threat on the margins of the plot, and that just about works.  I'm still reserving judgment until I see whether Tieri can possibly pull off the seemingly ludicrous confrontation next issue, though.  The book still hasn't shown me that it has an answer to the big problem of making these two characters share a scene (other than "put it off as long as possible", which is admittedly the best I can come up with).  Unfortunately, Clayton Henry's art is still utterly lacking in any sort of atmosphere, which is essential to carry off a story like this.  B-

X-MEN: THE END, BOOK THREE #4 - Sorry, but even this week, I can't summon up any enthusiasm for this project.  Loads of people hit one another, and if you didn't care up to this point, you won't be starting now.  A million miles removed from anything I'd want to see in a book called X-Men: The End - almost nothing about the key characters and core themes, and a ton of nonsense about Claremont's pet space opera concepts.  C

Last week's Article 10 is still up at Ninth Art, and the next few days should see plenty of material at If Destroyed.

Next week, Cable & Deadpool #27 completes its two-part prologue to the return of Apocalypse storyline that's already been underway for months.  Exiles #79 moves on to the Future Imperfect timeline.  Decimation continues in Son of M #5 and X-Men: The 198 #4.  Lots more religious intolerance in New X-Men #25.  And Uncanny X-Men #472 begins Chris Claremont's final storyline on the title.

There's also a trade paperback of the X-23 miniseries (delayed because they originally packaged it in an overpriced hardback with the whole run of NYX), and a third volume of Complete Age of Apocalypse.

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