Also this week:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549 - Marc Guggenheim and Salvador Larroca take over for the second month of the relaunch.  Guggenheim doesn't quite have the charm of Dan Slott, and his pacing is a little laid back, but he's still fine.  Larroca's work is a little odd here - his Spider-Man actually feels like a guy in a costume, almost as though there were a Steve Ditko influence just trying to make itself felt on the edges of his usual highly polished style.  I'm not quite sure it works, and I also suspect that this is yet another Marvel comic which has printed a couple of shades darker than the colourist intended.  Generally a decent effort, though, and it's good to see a focus on introducing new characters and moving forward by building on old villains without actually bringing them back.  B

INFINITY INC. #6 - The cover promises that Batman guest stars, which indeed he does, if your definition of "guest starring" is "appears on one page."  Still, this is one of the stronger issues of Peter Milligan's series about mentally ill superheroes.  The concept is becoming clear enough now - the former members of Infinity Inc are stuck together partly as a mutual support group, and partly because they're trying to help other victims of the Everyman Project.  Matt Camp's artwork is much brighter and cleaner than previous issues, and it turns out to be a change for the better.  Milligan's oddball, absurd stories don't really benefit from moodiness and atmosphere; they work best with a lighter style that lets the humour in his quirkiness come through.  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, we have the debut issue of X-Force, which still doesn't seem like the greatest idea in the world, but you never know. Jason Aaron and Ron Garney begin their run on Wolverine with issue #62.  More "Messiah Complex" fallout in X-Factor #28.  And New Exiles #2 guest stars Storm and the Black Panther - or at least, versions of them.

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