Also this week:

EASY WAY #4 - Hey, a happy ending!  Weren't those banned by the Cool & Edgy Convention of 1989?  It's come to something when a crime book does a happy ending and I find myself thinking "Well, that was unexpected."  Still, a happy ending it is, and that's just great, because I liked this book and I like it even more for giving the story the ending it deserved.  It's an odd book for horror specialists IDW to publish - junkie tries big scam to make a fortune and win back family, only for it to backfire horribly leaving him to dig himself out of a hole.  Really, it's more what you'd expect from Oni.  But IDW are one of the most consistent indie publishers, so it's nice to see them broadening their horizons with books like this.  A-

GRAVITY #3 - This, by the way, is my all-happy capsules selection, to counterbalance this week's Article 10.  Gravity.  Now, see, this is a good superhero comic.  Rookie hero comes to New York, tries his hand at the big time, screws it up beyond belief, and quits.  But don't worry, because there's another two issues to go!  Predictable?  Sure, of course we all know where this story is heading.  That's not the point.  The point is that Sean McKeever and Mike Norton know how to make the characters work, and know how to hit the universal themes that this story is all about - overcoming your crisis of confidence, and doubting whether your dreams were ever realistic.  It's simple, it's direct, and it's great.  Go on, buy the digest when it comes out.  A+

MEGA MORPHS #1 - No, only kidding.  You've got to draw the line somewhere.

MNEMOVORE #5 - See, when you get down to it, horror is a simple formula.  Well, two simple formulas.  You can have a bloke with an axe wander around hitting people, but that's crap, and besides, I hate the sight of blood.  Or you can go the less direct route, which usually means coming up with the physical embodiment of some universal fear.  If you can come up with a non-obvious fear, and an interesting way of embodying it, then that's most of the work done.  Mnemovore, about a bunch of horrible slug/octopus thingies that eat memories, hits the universal nerve of losing your mind and identity, and does it with a horrible slug/octopus thing.  Lovely book.  A

NEW WARRIORS #3 - Yes, the "reality TV show" premise sounded really dodgy, but honestly, this is good.  With his old fashioned insistence on writing complete stories in every issue, where something actually happens, Zeb Wells is already a step up on a lot of writers.  It helps that he's actually got the pacing and characterisation skills to pull it off.  I honestly think Wells is hugely underrated, and even if nobody's going to buy New Warriors, hopefully it'll at least get him some more attention.  Artist Skottie Young has been a little erratic in some of his recent assignments, but the animation-style art here is fantastic.  Much better than you're probably imagining it is.  A

SEVEN SOLDIERS: ZATANNA #3 - In which a Seven Soldiers book finally gets around to outright crossing over into the plot of another book, as Zatanna and her newfound sidekick turn up in Shining Knight's setting.  Charming artwork, a nice angle on the sheer obsolescence of the Tempter, and a burning cupboard.  Grant Morrison has done better work than Seven Soldiers, at least on the strength of what we've seen so far, but it's still lightyears ahead of the pack.  Morrison gets through more ideas in a page than most writers do in an issue these days, and knows how to do it without suffocating the story.  You've just got to love him.  A-

There's a new Article 10 up at Ninth Art.

Next week, House of M continues with Cable & Deadpool #18 and Mutopia X #2 (and, if you're interested, Spider-Man: House of M #3).  Back in the real world, New X-Men: Hellions #4 finishes off the miniseries, and Weapon X: Days of Future Now #2 continue to wrap up Frank Tieri's storylines.  Meanwhile, over in the Ultimate universe, Ultimate X-Men #62 continues "Magnetic North."

And... the 2005 State of the X-Axis Address. 

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