Also this week:

AVENGERS #82 - The beginning of the new Invaders title and yes, they seem to be a rightwing group of superheroes playing off the war on terrorism.  American Power, then?  Well, in fairness, no.  Because to give credit where it's due, the book positions them in opposition to the Avengers' more reactive approach.  And at least that acknowledges that there's a debate. In fact, the Avengers' traditional Silver Age heroic values are often ridiculously puritan, and the Invaders aren't exactly being presented uncritically.  When you wheel out John Walker as a main character - the thuggish right-wing stand-in Cap from the Reagan era - and have him leading the Invaders as an impostor Captain America, at the very least you can't be accused of cheerleading.   (Although it does mean that there are now three characters wandering around the Marvel Universe all claiming to be Captain America.  A bit much, do you think?)  I still have doubts about the wisdom of getting superheroes into this territory at all, but at least Austen is trying to do something a little more complicated than having nice American heroes punch Muslims.  Of course, the story itself isn't great - dreadful Arab characters with dialogue like "You ugly like ugly animal!  I kill you six times!", and the sort of awful soap opera nonsense that sets your teeth on edge.  But I'll give it credit for trying to say something a little more nuanced than "Go USA."  C+

BLUE MONDAY: PAINTED MOON #1 - Chynna Clugston-Major brings back her teen comedy/soap for another miniseries, this time picking up where the plot left off in Absolute Beginners.  Which was quite a while back now, come to think of it.  Absolute Beginners went a little off the rails when that bloody otter turned up - magic just doesn't fit in this book.  Fortunately, there's no sign whatsoever of him in this issue (other than an ominous appearance on the cast list on the inside cover).  Instead, we're back to the usual Blue Monday themes - teenagers trying to pull, and hopelessly botching it.  To be honest, the law of diminishing returns may be starting to set in; the book has trodden this territory pretty thoroughly in the past.  But it still does what it does very well.  A-

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #14 - At last, Paul Jenkins takes a break from angular art and the rogue's gallery to go back to those single-issue character stories he does so well with Spider-Man.  This one's about a kid with cerebral palsy watching Spider-Man from his wheelchair, but fortunately it's not just an afterschool special.  The art is also worth a mention - unusually, it's fully painted work from Paolo Rivera.  At times it seems to struggle a little to make the superhero costumes work, but for the most part it's incredible work, really bringing the story to life.  Fabulous cover, as well.  A

Last week's Article 10 is still up at Ninth Art.

Next week, even more relaunched titles.  X-Men #157 goes back to the original, needlessly confusing name and inherits Chuck Austen and Salvador Larroca as its creative team.  Effectively, it's a continuation of the previous Uncanny X-Men.  New X-Men: Academy X relaunches the New Mutants (again).  And Excalibur #1 begins the rebuilding of Genosha.

Exiles #47 continues "Earn Your Wings", Cable/Deadpool #3 continues its opening arc, and Wolverine #15 continues the Sabretooth storyline.  Meanwhile, if you're collecting the trade paperbacks or just have a yearning for happier days, the final volume of New X-Men is also due out.

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