Also this week...

NEW X-MEN #33 - Finally, things seem to be settling down to relative sanity after the year of slaughter.  This is the first part of "Mercury Rising", which loosely ties in to the story presently underway in X-23's miniseries.  At last, Kyle and Yost are giving the characters space to breathe again, and the book is infinitely better for it.  Mercury and X-23 get most of the attention here, as you'd expect, and there's a nice dynamic between the two, with Mercury persistently trying to bring X-23 out of her shell despite making no obvious headway.  Good stuff, and hopefully this is a better indication of what we'll get in future. B+ 

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE #1 - A curious five-issue miniseries relaunching Vertigo's Sandman Mystery Theatre franchise, this time with an embedded photojournalist ending up as the Sandman.  I'm really not sure about this one.  It has its moments, but the set-up to link this character to Wesley Dodds feels awfully contrived, and there's some very heavy-handed material about the role of photographers as observers and documenters.  And it's got rather cluttered, monochrome art which doesn't particularly appeal.  Still, there's the odd interesting idea in here, and I was never the biggest fan of the character to start with.  There's the odd moment in here when this shows promise, but ultimately it doesn't particularly engage me.  C+

ULTIMATE X-MEN #77 - Well, this is odd.  There's only one penciller, Yanick Paquette, credited for this issue.  But there are a couple of extremely shaky pages in the middle of the issue, so either somebody's done a last-minute fill-in, or Paquette was really, really rushed when he did them.  Anyway, it's a mixed bag, this issue.  There's a potentially interesting attempt to show us Cyclops folding under stress when Jean is in danger, but really, the more I think about it, I'm not sure that's a sensible direction for the character.  Mind you, we've still got a chapter to go.  Worse, there's a pointless shock-tactic segment with Rogue and the remarkable introduction of a notorious plot idea from the early sixties which has always been universally regarded as laughably misguided for a very, very good reason.  Quite why anyone in their right mind would think it was a good idea to actually do, or even tease, a story that Lee and Kirby dropped after one line of dialogue is difficult to fathom, although I suppose it might seem vaguely edgy after a few drinks.  Overall, though, this issue is a serious misfire, and if they're remotely serious about half the directions they're hinting at in this issue, they need to rethink badly.  C

X-FACTOR #14 - Peter David seems to be sliding back towards his more traditional style of superheroes with a hint of comedy, and away from the noir style of the earlier issues.  To be honest, that's probably a good thing, because while it suited the Madrox miniseries, it's not such a neat fit for a superhero team book.  X-Factor are distinctive enough already without needing to worry too closely about that style, and I'd rather they were freed up to let Peter David do what he does best.  This is basically another character issue, but it also sees Madrox finally come up with a solution to his existential dilemma, which is a promising direction for the next while.  One of my favourite issues of this series so far.  A

X-MEN: PHOENIX - WARSONG #4 - This, on the other hand, has completely lost my sympathy.  Zombies, clones, dreary artwork, and a plot that seems to be phoning it in... this has none of the features that made the previous Phoenix miniseries at least somewhat engaging.  Which is surprising, because both were written by Greg Pak.  Then again, heaven only knows who came up with some of these ideas.  In an ideal world I'd sweep this book politely under the carpet and we'd say no more about it, but unfortunately there's an issue still to go.  C-

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, Deadpool confronts his past (again) in Cable & Deadpool #35, and Dr Strange guest stars in X-Men: First Class #4.  Oh, and if you're wondering what ever happened to Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #3, apparently the book has now been pulled from the schedules altogether.  Marvel say they'll resolicit the book at a later date, but to be honest, I don't believe a word of it.

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