Also this week...

ARMY @ LOVE #2 - Hmm.  This isn't working, is it?  In fact, the best observation I saw about issue #1 was from somebody (I forget who, possibly Brian Hibbs), who pointed out that the sex-and-hedonism spin of this book's satirical future US Army seemed to be stuck in the 1970s.  That's the basic problem.  Not only do I not identify with the characters, or even especially like them, but the whole thrust of the satire is based on a view of human nature that doesn't ring true at all.  No matter how intentionally absurd or over the top a book like this might be, somewhere in it, there needs to be a core of recognisable humanity, and that just isn't present.  And it's not very funny either.  All credit to Vertigo, and the creators, for trying this book, because it's certainly audacious and risky.  But by their nature, sometimes risks don't pay off.  C-

MIGHTY AVENGERS #2 - In which Brian Bendis tones down the comedy thought balloons and then asks himself, "Hmm, what is Frank Cho good at drawing?  Oh, I know..."  So, intercut with yet more recruitment flashbacks, it's a story in which the Avengers stand around and gawp at Naked Ultron.  Bendis has become very keen on this non-linear storytelling in the two Avengers books lately, and on one level, I can see why - it allows him to spend all the time he wants on the introduction scenes, while still getting to the action quickly.  Against my better judgment, I kind of liked this one; it's dumb, but it knows it. B+

NEW X-MEN #37 - This is billed as a "prelude" to the upcoming "Quest for Magik" storyline, but since it ends with a cliffhanger, it does seem rather more like part 1 to me.  Anyhow, Magik was sort-of-kind-of reintroduced during House of M, which left an obvious back door to bring her back.  Writers Kyle and Yost are clearly going for that obvious route, and hey, why make it more complicated than it actually is?  But it's been many years since Magik was a regular character, so most of this issue is simply Blindfold explaining her back story for the benefit of new readers who might have jumped aboard in the last couple of decades.  It's as good as you could expect from a recap issue.  Skottie Young debuts as the new regular penciller, and it's nice to see him diversifying from the exaggerated cartoons that used to be his hallmark.  This story uses different styles to distinguish between the present day and flashback sequences, and you wouldn't guess it was the same artist.  In fact, Young's art is probably the biggest selling point of this issue.  As for the story, well, it is what it is, and it gets us up to speed.  B+

[Or rather, as tons of you have now e-mailed to point out, Niko Henrichon's art is the biggest selling point of the issue, because he did the flashback sequences.  Mind you, Skottie Young has been changing his style pretty drastically lately.  But... uh, yeah.  Oh well.]

SPIDER-MAN / FANTASTIC FOUR #1 - One of those occasional comics that Marvel put out to cater to people who just want to read happy little stories in which classic superheroes do fun stuff.  It won't change your life, but it's Jeff Parker and Mike Wieringo doing a story with the Impossible Man.  So if you're exasperated by the direction of the mainstream Spider-Man books - and who'd blame you? - then this is a cute alternative.  Books like this do more to remind me why I read superhero comics than a hundred issues of the regular titles, but hey, that's progress for you.  What it does, it does very well.  A-

ULTIMATE X-MEN #81 - Come to think of it, this might be intended as a self-contained story as well.  But it's really just a transitional issue, as as Robert Kirkman shuffles various characters into position for the next storyline, and sets up Bishop to recruit the replacement X-Men team.  There's some enjoyable material here - I like the idea of Magneto's shapechangers and illusionists taking turns to impersonate him in jail.  Kirkman also uses this issue to bring the Beast back from the dead on a rather flimsy pretext.  I'm in two minds about this one.  I suppose his death didn't have much of a lasting effect, and to that extent there's no harm undoing it, but it's a shame to see the Ultimate Universe following the bad habits of the original Marvel Universe and setting a precedent that deaths don't matter.  It's an okay issue, though.  B

UNCANNY X-MEN #485 - The inordinately long "Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire" reaches part 11 of 12, and finally gets around to building to a climax.  It strikes me, as I write this, that we haven't actually seen much rising and falling in this storyline.  Much as I love Ed Brubaker, this really isn't working for me.  Despite all the build-up, the final act still feels rushed.  Mind you, it turns out that Vulcan's plans made reasonable sense all along, and I've got to give some credit for suckering me into believing otherwise.  But the Shi'ar have never been among my favourite X-Men concepts, and this story is doing nothing to change my mind.  B-

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #13 - Wolverine fights his son Daken for the first time.  I can't stand the name, and the character design just looks rather silly.  But there's a glimmer of promise in the idea that Daken likes to believe that he's better than his father because he's able to control his berserker impulses.  Still, it's not much after all this time.  In a world that already contains X-23, who's a much more interesting character, we really don't need Daken, and I don't get the impression that anyone's especially bothered about the revelations this series is trying to build itself around.  C+

X-23: TARGET X #5 - A curious issue, since it's the penultimate chapter of the series, but it seems to bring the main storyline to an end.  Next issue, from the looks of it, is a continuity patch designed to explain how X-23 first met Wolverine.  This, however, is the story where X-23 gets her showdown against Kimura and loses her attempt to get a peaceful life in California.  It's a shame this miniseries didn't appear before the tie-in storyline in New X-Men, which would have been much more effective.  But it's a good action issue which really does manage to build some tension about the fate of the supporting cast members, even though Kimura is a bit of a generic villain.  B+

X-MEN #198 - This would be the middle chapter of "Red Data", if you're going by the covers, or "Condition Critical", if you're going by the credits.  (Is it really that hard to keep these things straight?)  The X-Men fight weird psychic stuff on Cable's island paradise of Providence, in a story which apparently crosses over into next month's Cable & Deadpool #40.  Chris Bachalo is having one of his good months, with generally clear storytelling and some well-deployed scrawl denoting the weird psychic entities.  I'm not sure where any of this is headed, but it's a perfectly enjoyable issue.  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, the miniseries X-Men: First Class wraps up with issue #8, although in effect it's continuing directly into a new ongoing title.  Wolverine and Sabretooth are still fighting over in Wolverine #53.  Chris Claremont's return continues in New Excalibur #19 and Exiles #93.  And off in the continuity backwaters of the sadly under-purchased Wisdom #5, MI-13 are still fighting weird stuff in London.

Oh, and I'll also see if I can track down a copy of X-Factor #18, which allegedly shipped last week but didn't seem to show up at my store.

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