Also this week...

CABLE & DEADPOOL #38 - The latest in a series of Deadpool solo stories, presumably intended to buy time while Cable's status in X-Men is sorted out.  This time, Deadpool is hired to rescue his duplicate Agent X from HYDRA, and assorted hi-jinks ensue.  I'm not sure the treatment of Agent X really works (aside from anything else, wouldn't his healing factor stop anything like that from working?), and there's an awkward sequence with Deadpool returning to his normal size (after being shrunk last issue).  But Reilly Brown's cheerful art keeps it fun, and overall it's still a fun issue.  B

EXILES #92 - Well, Exiles is now definitively a Claremont book.  Characters are talking about "capers", the old "You're good, I'm better" line is back, and for the cliffhanger to work, readers are expected to recognise Slaymaster as the guy who blinded Psylocke.  And that was in the 1980s.  In a comic published in the UK.  A bit optimistic, do you think?  Leaving aside Claremont's quirks, you've got a fairly standard Exiles story here, but then that's the point.  It's a Chris Claremont story for those who enjoy his familiar style, and that's what you get here, applied to the Exiles formula.  If that sounds appealing, you'll like the book; if not, you'll probably find it underwhelming.  B-

WISDOM #4 - This year's obligatory underrated X-Men miniseries, Wisdom is selling in depressingly low numbers despite being one of the high points of the line.  And since the stories are largely self-contained, it's not too late to give it a try.  Go on, please.  This issue, Wisdom and his motley team investigate the mysterious re-appearance of Jack the Ripper - every version of him at once.  A great little superhero book, and I really have no idea why they've published it under the Max imprint.  It can't be helping sales.  A-

X-23: TARGET X #4 - There's something a bit wonky about the scheduling here.  Target X #4 finally gets around to explaining Kimura's powers - she's invulnerable to X-23's claws, making her a natural arch-enemy.  But Kimura's invulnerability was already used as a plot point (despite not being very well set up) in New X-Men a couple of weeks ago.  Hmm.  Anyway, it's mainly an issue of people desperately trying not to get killed by X-23 in flashbacks, and it works rather nicely, with Mike Choi and Sonia Oback's art bringing some potentially generic scenes to life.  A-

X-MEN #197 - The first part of "Condition Critical", or possibly "Red Data", depending on whether you believe the title page or the cover.  With Rogue injured, her team take her back to Cable's island paradise to get medical treatment.  So it's an issue of characters pursuing their own agendas on Providence, all leading to the appearance of an old Grant Morrison concept, recycled into rather more generic form.  Artist Chris Bachalo is back, but he's in pretty accessible form for once - and I rather like the depiction of Lady Mastermind's psychic possession, with a sort of scrawled character over the top of her drawing.  This is nothing earth shattering, but it's a perfectly solid team book.  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 Black Panther and Storm guest star in Wolverine #52, while Ultimate X-Men #80 has the second half of "Aftermath."

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