Also this week:

ADAM STRANGE #3 - I've reviewed this before, but I just thought I'd remind everyone that it's really good.  Which continues to amaze me, because Adam Strange is a character I absolutely could not care less about.  But Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry have really made something of the character's retro style, in a book which keeps that aspect while still looking modern.  And while eight issues might seem a bit generous, the pace is holding up well so far.  Possibly because people keep fighting, which is always a boon.  If you haven't read this book, it's much better than you might think.  Go and pick up the first three issues.  A-

AMAZING FANTASY #6 - Well, so much for the origin story of Araña.  This book hasn't done at all well in the direct market, which isn't necessarily a problem, since it's meant to be aimed at the bookstores.  Marvel evidently have faith in it, as it's getting a relaunch in 2005 as (ahem) Araña: The Heart of the Spider.  But it's hard to see what Marvel are so impressed by.  I can best sum it up by stealing a line from a recent Private Eye review of a different book entirely: it comes across as the work of somebody who has transparently read an awful lot of children's fiction, and fancies that they see how the trick is done.  The result, in this case, is a garbled selection of stock elements, nailed onto some ropey nonsense about spiders which serves no purpose other than to try and justify the book's listing as a Spider-Man title.  It looks the part, thanks to Udon, but the concept is surely far too weak to succeed in reaching that new audience it's aiming for.  C-

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #13 - The first Warren Ellis arc was not particularly good and dragged a bit.  Issue #13 begins his second arc, and this is much more like it.  Neat little pseudo-science explanations of Johnny's powers, and a clear direction - they're going to search the Negative Zone for clues about how to be human again.  It's simple, it's straightforward, but this time the pacing and the characters click.  A huge improvement over the last arc.  A-

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

Next week, nobody will be paying any attention to the X-books, because thanks to the miracle of late shipping, New Avengers and Ultimates 2 are both debuting in the same week.  Of course, neither of them is really a new title, but that won't stop everyone treating them as major events.

So the following X-books can look forward to being completely ignored.  "Return to Hellfire" continues in Uncanny X-Men #453.  New X-Men #7 begins that title's second storyline (or fourth, if you regard it as the same book as New Mutants, which you probably should).  Exiles #55 revisits the Kulan Gath storyline from the 1980s.  Rogue #5 keeps digging into her origin story.  Jubilee #4 lurches towards cancellation, and I shall force myself to read Sabretooth #4, even though I seriously doubt that anyone cares. 

X-Men/Fantastic Four #1 was also meant to ship next week, but it's not on the shipping list, and with seven other titles already scheduled, I'm kind of hoping it doesn't turn up.

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