Exiles celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this week, although they haven't really gone overboard with it.  No major events, no double-sized issue, no gimmick cover.  But they've put the words "50th issue" on the cover, just in case you hadn't noticed the number.

Actually, because it ships so frequently, Exiles has only been going for a little over three years - it started in June 2001.  And to be honest, it's been a little bit formulaic at times, especially in the final year of Judd Winick scripts.  But I have a soft spot for the book, regardless.  It's not flashy, it's not showy, but there's a sort of wide-eyed enthusiasm about the title, with enough self-awareness to stop it being saccharine without tipping over into cynicism.

The arrival of Tony Bedard hasn't changed the style too much.  This is another issue where the plot is pretty straightforward, but it's really just an excuse to have fun.  The Exiles' mission is to reunite the Brotherhood of Mutants and then free "the Big M" from prison.  Bedard does a pretty good job of distracting attention from the twist (although now that I've flagged up the fact that one exists, you'll doubtless spot it immediately), and I like the idea of this story.  One aspect of the Exiles set-up that hasn't really been done before is to send them to meet their own counterparts - they always seem to be mysteriously missing from every world they meet.  It's a simple way to use the format, but it hasn't really been done before.

Of course, you've got to pad things out until the twist comes along, so in the meantime Bedard and Sakakibara give us some amusing material with the Exiles reluctantly regrouping the Brotherhood.  I particularly enjoyed the down-at-heel Blob, reduced to carrying out bank robberies by handing over a piece of paper that says "This is a robbery.  I am a bulletproof mutant."  Somehow it's all the funnier because the Blob doesn't seem to realise quite how pathetic it is.

Exiles is never going to win any awards for breaking new ground, and the very concept will always make it a little formulaic. But when it's on form, it delivers good quality entertainment.

Rating: B+

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