Three issues in, Chamber remains about the only Icons book worth buying.  Not that all that many of you ARE buying it, admittedly.  I can't really blame anyone for that, since it's an Icons book, and the Icons line so far has looked like nothing more than a slinged-together "Hey, let's shove out a comic about THIS guy" imprint.  I mean, really - Thing: Freakshow?

Chamber raises itself above the others by having a genuine theme, about the integration of visible minorities into campus life.  It's a theme which the X-books haven't done much with - until Morrison came along and toned things down, any mutant students turning up at a university were probably going to get strung up or slaughtered by killer robots before the end of the second lecture.  And it's one that's a neat fit for the character without being too obvious.  Plus, it's been built into a neat whodunnit plot.  All these things make me a happy reader.

What doesn't make me a happy reader is an awkward opening scene in which Chamber breaks into Amber's bedroom in the middle of the night in order to tell her that he needs to see a room.  Amber quite sensibly asks whether this could possibly wait until morning, what with the actual murder being at least a few weeks back by this point, and Chamber doesn't have much of an answer to that.  I realise that it's there to crank up the tension a bit, but it doesn't work because the plot doesn't justify Chamber's urgency here.

After that, however, we're back on track.  The mystery element of this story is working well, as Brian Vaughan continues to reveal new sides to all his suspects and wrongfoot the reader without coming across as contrived.  By the end of this story it's looking as if Chamber's finally got his answer, and it's an unexpected one which seems entirely consistent with what's gone before.  That's good, solid plotting at work.

The art's above average, although I still think the first issue was the best looking of the series, with Jose Villarrubia's colouring being given a more prominent role.  He's seemed more restrained over the last couple of issues, and while Lee Ferguson and Norm Rapmund's linework is fine, it's not as distinctive.  Villarrubia also turns in some very strange colouring work on the nightclub scene in this story, with regular angled colour shapes superimposed on the art, all of which doesn't quite work.

Nonetheless, it's a strong story with more than acceptable art.  If you're not reading it by now then you'd be better advised to wait for the inevitable trade, but it's worth your time.

Rating: A-

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