Mystique #19 is a prelude to the upcoming "Quiet" arc.  Or maybe it's part 1.  As so often these days, Marvel themselves seem to be rather confused on the point.

The Quiet Man subplot has been one of the more interesting aspects of this book.  Mystique's in the unusual position of being a villain blackmailed into working for the heroes, albeit for missions she generally agrees with, and so there's plenty of mileage in having the villains try to tempt her away.  What we get here is a largely self-contained story in which Shepard, the Quiet Man's agent, drags Mystique into one of his own pet missions and finally talks her into siding with him.

Or, of course, maybe she's just faking.  This being Mystique, it's hard to be certain.  If she's not, though, then the book is about to swerve into being an outright villain book, something which has traditionally been a tough sell.  Sean McKeever has been playing up that side of Mystique's personality since taking over the book, though, and there's no denying it makes sense as a direction for her.

I'm not convinced by the romance subplot with Mystique and Shepard.  I suppose there's a degree of chemistry there, but Shepard usually comes across as far too smug and oily.  It's a lot easier to believe Mystique punching him in the face than falling for his charms.  Still, with this book, you never know quite how much she's playing along.  We shall see.

A nice little self-contained issue which leads nicely into the new arc.

Rating: B+

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