Mystique #6 concludes the opening storyline for one of the more successful Tsunami books.  Not, admittedly, that "one of the more successful Tsunami books" means a great deal.  But Mystique has done alright in terms of sales.  For those of you don't follow the charts, the title's sales appears to have stabilised (unusual in itself for a Tsunami book) at around the level of Exiles and Punisher, which should make it comfortably safe.

Actually, to call these first six issues the opening storyline is a little questionable.  "Dead Drop Gorgeous" isn't so much a story arc as the name that they'll be giving to the first trade paperback.  Unlike some of the other recent Marvel launches, this book does look as though it's being written primarily for the monthly title - the opening six issues aren't really a single storyline at all, but contain a set-up for the series, an entire story set in Cuba, and a couple of subplots providing material for issues to come.  The book even introduces a new storyline in its last few pages, something that's been rather out of fashion ever since an obsession with trade paperbacks became the norm.

This might explain why, despite a six issue length, "Dead Drop Gorgeous" hasn't seemed quite as insanely decompressed as some other books.  The actual Cuba story only covers around four issues.  And in fairness, it could have stood to lose one of them - this and the previous issue could have been conflated quite happily.  Nonetheless, writer Brian Vaughan has done well with a reasonable opening storyline that's given him an opportunity to establish his take on the character.  She's an interestingly ambiguous heroine, which provides plenty of possibilities - she's a criminal, but she's not nuts, and as a result she has plenty of common ground with both Xavier and his enemies.  There's also a nice mix of letting her outwit opponents while still leaving holes in her plans so as not to make her too perfect.

Vaughan has always struck me as more of a character writer, and it's a pleasant surprise that he's done this well with an action story.  Artist Jorge Lucas has also done better than I'd expected; he's not the most flashy artist in the world, but he's a very solid storyteller, able to handle the action sequences while selling the quieter parts of the story.  Thankfully, he's also not drawing Mystique as a bimbo, although anyone who thinks that would be a good idea will be pleased to hear that the next arc is getting Greg Horn covers.

Mystique isn't a sensational book, but it's a solidly above average one - decent thriller stories combined with superior characterisation, which should be more than enough to keep the audience happy.

Rating: B+

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