One nice thing about Marvel's stop-start publishing schedule is that when I'm having a particularly busy week, it often turns out that there's almost nothing to review.  This is one such week - Ultimate X-Men #80 concludes a two-part story, and there are no major new launches.  Wolverine is halfway through a six-part storyline, so we might as well chuck that in to make up the numbers.  And that's it.

So let's start with Ultimate X-Men, the concluding part of "Aftermath."

In many ways, Robert Kirkman seems like a natural choice of writer for the Ultimate books.  He's got a knack for old-style superhero stories, but without the love of old continuity or retro stylings that often accompanies that sort of writing.  He brings a more contemporary feel to that style, without trying too hard to be adult or edgy.  If Ultimate X-Men is still supposed to be serving as an entry-level comic - and I'd be very interested to know how well it's doing outside the direct market at this stage - then Kirkman is the sort of writer to turn to.

But under Kirkman, Ultimate X-Men has rather gone off the rails.  We've just finished a clunky time-travel storyline, and now we've had two issues in which everyone reacts to Xavier's supposed death.  I can't imagine Kirkman truly believed that anyone was going to fall for that, but I suppose it's sufficient that the characters believe it.  After all, even Xavier's temporary absence is sufficient to cause a major shake-up in the team dynamic.

Issue #80 sees Kirkman juggling multiple subplots.  Structually, it's much like an old Claremont issue from the 1980s.  The idea seems to be that with Xavier away, Scott doesn't have what it takes to keep the X-Men going, and decides to turn the team into a conventional school.  Meanwhile, Bishop tries to ingrain himself into the team as a substitute mentor, but can't seem to make much headway.

It's a step back in the right direction.  There's a certain lack of focus, but all of these various storylines make reasonable sense, and some of them are mildly intriguing on their own terms.  On the other hand, it's not the most immediately gripping direction for the book - "Let's just stop and pack everything up."  Still, there's nothing as irritating as the cheap shock tactics in the last storyline, and Kirkman is definitely on the right track by reverting to the soapy style that's always served the X-Men well.

Rating: B

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