X-Men Unlimited #11 has the good fortune to be priced at $2.99, and not only that, two of its ten pages of adverts fall between the two stories.  This means that you can actually read it without feeling a rising urge to send a parcel bomb to the offices of Advertising Today.  Hurrah.

And what's more, X-Men Unlimited is having one of its good months.  Chris Yost and Billy Dallas Patton's "Brother's Keeper" is a nice enough little story set "around Uncanny X-Men #444" - Reload, in other words - with Alex and Rachel reacting to Scott and Emma's relationship.  While Claremont did something with Rachel and Emma, Alex's reaction to the whole mess has largely gone untouched, and in both cases, the characters' initial reactions fell through the cracks between stories.

So this is material with genuine dramatic interest that wasn't really done properly the first time round - making it ideal fodder for X-Men Unlimited.  In fact, despite being relatives, Alex and Rachel have spent very little time on panel together in their published history, and their dynamic is largely unexplored.  The basic set-up is that Rachel can't deal with Scott and Emma's relationship, and Alex trying to play peacemaker despite the nagging feeling that he agrees with her.  It's not very subtle, and artist Billy Dallas Patton doesn't quite nail the characters (his Alex is way too relaxed for somebody who's overly conscious that he's supposed to be in charge), but it's a good concept, carried out acceptably.

The back-up strip has David Hahn, creator of the excellent Private Beach, writing a New Mutants story, of all things.  This takes us back to the New Mutants as teenagers.  Roberto is trying to live up to his reputation by asking a girl out.  And that's it.

There's a part of me that thinks Roberto's really a bit too useless with girls in this story, given the way he was written in the original series, but it's entertaining enough that I don't really care.  This is teen comedy-drama, and probably has more in common with Blue Monday than with the original New Mutants, but that plays to Hahn's strengths.  And, lame final panel aside, it's a very good teen comedy.  I'd have enjoyed reading a series about this version of the New Mutants.

Aja's artwork is perfectly suited for this story, overplaying the comedy just enough, and nailing Roberto's ridiculous fantasy sequence.  And, for once, the New Mutants actually look like teenagers.  He's an artist I'd like to see more of.

Shame about that final panel, which ends the story on a feeble one-liner and brings the story to a whimpering halt.  Other than that, though, an excellent little story.  This is the sort of thing I'm looking for in X-Men Unlimited.

Rating: A

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