Another issue of X-Men Unlimited, and it's the two story format again.  This time, we have another Wolverine story by Bruce Jones, and another story by Chuck Austen.  It's good to know Marvel felt the need to up the frequency of this title to bi-monthly, because god knows I haven't read nearly enough Wolverine stories by Bruce Jones and miscellaneous stuff by Chuck Austen, and that seems to account for 80% of the book's content these days.  Are Marvel getting a bulk discount from these writers?

Anyhow, these are both okay stories.  They do the job, they fill the pages, and they do both show some degree of imagination.  But not to the point where you desperately need to see them or anything.

The first, untitled, story is a team-up between Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil.  The obvious point to play up with these two is the shared affinity for nature, since god knows they have little else in common.  What we actually get is some squabbling about a virus in the Savage Land, which Wolverine proceeds to solve with his previously unheralded biochemical skills, crossed with some pop psychology about women.  It's okay, and something tells me it exists mainly because Richard Isanove wanted to paint Shanna the She-Devil.  Not surprisingly there's a certain degree of T&A in the art, which I suppose is fine if you like that sort of thing.  Doesn't do much for me.

Austen's story this week is a Mystique piece, about her taking a mission from SHIELD in order to get out of jail and then escaping.  It's got a rather clunky parallel to Iraq which no doubt seemed awfully topical when the plot was written, and it's drawn by Chris Cross, which is always a good thing.

These are both readable enough, but the book still isn't answering the basic question: why does it exist?

Rating: B

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