Unreachable Star Reviews July 9th, 2008 (SPOILERS)

This is our 266th edition. Two books today, and because
Canada rocks, the review is a day earlier than when the US
gets their books. There will be some spoilers, particularly
in Young X-Men, that is more than I usually give.

This week we have...

Captain Britain and MI13 #3 - 3.25 Stars
Young X-Men #4 - 3 Stars

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Captain Britain and MI:13 #3 - "The Guns of Avalon, Part Three"
(Writer: Paul Cornell, Penciler: Leonard
Kirk, Inkers: Jesse Delperdang with Scott
Hanna, Colorist: Brian Reber)

The Skrulls have stolen British magic, and while heroes in the
area continue to fight bravely, Pete Wisdom must do something
else to find a way to strike back.

I have to confess that a good chunk of the issue I have no idea
what's going on. Whether it's because of poor storytelling,
reliance of a continuity I'm not terribly familiar with (or,
indeed, whether it's proper continuity or messed up), deliberate
vagueness, or merely the fact that I read it while hot, tired
and dehydrated. I had difficulty understanding exactly what
was going on and why.

Still, I'm naming it my Pick of the Week, because there's Cornell
manages to work in compelling moments despite the confusion,
and there are plenty of entertaining visuals.

Review: 3.25 stars

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Young X-Men #4 - "Extinction Agenda" (Writer: Mark Guggenheim,
Artist: Yanick Paquette, Inker: Ray Snyder,
Colorist: Rob Schwager with Protobunker)

The Young X-Men attack Cannonball and Sunspot at the Hellfire
Club, while another being confronts the one who organized the
team of younger heroes.

My patience is really wearing thin on this one. It doesn't
really help that the cliffhanger here is something I guessed
several issues ago (always a risk with a decompressed
storyline), but I'm growing less and less impressed with
the execution of the storyline even ignoring the predictable
elements.

For one thing, we have my newest pet peeve, Ink, getting a new
power by getting a new Tattoo. Unless he dies in the first arc,
he will get tiresome fast, because the powers can do too much
without good reason. Even if he does die in the first arc, it's
still an annoyance that, despite M-Day supposedly depriving us
of mutants we've never heard of, one was created in this story
just to die. The one arguable benefit of Decimation is that
no more lame throwaway mutants would be created, and the arc
would have gotten rid of that.

The other major issue is that this low-rent team of X-Men
manage to take down the New Mutants. Yes, it's a standard
superhero convention that the heroes of your book can defeat
guest stars, even when the guest stars are much more powerful
or experienced. But it's the how that is annoying. Rockslide,
a person who is not only not invulnerable, but who has part of
his powerset that if he's broken into bits he can reassemble
himself, manages to knock down Cannonball, who's core powerset
is that he IS invulnerable when he's blasting. He does this by
simply punching Sam while he's blasting. And Roberto is slashed
by a lame Wolverine knock-off.

I'm just getting tired of it. At this point, I'm not expecting
to stick around past the first arc, unless it really surprises
me.

Review: 3 stars

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Well, that's it for this week folks. Next week, according to the
shipping list, there's only one book. However, since that book
is Batgirl #1 (a limited series written by someone who, last time
he wrote her, showed no understanding of or ability to write the
character), and it's the middle of the summer, I think I'll put
off going to the comic store next week unless something else
shows up. I'll pick up Batgirl with whatever I purchase the
following week.

See you next time...

Peter Dimitriadis
http://www.unreachablestar.net
The Unreachable Star - Comics & SF News/Reviews/Opinion