Astonishing X-Men #31

A decent, lively kick-off to a new arc.  Ellis delivers a well paced, exciting intro that's realtively light on plot but big on action and character beats.  This is the kind of issue that makes me proud to be an X-fan, not in terms of epic storytelling or pathos, but for the fact that it reminds me of just how cool the X-Men can be.

Artwise, Jiminez delivers work ranging from solid to downright dynamic, particularly in the grapple-hook/escape pod sequence that sees Wolverine and Armor engage in some derring-do heroics. Not quite John Cassidey, but this style suits the book far more than Simone Bianchi.

As it stands, it's the first five minutes of an action movie - hopefully the following issues will establish an interesting story to keep interest high, without getting overly bogged down in Ellisian sci-geek technobabble.

My pick of the week.