DARK X-MEN #2 – Having kept the core members together after the Utopia debacle (well, the most evil/misguided ones anyway…), Mystique has led, Dark Beast, Mimic and Omega to investigate an incident in which a large group of people seemed to be under control of someone as they chanted, “I am an X-Man…” Once at the hospital where one of the victims is being held, they encounter an incredible energy source that threatens to overload Omega (he literally gets drunk on power) and completely freaks Mimic out. After and brief appearance by Nate Grey himself, the team goes back to base to plan their next move. Already a step ahead, Norman Osborn has assembled a team of psychics (mutant and non-mutant…) to focus in on Nate Grey and try to bring him back into this reality. The psychics succeeds in making contact, sending out a tether to help Nate Grey reform himself… only Grey completely drains the power from each of them. Before all of the psychics dropped, Dark Beast “steals” and dissects one of the group of psychics to discover what they were seeing. He learns that they have indeed managed to reform X-Man and he’s seen what the world has become under Osborn and isn’t happy. This isn’t a bad series, but it feels lost in the rest of the Dark Reign/Siege crossovers and doesn’t even tie into any X-books. Writer Paul Cornell is doing a really good job with the characters he was given, I just have to question the return of X-Man (even Dark Beast). He didn’t work before in the Marvel U. His series limped along waaaay too long before Marvel gave him the ax. I really like the fact that Mystique is only staying on to keep an eye on Osborn and is trying to find a way to turn the situation in her favor. I even like that she is posing as Jean Grey in public since her funeral was ever public or registered. Artist Leonard Kirk needs to be pulled off of this book and onto X-Men Legacy; his stuff just fits the X-Men better. Unless you’re an X-Zombie or a big fan of Nate Grey, pass.
Undercover Fanboy Rating: 
DAYTRIPPER #1 - Much like other books these two brothers (yes, they’re brothers…) have worked on (The Umbrella Academy, Sugarshock, Madman Comics, etc…) – the books are tough to explain. It’s easier to read for yourself. Focusing on a writer that begins to realize that almost everything he does is still influenced by his parents and then quickly becomes n story about how you can’t pick your family. Just a “typical” Vertigo book that makes you think. The art is of course – absolutely amazing. A tad cleaner than Ba’s work on The Umbrella Academy or their work on the Sugarshock one-shot from Dark Horse. If you’re looking for something outside of the superhero genre or just like great art give Daytripper a try.
Undercover Fanboy Rating:
S.W.O.R.D. #2 – Co-Director Abigail Brand and her team has left to save her half-brother and confront the infamous intergalactic bounty-hunter, Death’s Head. Unfortunately for here, newly named co-director and all-around weasel, Henry Peter Gyrich, has taken the opportunity to institute a new policy of “no aliens on Earth.” Period. That includes anyone with alien DNA or alien born powers : Noh-Varr, Jazinda (Skrull), Beta Ray Bill, Adam-X, Hepzibah, Karolina from the Runaways and many others, including Brand loyalists, have been rounded up and contained or expelled from Earth. Brand and Beast are rudely greeted by Gyrich and his agents as they are arrested. This series has a lot of potential, especially with the intergalactic predigree that the X-Men have. With Beast taking an indefinite leave of absence and Lockheed only playing along to make sure that someone keeps trying to help Kitty – S.W.O.R.D. (along with the Spider-Woman series…) could expose the alien underbelly of the Marvel U and become kind of a mutant-related Men in Black. I like the relationships and snarky dialogue that Kieron Gillen is writing as well as the fight for control of the agency (Gyrich was the perfect choice. he’s always been an @$$…). Unfortunately, artist Steve Sanders draws Beast like he needs to be on a leash. And almost every alien has some kind of snout. It’s just sophomoric art at best. Still, it’s funny to read the translations of what Lockheed says (think Wolverine as a small dragon…) and the interaction between Brand and Beast. Still worth a look if you like books like Astonishing X-Men or Nova.
Undercover Fanboy Rating:
Rating System: 0 to 1.5 stars = save your money unless you are just mindlessly collecting the title. 2 to 3.5 = worth a shot if you are up to trying something new or wanting to get back into a title. 4 to 5 = a must buy for any comic reader.
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