Cold Fusion
The great thing about A+X is that you can just pick up any issue you want to with absolutely no worries about ties to other issues. I'll be honest here, the only reason I picked up this issue is that the art style of the cover had me extremely intrigued. I took a chance and I was ultimately very pleased I did so. The fact that it's two short stories limits the writing a bit, but overall this was very entertaining.
I wasn't too fond of the artwork on the first story, but it wasn't a major hinderance. The big highlight came from the excellent dialogue between two geniuses. Both of them are ever so subtly balancing egotistical pride, and friendly banter. They both want the other to know that they're the smarter, without outright saying it. This is one of the ways Marvel works well with so many genius characters.
This was also a nice treat for anyone reading Indestructible Hulk. It spins-off directly from the status quo established in that series, and uses the whole pride issue on another level picking up from the second issue of Indestructible Hulk. Bruce Banner comes out on top of every other genius. The actual story feels shortened, limited by the page length, but overall it was solid, especially for Banner fans.
The second story doesn't feel as cut short, as it eschews the setup and jumps right into the action. This story also has a lot of nice banter, but where it shines the brightest is in the weirdly gorgeous artwork. I'm sure not everyone will agree, but I found the unique style, simplistic 3D as it was, to be both interesting and epic. It's as if Pixar animated a Marvel short.
In Conclusion: 4/5
It's a lot of fun. If you're a Banner fan and/or reading Indestructible Hulk; or if you flip through the second story and enjoy the spectacle of the unique artwork, then you probably can't go wrong getting this issue. I don't know if I'll get any more issues of A+X, but the quality of this one does increase that possibility.
