Generation Hope #2

Even with the assistance of X-Men veterans, Hope's team finds itself utterly baffled by the polymorphic monster they've tracked to Japan.
 

The Good

While I'm a little perplexed about his appearance (more on that below,) the villain's ramblings on art and ideas are impressively chilling. You really do get the sense that this latest batch of still-green mutants are facing a threat can't quite begin to understand. Espin's lush art and smooth storytelling evokes a great visceral feeling to the proceedings, as well, making you feel almost as overwhelmed as these kids. 
 

The Bad

I'm not entirely sure what the intention is supposed to be for the villain, who's clearly take-off of Testuo's final mutating form from the end of Akira. There are enough strong allusions to the anime that it seems almost past the point of homage. Also, while this is an X-book, it felt like the Generation Hope team was riding in the passenger seat while the regular X-Men took charge of the action.

The Verdict - 3.5/5

The overarching plot line about Hope reigniting mutantkind following the severe depletion they suffered during Decimation has been proving to be quite rich, thematically, and this title's an appropriate extension of that. The storytelling's keeping me quite involved, but I feel like we've still yet to see an important card in the deck get dealt.