The Good

The mutants continue to struggle living on a little piece of land, set aside from the government. Husk returns after having a bomb strapped to her chest, which ended up killing civilians. Tony and Jimmy spend some quality time together protecting the reservation.

I love this book. It explores some very cool avenues, and it really doesn't feel like an X-Men book. I know a few people are upset about that fact, but I think it's one of the most interesting things about it. That's something I've always loved about Brian Wood's and Nathan Edmondson's writing. They explore humanity from a very real vantage point. The reader gets a much more realistic connection to these characters than with many other X-titles. These characters don't come off as these fantastic heroes with super-powers. They come off as living beings who you can connect to. This issue deals with making tough decisions for the greater good. Not every decision these character's make is the best decision for the moment, but in the end, it will work out for the best.

One of my favorite moments, in this issue, is when Tony and Jimmy are working together to stop the fighter pilot from torching Utopia. This relationship feels a lot like father and son as Tony teaches Jimmy that you can't always go for the throat when dealing with the enemy. Sometimes you have to treat them gently in order to get what you want. This is a dynamic I really want to see explored more at some point, since it seems Tony is going away for a while.

This issue also delivers extremely well in the art department. The team of Carlo Barberi (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), and Jesus Aburtov (colors) create some amazing scenes. These guys are all at the top of their game in the individual departments and that really comes through in this issue. You will notice from page one how awesome these guys are.

There are two pretty big reveals at the end of this issue. While it may be the end of this story, I can only see things getting pretty crazy down the line, especially if Steve Rogers has a ton of things to focus on, across the country, and loses sight on what could turn into a genocide for the mutant race.

The Bad

No real complaints. This my favorite of the Ultimate universe books and one of my top 5 Marvel books. Every single month, this book delivers an amazing story.

The Verdict

Month to month, ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN proves it's nothing short of brilliant. It's more than just an X-Men book. We're getting real, engaging stories with fabulous art. This is a book you should be reading, whether you like X-titles or not because it's that damn good. I have only good things to say about this series.

Overall, this series is a must buy. Go get some.