X-Men # 198 - Red Data (Part 2 of 3)

I really haven't been that impressed with Mike Carey's X-Men run thus far... but I finally warmed up to it. This issue features Carey's best villain thus far. I wasn't that impressed with the other ones, but the concept for this one is just crazy. The villain also creates a situation of incredible urgency that was missing from the other story arcs. Although there's a lot of exposition here to explain just what Hetacomb is... I can't really see how else Carey would have gone around that.

I've also warmed up to Chris Bachalo's art. It's different to say the least, and he doesn't try to imitate anyone else in comics. His style fits this out of control situation really well, although there were a moment or two were I was a little confused as to exactly what was going on. This happened more often in earlier issues, and I have to admit that he is getting better at avoiding things like that.

The best part about this series now, is the Mike Carey has found a way to tell an action packed story, with a great introduction to a new villain... and if that wasn't enough, he actually finds time to do a little character development here and there. The story also has the feeling of being important... to the point where it won't just effect this book for the foreseeable future, but also another book or two.