Holy #%$. What a rush.

This book is everywhere. Archangel violence, suicide missions, traitors, those creepy sets of body armor with the smiley faces that freaked me out in the 80’s. All this and Cameron Hodge… Wow, Hodge, the best X-villain to ever not make up a cleaver name for himself, in all his glory.

Zeb Wells, story is so tight and engaging, it pulled me from cover to cover at breakneck speed. I was shocked when it ended, it felt like I was only half way through.

It’s funny that this series has brought Hodge back to the forefront, I’m not sure any X-crossover has felt like this much of a pitched battle since X-tinction Agenda. (Except maybe AoA, but that was semi-outside continuity.)

The art, pencils and inks by Ibriam Roberson, is so good… frankly it’s so good you probably wont notice it. It’s real and visceral enough to be compelling, but subtle and comic oriented enough to keep even the most unbelievable of subjects within visual reason. Then there’s the rendition of Hodge… Wow.

Siege maybe Marvel’s big thrust right now, but if you ask me, Second Coming and it’s ilk are the place to be. It’s not a great departure from form for the X-Men, really it’s a super classic theme. Mutant’s versus the human’s who call them monsters and have become monsters to fight them.

The fantastic X-team dynamic that Marvel has painstakingly erected has been used rarely so well as it has in the New Mutants. Cyclops’ eye beam has become far less exciting than his orders.

This issue integrates seamlessly into what has come before in Second Coming, but still stays grounded as its own series. This is definitely a New Mutants story. A team I just can’t get enough of right now. All of what made this team great in the pre-X-Force days is back with a vengeance.

There’s also something great about modern X-Force trying to rescue Cable, with assistance from The New Mutants.

Be sure to pick this up and to keep up with Second Coming.

VARIANT COVER BY: David Finch
COVER BY: Adi Granov
WRITER: Zeb Wells
PENCILS: Ibraim Roberson
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
COVER PRICE: $2.99
ON SALE: 04/14/10