THE GOOD: It appears that Bishop, one of my all-time favorite X-Men characters, is finally getting repaired. YES!!! Humphries gives us a couple of very authentic-feeling character moments this issue, one of which made me chuckle out loud.

I’m also digging Adrian Alphona’s art.

THE BAD: In his attempt to turn Bishop back into a heroic, sympathetic character, Humphries uses a devastating barrage of deus ex-machina moments and plot devices that start off as merely uncomfortable, and then quickly transform into clumsy and forced.

THE UGLY: Remember Rocky II? Well, you, dear reader, are Rocky Balboa. Humphries is Mr. T; mercilessly pummeling you about the head and face with a staccato string of new characters, events, and future-memories.

It feels weird to say this about a work of fiction, but a lot of this issue feels made-up. Not the good kind of made up, but the kind that feels like it was just pulled out of the writer’s ass on the spur of the moment. This monsoon of fan-fictiony story points rains down with a ferocity that that leaves you feeling punch-drunk.

Just to be clear: The retconning here isn’t merely over-the-top. It goes over the top, curves around behind it, goes under it, then circles back around to go over it again.