I started following this comic because they added Gambit to the team. I figured there had to be some fun after that.

Unfortunately, it seems to be mired in this morass of crap with less and less hope of struggling out. The cover for this issue is sick, no doubt, but the rest of the art is, for the most part, basically bad–much like the past five or so issues have been.

There are a few good scenes that keep me coming back, praying that Liu’s going to pull it out somehow, but she really seems to like having everyone wallow in whining. I get what a team book is. I get how it works, but this is so all over the place that it keeps descending into this general feeling of “I don’t even..wtf.” Not because so much happens. Or because it’s so bizarre. But because nothing really does, and when it does, they skip that part.

(sigh) The dialogue is decent enough for me to WANT more of the decent stuff, if that makes any sense. This issue seemed to sort of claw up toward something. I want to know enough about what’s coming next to buy it, but I am getting increasingly frustrated with the way the characters are being utilized. I want this comic to be good. I need this to be good. And it’s just not. Liu can do better, and she has. Everything anyone might be interested in, she pokes at and then leaves alone. Instead of letting you slam down a shot and then making you grateful for getting punched in the face, Liu’s passing out cucumber water while you get whipped with seaweed by an eight-year-old. You don’t have a cool story to go with your bruises, you’ve got an embarrassment you need to cover up.

Anyway, this issue wasn’t terrible. It’s better than the one before. Despite feeling that way, I finished it and thought, “Bad job.” I’m going to keep buying it, but something’s got to give.