This is a mixed bag. On one hand, Hopeless is giving us a look at some important figures in the X-Men universe, and as an X-Men fan, I can dig that. He does a good job of it too, slowly adding dimension to characters we can’t see in any other X-Title. We’re getting some character growth.

On the other hand: The art. I’m not feeling it. I’m not talking about the rendering of the characters and settings, which is pretty good. What isn’t clicking for me is the choreography.

Some comic artists have a gift for breathing life into static images. For example; they can give you a panel showing the beginning of punch being thrown, followed up with a panel showing the aftermath. The two images flow naturally into one another, so that the reader can’t help but fill in the blanks, creating the illusion of someone getting knocked the fuck OUT. This fluidity seems to elude Larroca. While his individual images are often beautiful, his inclusion of intermediate steps between action and aftermath break up the flow and pace of the story. What should be a quick, fluid action scene winds up feeling choppy and awkward.

I like Cable, Hope, and Peter, and I’m eager to see what lies in store for them in the aftermath of AvX. This title looks like it will deliver, so I’m still onboard, for the time being. But for me, the art is taking what could potentially be a good series and firmly locking it in the realm of “O.K.”