WOW.

When I heard the Phalanx were making their return this issue, my opinion vacillated between apathy and thinking I might just skip the issue altogether.
The last time I was aware of these guys, my brother was reading Generation X and I couldn’t’ve given less of a shit about the X-universe of characters.
BUT, Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen are the reasons I’ve returned to the X-Men, and Gillen hasn’t let me down yet, so I picked it up.

Good move, Bobby. Good move.

First of all, even if it had been your typical, lame ’90’s character revival, it was only one issue. After reading so many books designed for the six-issue-arc trade collection, a one-and-done story is a welcome change, at least for me.

And I was right about Gillen. He didn’t let me down. What he DID accomplish was to get me to CARE about this Phalanx guy. The story is written from his/its point of view, and once inside his/its head, we’re shown that this weird, organic-techno thing has the same fears and wants as we do. It’s not portrayed as a villain, but as a being that honestly just wants to be with family. Unfortunatly, Earth’s population is the family it wants.

I haven’t seen Brandon Peterson’s art in a LONG time. I do remember him as an X-artist I really enjoyed, and his work is better than ever. Some artists can’t let go of the past, and their art shows it (for as talented as you are, I’m looking at you, Jim Lee). Like Greg Capullo over at DC, Peterson is an artist of the ’90’s whose work has only gotten better. It’s detailed but uncluttered, and dynamic without losing substance. Yes, there are big, flashy panels, and no, it never sacrifices story-telling. Yes, his characters look like exagerrated versions of perfect human beings, and no, they don’t look like the kind of grotesque mockeries of the human form an over-hormonal male teen might think was sexy or cool. Ad Justin Ponsor’s excellent color work, and you’ve got a great-looking book.

If you don’t have this already, pick it up. There’s a recap page, and Gillen spends a brief two pages cathing you up to the Phalanx and what they’re about. If you’re like me and couldn’t’ve cared less about them, it gets you into the issue immediately and only gets better from there.