This has been my favorite slightly-under-the-radar Xmen book ever since it launched with a miniseries in Fall 2006.  The last few issues have suffered from somewhat uneven fill-in art, but original artist Roger Cruz is back, and it’s a return to form.  (Only complaint — all the women have super-collagenized lips and none of them, including Warren’s mother, wear shirts that cover their midriffs. With the otherwise down-to-earth style of the art, this stands out a bit.) 

Month-in, month-out, Jeff Parker is telling fun, engaging stories about classic Marvel characters, most of whom haven’t been getting their due in Marvel books set in ‘present-day’ continuity — including (of course) Jean Grey, Iceman, and Angel.  Of the original X-men, Angel does seem to be making a bit of a comeback in the mainbooks, so it’s appropriate that this First-Class issue is about him.  Using a story about his fmaily and a missing relative in a Savage-Land like paradise, this issue explore’s Angel’s poor-little-rich-boy character in a depth we haven’t seen for a while.  Appropriately, there’s also a backup drawn by the ever-awesome Colleen Coover, called “Poor Little Rich Mutant.”  Coover does a fun, expressive cartoony style, and  I’d love to see her get her own book — in the vein of “Franklin Richards” or “Tiny Titans.”  Or even a while issue of First Class.  Bring it on!