The Good
There's something about Chris Bachalo's art that makes me happy. We've seen how Cyclops has been "recruiting" new mutants to join his team of X-Men and recently we even saw one (Fabio) want to leave the team and go back to his normal life. This is one area where Brian Michael Bendis is creating an interesting take on the notion of mutants. Pretty much every single time in the old days, mutants would be discovered and happily make the trip to the Xavier school. Having that bit of doubt adds a great touch of realism to the comic.
Of course if a mutant was hanging around Cyclops and tried to return home, it wouldn't go unnoticed. This is where we get to see more of Dazzler in her new role at SHIELD. Can I just take this moment to mention I really really dig Dazzler. The moments with her are fantastic. Bravo to Bendis for her scenes.
We also get to see the continued developments between Cyclops' team and SHIELD. It's great having a book focusing on these other areas and keeps a completely different feel from the other X-titles.
The Bad
I understand why certain things happen for the sake of the story and maybe it's nitpicking but I just get bothered with the way SHIELD runs things. If they are preparing this 'battle' against mutants or against Cyclops, you would think they'd have serious precautions against them. We've seen so many foes of the X-Men able to keep them on their toes yet SHIELD gets so easily trounced. More than once here. Pretty embarrassing.
The Verdict
I'm loving what Brian Michael Bendis is doing here and how it has such a different feel from the other X-Men titles. Seeing Cyclops' team and the gathering and training of new mutants along with SHIELD's perspective on the threat they pose is fascinating. Chris Bachalo's art just makes me happy. His colors as well just make everything look so vibrant and cheerful, even when things get a little darker. This title is like a powder keg about to go off. You won't want to miss any of it.