New comics 6/29

Albion #1 (Alan Moore, Leah Moore & John Reppion/Shane Okley, DC/Wildstorm)
There are more than a few parallels to Watchmen here, from Alan Moore's plotting to Dave Gibbons' cover to the reinvention of old characters from a defunct publishing company to the mixing of a modern-day story and a quaint, old-fashioned comic-within-a-comic. This is no Watchmen, however, although it's got a nice air of mystery and Oakley's angular art and the moody colors convey a cool noir feel. I think I've probably had my fill of meta-stories, though, and I don't have any fondness for (or familiarity with) these old characters.

Planetary #23 (Warren Ellis/John Cassaday, DC/Wildstorm)
Once again I have only a vague recollection of what happened in the last issue or what's going on in the overall story. I barely even recognized Ambrose Chase, who hasn't appeared for several issues (which in this series means like two years). Still, the meat of the story, which is the origin of the Drummer, is interesting and easy to follow, and Cassaday draws some great action. With Astonishing X-Men running so late, it's nice to have this to tide me over on the Cassaday art.

X-Men #172 (Peter Milligan/Salvador Larroca, Marvel)
This was the best issue in a while, as Milligan actually delves into Gambit and Rogue's relationship in an interesting way, and offers a twist that, while it was predicted by Paul O'Brien in his review of the last issue, takes the story in a more worthwhile direction that what has come before. I still don't care about the Iceman/Polaris/Havok love triangle, and the students that Milligan has introduced just seem like sub-par Morrison rip-offs, but it's enough to string me along for at least two more issues to see how this arc wraps up.

Young Avengers #5 (Allan Heinberg/Jim Cheung, Marvel)
Another all-action issue, although Heinberg gets in some romantic subplot stuff that doesn't seem too out of place. There's a nice cliffhanger ending, but I'm ready for this storyline to wrap up and to move on with the full team in place to new adventures. This is another one of those series that could have benefited from a shorter opening arc to allow for more character development and less padding.

Also out this week: Runaways #5, although my local store didn't get their copies, so I'll have to avoid finding out what the big twist I've seen hinted at online was before next week when I'll be able to pick it up.