New comics 11/30

Fell #3 (Warren Ellis/Ben Templesmith, Image)
This is a little more low-key and less gruesome than the first two issues, but still packs an enormous amount of story into its 16 pages, and has great dialogue, mordant humor and its fascinating central character. Again, it's the best series Ellis has done at least since Global Frequency, and possibly since Transmetropolitan. One of the best things being published right now.

Generation M #1 (Paul Jenkins, Ramon Bachs, Marvel)
I know I said I wasn't going to get any of the post-House of M series, and I wasn't planning on getting this one, but a few things convinced me. First, I like the premise of focusing on a journalist chronicling the depowered mutants, in that it's a more grounded look at this big event, and it's not just a bunch of empty superhero action. I'm hit and miss on Jenkins, but I've really been enjoying Revelations, and this sort of small drama within a world of superheroes is one of the things he does well. And Don MacPherson's glowing review made it sound like something I would like. On top of that, Jenkins and Bachs are apparently taking over The Pulse with issue 15, and changing its focus to star the main character of this series. I'm sad to see Bendis and Gaydos leave that book, and even sadder that Bendis might not be writing Jessica Jones anymore, but it seemed like a good reason to get a preview of what's coming up in The Pulse, if I keep buying it. With all that in mind, this turned out to be pretty decent. It didn't blow me away, but it's an effective story dealing with the human cost of the aftermath of House of M, and Sally Floyd is an intriguing character. There's a twist at the end setting up a murder mystery, but I'd be just as happy reading a whole series of these little character studies, which play to Jenkins's strengths.

The Middle Man #4 (Javier Grillo-Marxuach/Les McClaine, Viper)
The conclusion of this mini-series, which has been fun and entertaining, if a little uneven. I still think the pacing was off, with the two-issue origin and two-issue monkey gangster plot representing sort of separate entities that would work better in the context of an ongoing. But there's a one-shot and another mini-series coming in the next months, so this is almost like an ongoing anyway. I think there's a chance that the novelty premise could wear thin, but for now it's working.

Also out this week: Revelations #4 and Silent Dragon #5, both of which are middle chapters in mini-series, so there's not much new to say. I'm still liking both of them, and they've only gotten better as they've gone along.