New comics 3/15

Generation M #5 (Paul Jenkins/Ramon Bachs, Marvel)
Like Jenkins' last mini-series, Revelations, this ends on a disappointing note. Jenkins solves the serial killer storyline almost as an afterthought, and we never find out anything about who the killer is or what motivated him, which is seriously unsatisfying. Instead we get more of Sally's sob story, and I've really gotten sick of her. Jenkins even has her barely paying attention to the stories of the ex-mutants because she's so absorbed in her own pity party. And the revelation with Archangel is just sloppy plotting that makes no sense given what happened in the last issue. This was a good premise that started well and went downhill, and it definitely gives me zero interest in following Sally Floyd to Jenkins' Civil War mini, Front Line (which I wasn't really planning on buying anyway).

Runaways #14 (Brian K. Vaughan/Adrian Alphona, Marvel)
Vaughan packs a lot in this first part of a new arc, checking back in with Karolina (and it's nice to see he hasn't forgotten her), seeing what the team is up to and flashing back to the origins of the new Pride. He offers a nice twist on what little we thought we knew about them, and proves that he's not just using some standard "back from the dead" device here. I think this has the potential to be the second volume's best storyline yet.

Spike vs. Dracula #1 (Peter David/Joe Corroney, IDW)
I guess this is a mini-series, but this issue really reads like a simple done-in-one story, and I'm not sure where David is going with it next - I guess he is exploring the rivalry in various eras, but this was perfectly satisfying on its own and didn't really read as the first of a five-part story. As with the last Peter David Spike book from IDW, I'm not sure it's worth the high price, but the art on this was much better than on the Old Friends one-shot, and I like David's writing, so I will probably give him the benefit of the doubt and see where the rest of the series goes.

Also out this week: Black Harvest #4, but enough nothing happened in the first three issues that I decided not to pick up the second half of the series. I still might check out a trade on Josh Howard's Dead@17, since that's his most well-regarded work and it would give me a chance to see if I liked a whole story by him. But Black Harvest just ended up boring me.