THE UNCANNY X-MEN #5, Long Cold Winter #2, The Lucky Devils #2, Green Hornet & Miss Fury #2, Christmas 365 #3, Where Monsters Lie Cull-De-Sac #4

Unexpected conclusions, and weirdness everywhere, some of it inspiring...

There’s cats on the cover, so … you know. And they’re not in the story! It’s just certain X-Men, including rookies, fighting Rogue’s mother who seems to be some sort of powerful wraith, if that’s right? I have no clue, as I don’t read X-Men. It looks pretty swish and the story glides along but it’s lost on me.

THE UNCANNY X-MEN #5 - FORBIDDEN PLANET

Peace Dog, former murderous mercenary or somesuch, has agreed to help a small robot reach a land where robots can live freely. Death itself, in ugly human form, comes and warns Peace Dog not to continue or he will make his end miserable and ultra-painful. The journey continues anyway until some mad looking sheriff guy shoots Peace Dog. Little robot finds a motorbike and drives off with the injured Peace Dog, until they run out of fuel. Issue 2 ends with him crying out for help in the barren wilderness. It’s all muted orange colours and confusing weird shapes. I like it.

Long Cold Winter #2 - FORBIDDEN PLANET

Richly illustrated, with a cartoonish noir Hellscape full of bickering power-hungry devils, this story is developing well. The humans are being guided by their new devil companions in ways that they might advance both their academic and nursing careers. It’s working and while devils deny involvement in certain incidents, revealing the way Hell actually works which would preclude any such sneaky activities, you just never know. There’s also a cool sub-story that mentions all manner of devils are eyeing up promotion as Earth’s population swells, the existing Hell structure being based upon each billion of human life. Every time we hit the next billion so the levels of Devil status alter, like some gruesome pyramid scheme.

The Lucky Devils #2 - FORBIDDEN PLANET

Another beautiful cover, with more old school smudgy 50’s style interior art, as Fury and Hornet snarkily agree to work together to find a friend, while Kato seems weirdly absent. Another mask is found murdered, seemingly the work of someone new, then Kato, Fury and Hornet are all beaten unconscious or stabbed by a really weird woman.

Green Hornet & Miss Fury #2 - FORBIDDEN PLANET

Such is envy that Peter’s neighbour nicked all his Christmas-all-year-round ideas, and they’re locked in competition. Cracks start showing in family solidarity and then some internet oaf turns up who wants to make the pair bury the hatchet and create the Greatest Christmas Ever. They’re easily swayed and agree but he clearly can’t be trusted. Just how bad will this get now Peter’s wife and kids have already left?

Christmas 365 #3 - FORBIDDEN PLANET

I was a bit surprised by the end of this carnage-strewn issue, because it says The End, when aspects of the story clearly haven’t finished.

In this world of soulless serial killers we have a double agent of sorts, who has only got involved to kill every single one of them, and he’s going about his business while others, having cottoned onto his game, now try and kill him instead.

There’s only one fairly innocent character, plus a giant dog with its own pup. They survive, which is about the only clear victory possible. It’s an unusual, inventive book, and I can only assume there’s a new story arc to follow on?

Where Monsters Lie Cull-De-Sac #4 - FORBIDDEN PLANET