Ultimate X-Men #76
	Story Title: 'Cable' (Part 2 of 4) Writer: Robert Kirkman Artist: Ben Oliver Colorist: Jason Keith Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna Cover by: Ben Oliver Assoc. Editor: John Barber Editor: Ralph Macchio Published by: Marvel Comics
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

It has been a long time in the coming, but with this issue, it is finally here. What is here is that unless there is a change in the direction and pacing (i.e. writing and art), at the end of this arc, I will be dropping Ultimate X-Men. Four arcs (including this one) and one Annual, it makes for over a dozen issues that I will have put myself through the dredge that this title has become (ever since Robert Kirkman took over with issue #66).

Even before I read this issue, I had an idea what would happen here. Nothing out of the ordinary there, after all, be it a comic, movie, TV show or anything else, one always guesses on what comes next. The difference here was the story telling is so slow and so clichéd that my guesses turned correct…all of them. Leave me, anyone who even read the solicits would not find things very expansive or different here. A fight (carried over from the last issue) makes for almost two thirds of the issue, with the rest of it devoted to conversations of what has already been shown before it (both in this issue and the last). Even the new additions, namely Ultimate Bishop, Domino etc come across more as tired additions than something that actually matters.

Among the X-Men, Colossus is still persona non grata (even more so than some of the previous issues), Nightcrawler is still sleeping, Rogue is still…well, she gets all of a couple of dialogues, so screw her (at least that’s how Kirkman’s been treating her…and Kurt, and Piotr). Jean is under Cable’s capture, Xavier and Scott are talking (with Scott doing his bit of the ‘angry boyfriend’. Wolverine is shown in the same one-dimensional way as he had been in the previous arc, so is Storm. That leaves Kitty, and as for her, she continues her whining. In short, same old, same old. Even taken all together, this bunch of X-Kirk-Men cannot make for a proper character personality.

On the plus side, as bad the writing is, the art matches it…perfectly. Meaning, it blows.

Conclusion: Continuing like this, I have two more issues before I let go of this title. Still, next month’s issue, at least it will look better, after all it has Yanick Paquette as guest artist.

Rating: 5.5/10