My enthusiasm for Exiles has waned slightly, as the regular artist seems to have departed and the "world of the week" plots begin to grow a little tiresome. However, Winick still has my attention, largely because of the strong characterization and continuing development of the characters, although I have to admit that the alternate world scenarios are more imaginative than the usual What If? creations, focusing on lesser characters or events as well as pivotal ones. In addition, though I miss McKone, Calafiore is certainly a capable artist, and his depiction of the villains in this issue is particularly strong.
The gimmick for this book has been a What If? title with continuing characters, an intriguing concept for those like me who enjoyed What If? but wished for a little more in the way of consequences and a little less in the way of "everybody dies because it doesn't matter." To a great extent, what is keeping me involved in this title is the characters, whether it's Morph's dilemma about "getting some" (tying nicely into the more serious subplot of Morph's isolation and loneliness), the growing discontent and frustration of Mimic or Nocturne's continuing mourning of Thunderbird. I must confess that I feel like the team has gotten a little safe, and could use a major death and resulting team member, but the characters continue to grow and change, which is important.
I was also intrigued by the world that Winick and Calafiore created for this issue, tying into a minor Spider-Man villain and basically providing a scenario where he succeeded at one of his plots and had much more far-reaching consequences than such a villain generally would. Mind you, the idea was little more than a backdrop for the character development, which is good in that it plays to Winick's strengths but unfortunate in that the Exiles' mission is beginning to look more than a little random and pointless. A little more detail on what they're accomplishing, or another complication like the Weapon X team, would certainly be welcome.
Mike McKone was a big part of the draw for me on this book, as he did some of his best work on the title and provided a lot of the humor and personality of Morph with his visuals. Calafiore's work is solid, but hasn't quite connected with me as much as McKone's so far; the characters' faces sometimes look too angular, especially Mimic and Morph. However, Calafiore has some excellent work in here, including one of the best depictions of the Lizard that I've seen and strong storytelling throughout.
This issue is a self-contained story, but it also contributes to the overall tapestry of the series, which is built on the back of strong characters more than the gimmicky concept. Changes in the creative team and the fact that the book is over a year old and starting to lose its new flavor for me have sapped some of my enthusiasm, but it's still a solid super-hero book with a solid creative team.
