I've come to realize that Exiles is a little formulaic, which is the downside of a book based on the "What If?" formula. I've also come to realize that I don't much care, because Winick's ideas for alternate worlds are almost always interesting, and the character interaction, while slowing down a little bit in recent issues, is always worth a look. I'm disappointed that Mike McKone is no longer the artist on the book, but Calafiore's work is solid and sometimes even more than that, and this remains one of the more straightforward team books that Marvel has these days.
The idea behind the new arc is based on X-Men continuity from when I was reading the books, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm not so sure it'll resonate as well with those who weren't reading when Warlock and Doug Ramsey were around, but Winick explains the basic concept of these characters well enough that nobody's going to be lost. In addition, even those unfamiliar with the characters will probably be impressed by the dangerous look and feel of The Network, the villains that they have transformed into on this world. Winick and Calafiore make these creatures seem relentless and numerous, and Calafiore in particular gives them a sinister cast that makes them seem especially dangerous.
A great deal of this issue is taken up by exposition, as Winick explores the setup of the world that the Exiles have hopped into. I have to admit that the infodump method of exploring the worlds starts to grate a little, but it's a necessary conceit to keep the book accessible and contained to brief story arcs. Exiles is probably one of the few super-hero team books where someone can jump right in and not need to know the continuity of what has gone before to enjoy it fully.
The aspect of the book that is not serial in nature is the character relationships, and I was sorry to see that those were mostly left out in this issue. Morph is such a likable and bombastic personality that his character is felt in every issue, but most of the rest of the team gets to act pretty much as generic heroes in this issue, and I still feel like some characters, notably Sasquatch , could use a little more characterization time.
When it comes down to it, I'm not enjoying Exiles as much as I once did, and it seems like my interest peaked relatively early with the "World Without End" arc. However, just because the concepts and style are familiar doesn't mean I don't still enjoy it, and I found the world that was introduced this issue to be pretty entertaining and imaginative.
