X-Men #1

I realize that vampires are the "in" monster right now, thanks to the Twilight series of books and movies, and the popularity of TV shows such as True Blood and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But I never really cared for them as villains in the comics, because - well, they're just too easy. Their powers and vulnerabilities are well known, but in the world of superpowers, they're easy to kill and just as easy to resurrect - so any battle has almost no meaning.

And they're all interchangeable - they all have fangs, they want to drink your blood, and so on. They're like Nazis - an endless stream of evil characters to be knocked around by the good guys.

I realize this is not the popular opinion, considering the ongoing vampire craze - but I've never been on that bandwagon (although I do enjoy the Buffy series).

I was really hoping for something special from this comic, the first issue of a "new" X-Men series - but instead I just found it boring.

This story, written by Victor Gischler, is part one in a (no doubt) long-running series that will wind through several titles as it pits the mutants against the vampires. It features a group of vampires conspiring against the mutants (though we have no idea why).

The art by Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco is pretty good, but it suffers from a lack of variety in the "camera angles" - there are lots of medium shots, a couple of splash pages and just a minimal amount of action - it's tough to have dynamic art when most of the issue has people standing around and talking.

The X-Men should be about big adventures and great characters - of late, the team has just become a punching bag for whichever villain is attacking this month.

Sorry, but it's just not my cup of tea (of course, your mileage may vary). I won't be picking up issue #2.

Grade: C