Uncanny X-Men #526

This is a book that I've been following virtually since it began - the first issue I read was the third issue in the original run in the 1960s.

After so many years of following the Uncanny X-Men, it's been a bit distressing of late to find that I've been thinking seriously about dropping the title.

But the comics have been weighed down over the years by mega-crossovers, innumerable characters, a massively complicated continuity and (frankly) a few too many bad stories.

And then I read this issue, and I find myself becoming interested again. Written by Matt Fraction, this issue follows the girl named Hope (who has somehow reversed the "ban" on new mutants) as she tries to learn more about her long-lost family.

It's a personal story (the kind the book used to do so well), and we get a glimpse of a future for the young mutant.

The art by Whilce Portacio and Ed Tadeo is solid and professional, with an outstanding splash page - but since it's a "quiet" issue, they don't get a lot of room to show off here.

So while I'm not completely sold that this comic is back to its glory days - this is not the greatest X-Men comic ever by any means - but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

I'd call that a hopeful sign.

Grade: B+