This was a really enjoyable read. I'm still not 100% sold on Greg Land's facial expressions but they seemed a little better this issue. It's as though he can only draw mouths that are supermodel smiles or outraged screaming, with no in between. That said, his work does give the X-characters a sexy San Fransisco feel.
This story revolves around a hate group in San Fransisco (Hellfire Cult) that is targetting mutants through violence and intimidation. An all too familiar storyline for our favourite mutants. The one twist here is that the Hellfire Cult appears to be run by mutants! In fact, the person in charge of stirring up the hate mongers is none other than Empath, one of Emma Frost's original students from the infamous Hellions (Massachusetts Academy).
There are several highlights in this issue. The savage beating of Pixie really makes you feel for the character. The reveal of the sexy mutant redhead in S&M gear is a great teaser for a character introductiom (or maybe even introduction.) But one of the coolest things might be the new scale of Nightcrawler's powers and the way the team uses them. Very, very interesting indeed.
I'm not really sure what it means by saying it was written by Fraction and Brubacher, but regardless, the results are stellar.
I enjoyed this read and eagerly anticipate the next issue.