ecstaticGeeze, Russia's Winter Guard. When was the last time we saw these guys in a comic?
Something I like about Busiek is his characterisation. He can take numerous different takes on a character, bring them all together, and make it work, not contradicting anything. He does some fine work with Quicksilver here.
Another cute bit is everyone in some form of protective radiation gear...except Thor. =)
This comic uses one of my favourite conceits, and with Busiek at the helm, it should actually go somewhere. That is the use of flashing glimpses of future histories at us, teasing us in some ways. Most writers do this these days, and never get around to doing anything with it, but I carry faith in Kurt.
And the futures we see are rather dark and dire, even for the usual fare we get in these stories. A communal humanity that is nothing more than radioactive bits is particularly spooky.
And a nice little cameo/prelude of Alan Davis' Killraven...
Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to, but Davis did some beyond-his-norm greatness with some shots of emaciated and dying people in this issue. And his depiction of the attack on the Damocles Base had me reminiscing about his gorgeous Phoenix Force, from Excalibur of the past. I love his work. Have I mentioned that?
And I *really* love Kurt's Kang. He seems like a credible threat. You have to love a time traveling villain who comes back, declares war, and then proceeds to tell you exactly how it's going to play out.
This story arc has the potential to be even better than the Ultron Unlimited story.
Here's hoping!
J