Cable #16 Writer: Duane Swierczynski / Artist: Paul Gulacy

I thought I would be glad to see a new story in Cable. I thought that with Stryfe and Apocalypse out the way, Cable and Hope would continue to grow as characters. I thought that with Duane Swierczynski's hands not tied down to the crossover event, he would focus on creating a compelling story. I thought wrong.

In no way is the story in these pages fresh. The only difference in this issue is that Cable and Hope find themselves separated. Rather than focus on their need for each other though, Swierczynski subjects us to the same old tale of Hope being chased by Bishop. It wasn't any fun with Cable "protecting" her and it isn't any fun now. Heck, Bishop's eventual discovery of Hope isn't even explained. He just shows up.

One interesting thing about the story is Cable's degenerating condition. After using some of his telekinetic powers against Stryfe, he can no longer hold back the technorganic virus that has been threatening him his whole life. Seeing Cable in a new predicament is enjoyable, especially considering the boring situation in the rest of the issue. I just hope the disease doesn't turn him into a robot. I liked Cable the way he was.

The art! Oh the art! No one was happier to see Ariel Olivetti gone than I was. The new artist, Paul Gulacy, may be different, but he's just as bad. All of his characters look like cartoon caricatures. Even when some of them look real enough, he doesn't depict them very well, making Hope look like a 25 year old and Bishop like a pirate. The backgrounds look like they were drawn with a crayon too.

Cable #16 is highly disappointing. It's just the same old story told in a more ridiculous way and the art may have gotten worse. After reading this series for 16 months to find out the fate of the mutants, I may have to drop it if issues continue to be this poor.