X-Men: S.W.O.R.D. — No Time to Breathe

Cut down as an ongoing series before it completed its first arc, this spin-off from “Astonishing X-Men” still manages to tell a very satisfying tale.  “No Time to Breathe” is an apt sub-title for this volume as it chronicles one very hectic day in the lives of Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Department co-leader Abigail Brand and her furry boyfriend Hank “Beast” McCoy.  Today alone has them trying to save Brand’s shiftless brother from the mercenary Death’s Head, matching wits with a robot designed to bring “heaven” to the galaxy, and taking on a group of sentient termite mounds invading Mt. Rushmore.  These, however, are just the subplots as the main one involves professional government asshole and S.W.O.R.D.’s other co-leader Henry Gyrich trying to rid the Earth of all aliens.  Naturally he fails, but his actions set up an even more sinister threat for our heroes to face. 

If it sounds horribly convoluted, don’t worry.  Writer Kieron Gillen keeps things organized and focused so that the energy never flags and your interest will never wane.  Artist Steven Sanders also does a good job with the storytelling and comes up with some cool designs for the many new alien races featured here.  His Beast, however, is as disturbingly off-model as I’ve heard but the fact that he now resembles a donkey is a minor complaint compared to the rest of the series.  It’s tragic that this didn’t sell well enough to warrant an ongoing series, but if nothing else this volume shows that it can work just as well as a “series of mini-series.”  (I can only hope…)