been steadily growing in popularity is that the character's visual is rather more striking than many of her peers. The fairy wings, pink hair and dark eyes make her as iconic as any of the "classic" X-Men, and Sara Pichelli does the character justice with her artwork. Indeed, all the characters. In Immonen and Pichelli, Marvel have managed to find a fantastic creative team (and, letterer aside, an all-female at that) with a distinctive and original take on the X-Men. Compared to the rather dour and homogenous feeling most of the line has at the moment, this can't help but stand out. It might not have an event to piggyback on, but it is, undoubtedly, a worthwhile purchase for all current X-fans." Bryan Joel of IGN gave X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #1 a grade of 7.2 out of 10, writing, "A cross between Runaways and New X-Men is a pretty accurate description of the feel this issue has, and even though it's Pixie getting top billing, her friends like Mercury and Rockslide get cameos. The first issue is a dizzy mix of high school antics and moderate superheroics, with some intentionally confusing and disorienting elements. There's a lot to like here, with some very expressive art by Pichelli and fun small character moments throughout. Pixie's mother is the highlight of the issue, making her grand debut in a manner that only a woman who birthed a tiny pink girl with wings could. Now, what's interesting to note is that Pixie Strikes Back is worlds away from the current thrust of the X-world. Utopia gets only cursory mentions in passing, virtually no adult X-Men appear in any meaningful way, and the tone is lighthearted and bouncy. Some harder-edged readers will probably be put off by Pichelli's bright, manga-informed artwork, and Immonen's twee plot. But if you dig beneath the surface there's the suggestion of more sinister plot elements at play, and more than one passing reference to Pixie's heritage being something other than what Matt Fraction established in the X-Men's Free Comic Book Day giveaway a few years back. Ostensibly, there's more to be done with this series than "Pixie and her friends eat multicolored cupcakes, yay!" All signs point to Pixie Strikes Back veering more into traditional territory down the line, but as far as this issue's concerned, it's a welcomed alternate take on the junior team with some unexpected