Uncanny X-Force: Let It Bleed by Sam Humphries

“The darkest corners of the mutant universe are about to be exposed...NOW! 

The X-Men have always been sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them. But the all-new Uncanny X-Force is charged to deal with situations that the X-Men themselves hate and fear! Psylocke and Storm lead a new team of outcasts and scoundrels, including fan-favorite Puck, the villainous Spiral, and the mysterious Cluster.
The first adversary to strike out from the darkness? X-legend Bishop! But what secrets does the man with the "M" on his face bring from the future? And will X-Force be destroyed on their very first mission?”

Let It Bleed is an odd volume, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. For the most part, I did enjoy it. I just didn't really understand it.

Now, I know about Storm and Wolverine, and have some basic knowledge of Psylocke and Bishop, and have even briefly come across Spiral and Fantomex before. I'm still very much new to Marvel comics and am much more invested in the cinematic universe - cut me some slack - so maybe that's why I didn't follow at all times. I don't know anything about the X-Force, but seeing as how this is a Marvel Now! title I didn't see that as a problem.

And that's where I made my biggest mistake. The Now! branch of comics may be geared towards newer readers, but this very much felt like it was meant for seasoned fans. Or at least new readers who aren't as new as me. There's little to no explanation for Bishop's return, or even where he was or what had happened to him. We get glimpses of Spiral's and Betsy's pasts, but it still feels like you need to read about them individually before jumping into this. Which is fair enough, I suppose, as this volume isn't about them, but they're featured so heavily a little more information would be nice.

There also seemed to be a disconnect between the issues collected in this volume, with the last two feeling very out of place in terms of art style and story. They take a much closer focus on Bishop's mind, which was my least favourite part of the story, and seem to veer totally away from what was initially going on. I get the connection between Bishop and Ginny. Kind of. I just wasn't overly interested in it and cared more about Betsy, Storm, and Puck taking on Spiral to rescue a new mutant.

Maybe I'll continue with this if I ever find volume two, as answers would be really nice. But then again, maybe I'll just leave it.