The followers of a powerful mutant find themselves tangling with a dangerous villain while a young woman who follows the same mutant finds herself tangling with a danger of an entirely different kind in the latest issue of Apocalypse and the X-Tracts. Writer Tim Seeley tells a story of aggression and love that is brought to the page by artist Salva Espin with colors by Israel Silva. A somewhat uneven end of the Age of X-Man event, the X-Tracts make for a particularly interesting bit of drama their third time out in a story that echoes themes reverberating around other series.

A group of X-Tracts has gone off to battle with the Soviet Department X only to find themselves up against the escaped prisoner Omega Red. The initial tangle with the Soviets has left the super-ocular Eye-Boy severely injured and suffering from serious questions that go well beyond his present state. Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde has an exchange with an artist named Rasputin who only happens to be a member of the X-Men in another life. The artist has feelings for Pryde which aren’t exactly okay with ANYBODY in a dystopia where love is forbidden.

Though the contrast between love and aggression isn’t framed quite as cleverly as it could be, the Seeley DOES manage some really powerful moments in and amidst a world that is lost in shadows of echoes of what it had been before a utopian vision transformed everything into some weird aberration of what it once was. The fight between certain X-Tracts and Omega Red doesn’t exactly feel very inspired, but it makes for an interesting counterpoint in an issue that also features a heart-to-heart between a couple of characters who have been in love in comic book pages since the early ‘80s.

Espin is given the opportunity to set the overall tone for the issue in a slow, taut drama that occasionally explodes into action. In places, the action feels overpowered by the drama. Dazzler trying to knock Omega Red over the head with a literal hammer of light makes for an interesting visual, but the aggression Apocalypse engages in with the organic metal of Rasputin REALLY makes an impact. That being said, the real impact of this issue continues to come from the weird mixture of vibrant colors that Silva brings to the page. Dazzler’s light constructs are powerfully radiant. Elsewhere moody darkness is given its space by Silva. A deep encounter between Pryde and Apocalypse is given added depth in a deep, beautiful purple punctuated by black screentone dots. It’s pretty stuff.

As usual, an issue featuring a disparate group of characters can feel more than a bit scattered as a whole. Dramatic and aggressively percussive moments are held quite well in an issue that quite nearly finds the perfect grounding. It’s not perfect, but it feels like Apocalypse and the X-Tracts is finally getting into a really good rhythm right before the mini-series comes to a close.

Grade: B