David Hines keeps the perspective spotlight on Detective Ortega who is going through a lot after the events of Mr. M. His marriage is falling apart and he is unable to stay focused on the high-profile murder investigation in Mutant Town. Things continue to pile on as he is asked to also look into a mutant community living underneath the city and two missing friends. Izzy looks for outlets to deal with the mounting stress.
I was not as impressed with this second run of District X as I was with the first one. There are so many things going on that I also had a hard time keeping up, and it came at the expense of character development. There really was no empathy for the malformed murderer Winston Hobbes even though it was clear we were supposed to feel more at the end. The same can be said with the underground dwelling community which felt like an obvious (and overused) plot device. I am also surprised that there was absolutely no mention of the Morlocks. The missing people didn't seem to be much of a concern either.
I like the premise, of Detective Ortega's disintegration after a harrowing ordeal, but it didn't come across as a cohesive story or really explore the impact on his family, coworkers, or community.
[5-stars] District X (2004) #7
[5-stars] District X (2004) #8
[5-stars] District X (2004) #9
[5-stars] District X (2004) #10
[5-stars] District X (2004) #11
[5-stars] District X (2004) #12
Collected in District X (Vol. 2): Underground
