Is it so wrong that I want to shout, "Hurry up, already!" every other time I read an issue of "Cable?" Don't get me wrong, I think the book has sped things up for the better since its initial storyline. But there are times when I wonder just how much Duane Swierczynski is biding his time, stretching things out a bit.

Where Swierczynski is shining here is the relationship between Cable and Hope; now that Hope's no longer a little baby, he's able to start really getting a father/daughter relationship going between the two of them, and in many ways she's just the right foil for Cable that he's never really had up until now. She's definitely the upbeat one of the two of them, but Swierczynski keeps her from ever feeling too good-natured or like a Pollyanna. I also really appreciated that we're getting into her head as well; she's been a real cipher up until now, a face without a personality, so it's nice to see just what makes her tick.

On the other hand, well, I do think it's safe to say that if "Cable" never has a story set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland ever again, I would be just happy with that. Somehow I don't think my wish is about to be granted, though. "Cable" is dangerously treading into the "more of the same" territory, where if it wasn't for Jamie McKelvie's guest art for most of this issue, I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to tell this issue apart from most of the others from the past year.

That said, McKelvie finishing up his portions of this two issue storyline was a nice change of pace, if admittedly a little odd. Don't get me wrong, McKelvie's work on comics like "Phonogram" and "Suburban Glamour" both get a big thumbs up from me; he's one of a select few artists (like Chynna Clugston or Bryan Lee O'Malley) who I think really get and understand current urban fashions and trends and successfully bring them onto the page. So of all the artists to draw two characters wandering around in a dessert, McKelvie is perhaps not the person who would immediately spring to mind. It's certainly not playing to his strengths, although he does a good a job as he can with what he's given. His clean, uncluttered style still comes across well, and is at its best when it's Cable and Hope interacting with each other, but it never feels 100% appropriate for Swierczynski's script.

In the end, it's not a bad issue of "Cable" but I'm starting to really hope for a slightly different direction. I'm not saying we need Cable and Hope back in the present day, but something a little different (and more stable) would be nice. Please?