As the only one of Marvel’s “Tsunami” marketing exercise to make it out alive, Runaways has struggled for popularity at the best of times. Following creator Brian K. Vaughan’s departure, the future of the series was more uncertain than ever, and a 6-issue run by Joss Whedon combined the writer’s stratospheric name power with the usual delays associated with him.

Now, for whatever reason, Runaways returns not with #31 of Volume 2, but for #1 of Volume 3. Presumably the hope is that the constant critical buzz surrounding the series will translate to increasing popularity at the start of each subsequent volume. Moore is a writer ideally-placed to handle the characters, and while he might not have the current popularity of Whedon or Vaughan, there’s no denying that he’s a strong writer with the required ability and experience to keep the title gaining profile the old-fashioned way.

Moore’s story has the kids returning to LA and finding a new Pride base. The realities of being kids on the run are addressed, as Chase looks for employment while the rest of the gang heads out for a spot of retail therapy. Unfortunately, it’s all interrupted when aliens come looking for Karolina. The story plays well to the cast, and continues developing the themes that Runaways has been built on. Ramos’ artwork is well-suited for the youthful cast, and while he’s a polarising figure, it’s hard to argue with his energy – every panel is crammed full of action and expression.

Whedon and Ryan’s delays do appear to have caused some problems for the relaunch. It’s very hard to say for certain, but it feels almost as if Moore was writing this well before the conclusion to Whedon’s story was known – witness Klara’s apparent retroactive insertion into some panels, and the cover – though to be fair that may have been a spoiler prevention measure. If nothing else, her personality is far removed from the timid young girl we saw her introduced as, an alteration for which Moore and Ramos equally share the burden. Elsewhere, the revelation that Xavin’s default form is now “female” must have been entirely missed by Moore and Ramos, though it could be that it hadn’t actually been decided at the time of writing.

Despite the new team and new #1, Runaways still feels like the same comic it’s always been, and while the  long-term effects of the creative change remain to be seen, it’s off to a promising start. Whether the story is likely to keep any new readers the numbering attracted is debatable, but certainly old readers will find themselves right at home with the new volume.

• watch crossing over in divx watch fluke in divx

An incredibly odd title comes to an incredibly odd end as the penultimate and otherwise unremarkable part of a crossover. I have to admit, were I a big fan of New X-Men, I might feel a bit short changed. As it is, I can’t get too worked up, not least because the rumours of a “Young X-Men” title are flying thick and fast which will presumably fill the niche this book, and Generation X, and (the original) New Mutants occupied before it (though as an aside, having run the “New” branding into the ground off the back of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men,  it seems Marvel are now eyeing up Young Avengers’ branding. What’s next? Young Daredevil? Young Punisher? Young New Excalibur?!)

Still, while it may not be much of a send-off for the plucky young group of cannon-fodder, it is a fairly decent chapter in its own right. There are some concerns, however. Rogue’s sudden reappearance as a major plot point doesn’t feel very foreshadowed, unless you’ve been reading the series prior to Messiah Complex, and her current “death touch” isn’t even mentioned shortly before it’s used to kill off Sinister, if you can believe that’s actually happened. Still, the idea of Mystique and Gambit working together in the Marauders is a logical one, and Gambit’s change of heart in giving the child to Xavier makes plenty of sense. There’s an excellent scene where Gambit looks over Sinister’s corpse and considers that if Sinister is dead, then his debt is truly over and he’s free again.

Perhaps the other major point in the issue is that the Predator-X arc finally intersects with the rest of the plot, which seems fitting because he is a New X-Men villain, after all. Faced with a battle they can’t win, the NXM have a fairly frantic battle which culminates in Pixie freaking out and teleporting the New X-Men – and more importantly Predator-X - to the X-Men, who she believes can stop it. Unfortunately, the X-Men are with mutant baby that made Predator-X go insane with hunger in the first place. Uhoh. It seems, then, that Predator-X will be providing the culminating battle, and in a few days we’ll get to see exactly how this all ends.