I don't know if it's X-Men, but it's really good.
I've never read anything from Peach Momoko before, and based on this issue, the loss is mine. The art is the obvious selling point for this comic, but ths story was suprisingly good. This doen't feel like a typical x-book, and that's a good thing. My complaints about the other Ultimate books (Spider-man and Black Panther) stem from them feeling like too much fan-service, and too much like stuff I've seen before. Ultimate X-men provides something that's been lacking, in my opinon, something different, and unexpected. It's also nice to see another comic that's set outside of the US. In a world without Professor X, there's no reason not to explore other options. The story is a slow-burn, with horror overtones. Reminds me of Rumiko Takahashi and Junji Ito.

My only concers are 1) this may be too different for X-fans, and may not get the chance to become all it has the potential to become, and 2) that Momoko will only be around for the first arc or so, and subsequent creative teams will take the comic in a more mainstream direction. Hope I'm wrong. Either way, I'm along for the ride.