Wolverine and the X-Men #28 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (Writer), Ramon Pérez (Artist), Laura Martin, Matt Milla (Colorist)

The Story: As it turns out, the students of the Jean Grey School for higher learning are not so impressed with Dog and his class as Wolverine comes around to show them what kind of man he is.

The Review: Well, as it turns out, the conclusion here is much stronger than the actual story we got here. Could it be because of the fact that Jason Aaron used more character analysis here rather than mindless action? Could it also be because it delivers a somewhat satisfying conclusion to a storyline that had its share of small ups and crushing downs?

The answer for both these questions would be a resounding yes. Here, we get a higher focus on the real stars of this book: the students. As pretty much of the action in this arc had been focused on Wolverine, his brother and the students, it is much more interesting to see the students interact with each other in stressful situation, to see them evolve and adapt. Close to every students get a single moment, be it Broo that shows he still has some kind of intelligence under all that new savagery, or Eye-Boy who shows just what kind of stuff he can do with eye powers (even though that particular moment was almost ruined by the thought bubbles. No, I will never let that go.) By focusing on the way that the students become a bit more united, it makes the ending a little bit stronger as a result.

Wolverine and the X-Men #27 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (Writer), Ramon Pérez (Artist), Laura Martin, Matt Milla (Colorist)

The Story: The children of the Jean Grey School of higher learning have to survive against time-displaced cavemen, cowboys and robots.

The Review: Just when I thought the series could begin to get back on track, Jason Aaron goes and writes this issue. The craziness and the focus on the kids seemed to be back on track, but the kind of craziness he brings here is not particularly of the same quality as when this started.

Now, before going into the nasty stuff, there are actually some nice bits here and there, particularly the parts where we see some of the individual students partake in a conversation with Wolverine, where he show them just why he has chosen some of them for this class. Those are some of the better scenes of the book where we can actually see some characterization and some development that might make this book a bit more tolerable. However, there are still some major problems here.

Wolverine and the X-Men #26 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (Writer), Ramon Pérez (Artist), Laura Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Dog, Wolverine’s half-brother, beat the seven tars out of Wolverine as he explains just how he got this way and why he is doing just that.

The Review: Did anyone, in the readers, mind you, actually believe in the potential of Dog, a character created by Bill Jemas and Paul Jenkins in the Wolverine: Origins limited series? Did anyone really see a character that was originally created as a trick to the readers to make us believe originally that he was Wolverine has an actual potential as a big-shot villain? It seems that Jason Aaron firmly believes so, as this issue is solely based on him and what sort of character he is.

Hack/Slash #18 – Review

By Tim Seeley (Writer), Emily Stone & Kevin Mellon (Art), and Mark Englert (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The recently completed Re-Animator crossover left me itching for a stand alone, one-and-done Hack/Slash story about Cassie and Vlad taking care of some random slasher. Unfortunately, it looks like I may have to wait at least a little while for something like that. Why? Well, for starters, there is some serious character work to be done in the aftermath of the crossover. In addition, a few overarching plot threads are in serious need of some advancement. Luckily, it looks like Hack/Slash #18 is going to start dealing with those very issues so that the series can get back to what it does best sooner rather than later.

The Story: Picking up shortly after the traumatic events that involved Dr. Herbert West, the latest Hack/Slash finds Cassie and Vlad at a crossroad of sorts. Both characters question the status of their relationship and how they exist in the world in general. Vlad takes his questions to the bar where he finds himself facing off against a plethora of guest stars. Cassie, thanks to Vlad, spends some quality time with her lady-friend Georgia. Meanwhile, the demon from another dimension introduced last issue on a rampage in search of Cassie and the dog-like alien currently living with Cassie’s friends.

What’s Good: Tim Seeley’s character work for both Cassie and Vlad is incredibly effective considering how easily it could have come off as forced or overly dramatic. It’s next to impossible not to feel for the characters in some way, especially considering what went down over the past few months. As for the visuals, the best thing in the issue is Vlad’s brawl with a number of familiar comic characters. It’s a fun, well-choreographed surprise among all the weighty themes.

What’s Not So Good: The whole alien dog storyline just doesn’t do it for me as a whole. It has been going on for a while now and to this very day, it still seems out of place in a series so heavily based around the things that make the horror genre so fun. Hopefully the arrival of the demon-warrior thing signals the beginning of the end for that particular plot thread, because it feels like it just gets in the way of the good stuff.

Conclusion: Hack/Slash #18 is very good when dealing with Cassie and Vlad. On the other hand, it definitely loses a bit of momentum anytime anything else takes the spotlight. That said, the good most definitely outweighs the bad in what ultimately amounts to a strong, character-driven issue of an entertaining series.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny