Wolverine and the X-Men #1 – Review

By: Jason Latour (writer), Mahmud Asrar (artist), Israel Silva (color artist)

The Story: As the bard hath wrote: high school never ends…

The Review: It’s very strange to see a new Wolverine and the X-Men #1 so soon, but this is what we find ourselves confronted with. Jason Aaron’s post-Schism story for Wolverine and his school was a highly unique one, and one that occupied a very special place in Marvel’s lineup. Now that Jason Latour and Mahmud Asrar have taken over, the question on many minds is how much of the title’s charm was WatXM and how much was Aaron’s sensibility.

Well, to get right to it, it’s certainly not a repeat of Aaron’s work. Latour’s WatXM has a different feel, which might upset fans of the previous volume, but it’s not at all the reversal that the New 52 JLI was. Indeed, as we predicted last week, this could have very easily have been Wolverine and the X-Men #43.

The story picks up right from where we left off, with the solicit even assuring us that this is summer term. Our focus character is Quentin Quire, newly graduated and beginning his new job as a teaching assistant, though who he’s assisting is never made particularly clear. Quire’s always been a foil for Wolverine and, similarly, it’s interesting to see his individual brand of rebelliousness forced into a position of authority. The problem is that, unlike Logan, Quire isn’t dedicated enough to this new stage in his life to sell it in a first issue. He’d probably give up on it if it weren’t for his girlfriend, Idie.

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 #25 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (Writer), Ramòn Pérez (Artists), Laura Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Wolverine decides to teach the students of the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning all about survival in one the harshest place of the Marvel universe: the Savage Lands.

The Review: I do believe this is a step in the right direction for this series. For something that started with full of energy, style and humor, it is a little bit painful to see just how it all faltered. The faults can be traced down to many things, like an overly long tie-in story with AvX focusing on other characters that were not part of the cast, the vast retooling of said cast among many others. Still, this issue is a step in the right direction for many reasons.

One of them would be the tighter focus on the actual cast of the book, with people like Idie, Quentin Quire, Wolverine, Genesis and Broo being brought back front and center. This works much better, since most of them have been there since the inception (Genesis being the exception), allowing us to see just how they have evolved and changed thanks to the many happenings at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. Much of their sass and personalities are shown fully, which makes for a much more interesting comics than the latest arc focusing on some smaller or rather boring characters.

Uncanny X-Force #32 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Phil Noto (art), Frank Martin Jr. & Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  Deadpool to the rescue!  Quick, somebody rescue Deadpool!

The Review:  If there’s one thing this issue hammered home for me, it’s that I really, really love how Rick Remender writes Deadpool.  Honestly, if Deadpool were written like this more often, I might actually be tempted to pick up his ongoing.  Remender’s Deadpool actually feels like a three-dimensional, believable human being.  Yes, he’s unhinged, yes, he’s goofy, but he’s not the over-the-top cartoon caricature that he’s usually portrayed as.  Rather, he has inner struggles and insecurities and one always gets the feeling that there actually is a hero with a sense of morals underneath all the jokes.  That’s the thing about Remender’s Deadpool:  there’s a real person, and a good one at that, sitting beneath the surface, or fascade, of wackiness.  That’s not something a lot of writers do correctly, most seemingly focused on that surface as being the be all and end all of Deadpool.

Uncanny X-Force #27 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Phil Noto (artist), Dean White (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer)

The Story:  Unrequited love or not, Fantomex races to Psylocke’s rescue.

The Review:  This is one of those issues that’s very difficult to review without spoilers, so bear with me.

Really, this issue encapsulates  much of what makes Remender’s X-Force a success:  heart-pounding drama and intensity.  The book’s pacing is fantastic, as it keeps you turning the pages, desperate to know what happens next.  It’s one of those books that grabs you and doesn’t let go.

Wolverine & The X-Men #4 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer) Nick Bradshaw (artist) Justin Posner (colors)

The Story: It always sucks to be the new kid.

What’s Good: While I was sad to see Chris Bachalo leave this series, rest assured that the art is in good hands with Nick Bradshaw. His round, friendly lines make the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning just as wonderful as Bachalo did, and his attention to detail is incredible. From the picture of Cyclops on a dart board, to Quire’s copy of the Art of War, to Glob’s papers sticking to him, every panel feels rich and resplendent. The change in art style also reflects a change in tone. The faculty are no longer fighting off external forces that threaten to destroy the school, but are still burdened by the day-to-day difficulties of managing and teaching twenty super-powered adolescents. As such, the atmosphere has lightened, and things no longer look ready to come apart at the seams. There are some truly beautiful shots of Angel against the sun, and everyone’s body language is as expressive as their dialogue.

One of my favorite parts of this new series has been just how well  Jason Aaron has been able to capture the dynamic between the students and the teachers, while keeping everyone in character. Wolverine and company are truly teachers, not team leaders or mentors as they’ve been in other books featuring young mutants, and this relationship informs nearly of their interactions.

The story in this issue centers around the introduction of Angel and the Kid-Apocalypse Evan, who calls himself Genesis. The two  face very different challenges; Evan will have to decide his fate, whether to be savior or destroyer. Worse, he will have go through puberty, bullies, high school drama as figure it out. This has me concerned for his treatment by writers: it will be only too tempting to repeatedly pen stories about him “going evil” only to “redeem himself” in endless and unsatisfying cycles. I’m really hoping that Jason Aaron has a very specific character arc in mind for him, and that he can convince editors and future writers to try to adhere to as tight a story as possible. For Angel, on the other hand, I think the struggle will not so much be about finding himself as it will be about convincing others that he is a very different person than the one they remember. This, I like. At the very end of the Dark Angel Saga, I was concerned that all that the only reprecusion was that he had developed amnesia, and that after maybe a few months, we’d get a story line about him regaining his memories. If the changes in him are as far-reaching as they are implied to be here, the writers have been braver than I would have dared to hope. There’s a lot of potential for some very interesting stories here, not only for this new character, but also for all of Warren’s friends as they adjust to his “condition.”