Wolverine and the X-Men #41 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Pepe Larraz & Todd Nauck (artists), Matt Milla (color artist)

The Story: “You can’t tell by looking at a frog how high he will jump.” – American proverb

The Review: I will be honest and admit that I have not been a huge fan of how Jason Aaron has treated the Toadf since he arrived at the Jean Grey School. The character had been slowly growing as a person ever since he appeared in X-Men (2000), but Wolverine and the X-Men cast him as comic relief, making him uglier and simpler than ever. All things considered, it’s about time that Toad got another moment in the sun and, thankfully, with just two issues left, Aaron provides him one.

Unfortunately it’s nearly impossible to craft an appropriate ending to Toad’s time at the Jean Grey School without referencing some of the weaker elements of the series, namely the unsteady beginning to “The Hellfire Saga” and Mortimer’s relationship with Paige Guthrie. Ten issues later, Aaron has finally deigned to explain just what was going on with her and, whether it’s due to the lateness or not, it reeks of convenience.

In a turn that’s admittedly far more similar to the actual treatment of mental conditions than any comic book madness, Paige is trying to sort out her life now that she has a diagnosis and, with touchingly vapid sincerity, she attempts to figure out Toad’s place in it. What results is a simple, effective story that is very much the logical conclusion of Toad’s lot in this series. While there are several ways the story could go, the way it chooses is nothing revolutionary. Aaron opts to focus on tone and the struggle that Toad is going through rather than complexity of plot.

Wolverine and the X-Men #35 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer) and Nick Bradshaw (artist)

The Story: And so the Hellfire Saga finally comes to an end: not with a bang, but with a jovial, well-spoken mutant.

The Review: Much as the members of the Hellfire Club feared, the siege of Hellfire Academy is over, and now it’s the last chance for both sides to find a way to escape alive. It’s always fun to see where a villain’s loyalties lie and this issue is chock full of that simple sinister pleasure.

Indeed this is a rather reactive issue for our heroes, who merely need to hold onto their victory until the various ne’er-do-wells run out of last resorts.  It would be nice to see Wolverine or Storm really taking charge, but the story plays out in its own way.

This final issue of the arc brings many of the series’ twisting plot threads to satisfactory conclusions, however they’re more than a little bit frayed in some cases. Several stories are resolved but lack explanations for how they came to work themselves out. It’s no sin to set up new questions for a series going forward, but some of these come so out of nowhere that it’s hard to find them satisfying. I personally found I’m gonna take a moment to discuss some of these so, just in case my spoiler tags don’t catch your attention, I’d recommend that you skip the next paragraph if you want to experience the issue fresh.

SPOILERS – One of the most notable of these forsaken plots is the ballad of Toad and Husk. While Paige comes around in the end, it’s unclear how or why removing a number of her skin layers apparently resets her to back before she started dating Toad or how the long-suffering janitor knew that this would work. Similarly, though Kade ended last issue with promises that he’s already won, we don’t find out much about his masterstroke, save that he’s “changed the X-Men forever. They just don’t know it yet.” That’s cool, but it would be nice if we, the readers, knew it, as it makes a significant difference to the tone of the issue whether Kade is right or just cracking under the pressure. – END SPOILERS

Wolverine and the X-Men #33 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer); Nick Bradshaw (pencils); Marc Deering, Walden Wong (Inks) Laura Martin (colorist) 

The Story: The Hellfire Club finds itself betrayed as its leader makes Oya a dangerous offer.

The Review: Over thirty issues in, it’s starting to feel like Jason Aaron has finally managed to get back in touch with what made me so excited about this series in the first place.

Jason Aaron’s lush imagination is at play again this month, building the Hellfire Club’s arsenal and sparking intrigue within the fold. The humor you know is still here, but most of the gags have a bittersweet quality. The whole run feels like it’s been leading to this, and there is a certain epic appeal to seeing the first rumbles of the turning tide.

Aaron’s handle on his characters is also much clearer this month. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of Idie Okonkwo. Though some of this issue’s narration could have been trimmed down, it does a fine job of showing just how horrifically effective Hellfire Academy can be. I think that’s crucial, since it was played for laughs for a whole issue last month.

Idie’s relationship with Kilgore becomes a battle for her very soul. After a year and a half of acting out of guilt or on behalf of others, we finally get a sense of what Idie wants. And while I’ve been critical of Toad’s regression under Aaron’s pen, it’s always satisfying to see such put upon characters have their moment of glory, so despite the artificiality of it all, I found it rather satisfying.

Wolverine & the X-Men #3 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer); Chris Bachalo, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (pencils); Tim Townsend, Jaime Medoza, Al Vey, Mark Irwin, Victor Olazaba, Duncan Rouleau and Matteo Scalera (inkers); Chris Bachalo and Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning gets a new mascot.

The Review: And so ends Wolverine’s first day as a headmaster. Jason Aaron really threw the kitchen sink at him: rowdy students, disgruntled employees, the NYS Board of Regents, interdimensional gremlins, the new Hellfire club, and his very first enemy (publication-wise), Krakoa. It’s fitting that he face both new problems and old foes, as this book is simultaneously going back to the franchise’s roots and breaking new ground. It’s also incredibly fun.

Aaron has been turning out solid work, fitting in a tremendous number of characters and details without anything feeling lost, and this issue is no exception. The dialogue continues to bubble with enthusiasm, the ensemble has great chemistry, and the characters continue to develop and surprise. The pace of the storytelling has smoothed out after a somewhat slow first issue and an entirely frantic sophomore showing. The resolution to the main conflict between the mutants and Krakoa feels a tad bit rushed, but it matches the insanity at the heart of the book. The hasty resolution also allows for a truly fantastic double spread revealing Krakoa’s fate, and I doubt there’s a single reader who won’t smile while reading it.

As you may have noted above, the art team got pretty big for this issue. I expected it would be a mess when I saw the names of eight different artists on the credits page. But while this issue intentionally portrays a huge mess, and maintains a kinetic and anxious aesthetic, the style still looks pretty tight and uniform. The zany, hyper-exaggerated style is completely in sync with the tone of the book, and allows for some really fantastic character moments. And did I mention that awesome double spread? I did? Well, whatever, it deserves to be mentioned twice. It’s awesome.

X-Men: Schism #3 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Daniel Acuña (artist), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor)

The Story: A trap is set for the X-Men at the Museum of Mutant History. We learn more (and are impressed by) the capabilities of the Hellfire Club’s junior division. Cyclops wears a jetpack and Wolverine steals a car.

What’s Good: Daniel Acuña’s art is very stylized, but if you like his style, then this issue is for you. I found myself comparing the art favorably to his work on the Eternals. His shots are moody, so much so, that I almost found the tone on the first page to be oppressively so. This is a good thing though, because this is the middle of a 5-issue arc, so if things aren’t bad now in tone and mood, something is wrong. The darkness on the edges and background of the art also contributed to a feeling that I didn’t have all the information, and that the characters were without options. And knowing the way Schism is going to have to go, this is again excellent art chores to propel the theme and taste of the story. Acuña’s mini Hellfire Club was creepy, far more so than the other artists in the series have done and the weird background in their meeting felt almost Steranko-ish in flavor. And, most importantly, the action, in this donnybrook of an issue, was clear and dynamic. Check out the energy Acuña puts into Magneto walking towards his target with hellfire goons flying all around him.

On writing, Aaron brings his trademark grittiness to a story of continuing bigotry and persecution. He did this with snappy banter, generally tight dialogue filled with real personality (none moreso than the pint-sized Hellfire people, underlining once again Aaron’s comfort with writing those characters that a twisted and off-kilter). I’d also like to give an A for effort on how the Hellfire Club took out Magneto. I’ve thought before about how a magnetar could be used in a story, and this certainly is a creative way. It’s not plausible to shoot a collapsed star out the barrel of a gun, but it is creative. Shooting face-sucking, power-draining aliens out of T-shirt guns looked almost logical by comparison.

X-Men: Schism #2 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Frank Cho (art), Jason Keith (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: The X-Men race to deal with the global rash of out-of-control sentinels, Cyclops and Wolverine butt heads over Quire, and Kade Kilgore makes plans.

What’s Good: Like many kids who grew up in the late 80s to early 90s, I was an avid X-fan growing up.  That said, I’ve felt increasingly alienated by the last few years of X-Men stories to the point where I only cursorily followed what was going on in the X-verse.  The various creators, many of them quite talented, just weren’t telling the kinds of X-Men stories that I wanted to read.

And so, the first issue of Schism was a revelation as, out of nowhere, Aaron began telling a story that I was interested in.  With this second issue, we get more of the same.

In many ways, with Schism, Aaron appears to realize that a lot of what worked in the past for the X-Men didn’t need fixing and so, we’re getting a story that really brings back the basics of what makes for a compelling X-Men comic.  Namely, we’re getting Sentinels and anti-mutant hysteria.  More importantly, we’re not getting outlandish or bizarre reactions from the X-Men to all this either.  Instead, the mutants are heading out, kicking robot ass, and suffering the slings and arrows of those who hate and fear them all the same.  It’s not re-inventing the wheel on Aaron’s part, but there’s no mistaking that this works.  It’s a central conflict that makes for a relatable and enjoyable comic that pulled me in.

There’s solid character work as well.  An early scene between Wolverine and Idie of Generation Hope is tragic, haunting stuff that his the mark of an excellent writer.  It’s a scene that really punches you in the gut, and Wolverine’s reaction (and how he carries himself, as a result, through the rest of the issue) is a testament to his heart and empathy, beneath all the gristle.

Kato Origins #9 – Review

By: Jai Nitz (writer), Colton Worley (pencils and inks), Carlos Lopez (colors), Joseph Rybandt (editor)

The Story: The Hellfire Club: Kato is disguised as the Prince of Siam to penetrate the Hellfire Club in an investigation. While there, the butler is killed. Kato investigates it all in his own inimitable style, despite interruptions.

What’s Good: On the art, what really jumped out at me was Worley’s more innovative layouts. Right on page two, the dead butler’s hand intrudes on other panels. On page four, the action spills out again. And on page six, the reactions of everyone to a quick and one-sided fight are fanned out like the feathers on a peacock. Coming as it did between pages of more standard layouts, these shifts definitely hit between the eyes in a good way. Worley was equally strong on action and picking dramatic and powerful camera angles. On the draftsmanship, I obviously continue to enjoy the Kato origins art team.

Writing-wise, Nitz didn’t give us any Kato-esque metaphorical or symbolic musings this issue, but that may have been because those are more suited to times when Kato is alone and being ninja-like. Instead, Nitz treats us to a bit of cultural tourism (or voyeurism, or a sense of coming home, depending on what your thing is) through the inside of a rich swinger and BDSM club of the 1940s where somebody is up to something (no, not that way…well, ok, some people are up to….nevermind). The character sketches of the inhabitants of the Hellfire Club are done with extreme economy: a few words to describe each one, but enough words to give a strong picture. This is the mark of a writer who knows how to focus in on memorable images that define characters for the reader. The best compliment I can give Nitz on these great micro-character studies is that he makes it look easy.

X-Men: Legacy #215 – Capsule Review

By Mike Carey (Writer), Scot Eaton (Pencils), Andrew Hennessey (Inker), and Frank D’Armata (Colorist), Marco Checchetto (Pencils and Inks) and Jean-Francois Beaulieu (Colorist)

I’m writing this review capsule-style not because this one isn’t worth talking about, but because saying too much would ruin all the great things waiting for X-Men fans.

First off, a round of applause to Mike Carey for successfully managing to fit three distinct, intertwining storylines into a single issue without sacrificing the quality of any of them. While the bulk of X-Men: Legacy concerns a tense (long due) confrontation between Professor Xavier and Cyclops, Carey also manages to make great strides with the Hellfire Club plot and the return of Rogue. My only concern is that the stories being developed will be rushed through or tossed aside to make way for the Wolverine: Origins and X-Men: Legacy crossover due to begin fairly soon.

Secondly, hats off to the art teams for some absolutely gorgeous visuals. Eaton’s team has never been stronger and the Rogue sections offer a different, but appropriately distinct style that works perfectly for the story being developed.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I really enjoyed the latest book and consider it to be the strongest one yet. X-Men fans, consider it a must read. (Grade: A)

-Kyle Posluszny