Wolverine and the X-Men 30
Aaron (w) and Ferry with Larraz and Espin (a) and Campbell (c)
I don't know about the rest of you out there, but I could never really get into precocious children criminal masterminds. That's almost entirely untrue BUT it's the thought that crosses my mind whenever I see the Hellfire Academy anywhere. I do believe that they are seemingly real criminals (because we've seen them at work) but it's always difficult to see them as anything but an idea. I know that sounds weird because all of writing is just an idea and doubly so in comics, where any idea may fly (sometimes literally). However, the Hellfire Academy, led by four precocious child geniuses, stick out like a sore thumb, as if someone in a pitch meeting was like "no, what if they're CHILDREN?" You can break down every character to its essence, sure (Captain America: literally a walking flag in wartime; Storm and her new X-Men: a grab at international markets but with a focus on how the X-Men are family despite their differences; Iron Man: weapons manufacturer who uses his own designs and stops selling weapons to bad guys, etc.), but there feels like there's no way to look at this group of children and not say "yup, they're children just to be children." I don't know, maybe everyone else loves them. Maybe this book isn't aimed at me. Maybe the fact that they're children will play a huge role. Maybe I just can't really believe in four child geniuses the way I can, somehow, believe in men and women who can fly and shoot lasers out of their eyes and what not. But I have trouble with them. It doesn't totally help, either, that this issue is drawn well enough, but with a definite bent towards making everyone at the school look younger. Granted, it is a SCHOOL, so probably they're younger than I expect them to be (Marvel time plays with your head. Quentin Quire has been around for ages now and I think he actually may be younger than when he was introduced. Okay, not actually, but it often seems that way) but the issue made Quentin look like a ten year old, and Toad not much older. You know, Toad. One of Magneto's very first henchmen. Because all of Marvel history MIGHT take place in a very busy week.
Anyway, there's a traitor at the Jean Grey School who has been contacting students and trying to get them to join the Hellfire Academy. They've already taken Glob Herman and Idie, as of last issue, and now they're reaching out to Quire. Quire has a soft spot for Idie and determines to figure out what made her go to the Hellfire Academy. He psychically interrogates a bamf and finds a weird history of their species that he doesn't feel the need to go further into (it has to do with Azazel) before finding that Idie intends to figure out who from the Hellfire Academy shot Broo and kill him or her. Quentin decides to go there too, lending a hand to Idie, presumably. Meanwhile, in space, Hank is trying to restore Broo's mind with the help of alien criminal doctor Starblood. Everything goes to hell up there and the Hellfire Academy's new super-powered recruit the Philistine teleports in, takes Starblood and Broo, and leaves. We find that Husk is behind many of the events at the Jean Grey School as she and Toad are reunited and, along with Quire, they join Philistine, Starblood and Broo. There's lots going on but it's somewhat diluted with all the various plots and the betrayals and the people in the shadows. As last issue showed, there's plenty in store for the people at the Jean Grey School. This issue continues to poke at us to ask about it.
Savage Wolverine 5
Cho (w and a) and Keith (c)
Readers of this blog will know that I have real issues with the premise of Savage Wolverine. I don't really have an issue with Wolverine being violent or being a ladies man because those are both in his character, but I have issues with books that are so openly exploitative. I suppose it's a step above been exploitative and not admitting it. Maybe. But the idea that it sells itself on the basest opinion of what a comic reader is makes it tough for me to root for this book. It's unfortunate, too, because I think Wolverine is characterized here in a somewhat interesting and acceptable way and Cho's art is certainly good when it's not being unbearably sexualized. There is a four panel spread near the start of this book that shows a headshot of Hulk followed by a headshot of Amadeus Cho followed by a headshot of Wolverine followed by a full body shot of Shanna wherein her breasts are easily as big as her head. Anyway, there's some Hulk vs. Wolverine fighting just to have Hulk vs. Wolverine fighting before the Dark Walker emerges and starts to ascend into the sky. Hulk takes the bomb from Wolverine and leaps after it, only to get smacked away effortlessly, have the bomb explode in his hand, and get caught out of the air by a giant whale, which Cho points out was both "pretty awesome and funny." After the writer/artist is done patting himself on the back, we see the Dark Walker return to its leader, an entity known as Visher-Rakk (it's essentially Galactus with the Dark Walker Morrigon serving as a herald), to inform him that there's a new galaxy ripe for eating.
The next arc or issue promises to feature Wolverine in a team-up with Spider-Man as written by Zeb Wells with artist Joe Madureira, the original team behind Avenging Spider-Man. Most recently in Marvel, he's written the two Carnage series, Carnage and Carnage USA with Clayton Crain in the last few years. I don't know if this is a permanent switch or just an interlude before Cho takes the helm again, but I wouldn't be disappointed if this was a break from the first arc. I thought there were some good ideas and some decent writing in this book but not enough to cover for the flaws. If this book was able to get over itself, I think it could be the stronger Wolverine book. However, I can't help but think that maybe this will be Wolverine's Avenging Spider-Man title, which doesn't really disappoint me as long as it changes its need to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Let's think happy thoughts for the future of this series.
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