X-Men: Red #2 - A Review

Framed for murder before the entire nation, Jean Grey and her allies have claimed political asylum in Wakanda. Unfortunately, laying low while things are sorted out will not be an option once they are contacted by a technopath mutant named Trinary, who needs the X-Men's help escaping from a prison in India.


X-Men: Red #2 is somewhat stronger than the first issue in terms of plotting, given that the whole of the story is told without any flashbacks or jumps in time. As usual, the highlight of Tom Taylor's script is the interactions between his characters and his use of humor. He also does a fantastic job of establishing and introducing Trinary as a character.

The artwork isn't quite as strong, but Mahmud Asrar proves a capable partner. His character designs are memorable and the artwork looks fantastic in the close-ups, though the fine details seem lost past the middle distance. The color art is also fantastic, with some interesting blending effects in the issue's lightning.

It takes a lot for me to enjoy an X-Men comic. And I enjoy this X-Men comic.


 The Final Analysis: 8 out of 10.

All-New Wolverine #18 - A Review

Laura Kinney has finally been freed from the influence of The Trigger Scent that transforms her into a mindless berserker. Unfortunately, SHIELD still wants to imprison her for the murders she committed while under the influence of Kimura - the woman who turned young Laura into the living weapon known as X-23. Yet Nick Fury and his agents will find themselves forming an uneasy alliance with Laura, her friends in the X-Men and the crime-lord Tyger Tyger when Kimura and her forces surround them all!


This issue proves a satisfying conclusion to the Enemy Of the State II arc. Tom Taylor writes a fantastic action-packed story, though this issue was a little light on the humor I've come to expect from him apart from some admittedly funny slapstick. The artwork by Nik Vieralls is solid, though Michael Garland's colors do muddy the action scenes a little bit due to his curious decision to use the same shades of pink to denote Gambit's explosions and Jean Grey's telekinesis. Anyone curious about Laura's character following Logan would do well to track down the early issues of this series.

All New Wolverine #17 - A Review

The good news is that Laura's friends in the X-Men have rescued her from the clutches of Kimura - an old enemy determined to turn the new Wolverine into her personal assassin. The bad news is that Laura is still trained to respond to "The Trigger Scent" created by Kimura and that Kimura's forces and SHIELD are still hunting for her. Jean Grey thinks she can undo the damage that was done to Laura's mind, but can she do it before they're all over-run by government agents and gangster thugs?


This is a merely passable issue of what is normally an excellent title. As much as I'd like to blame the presence of the X-Men for this, the fault lies with the creative team. Tom Taylor is playing against his strengths as a comedic writer and a dialogist, with most of the issue devoted to scenes of heroes fighting heroes when SHIELD shows up. Thankfully, the revelation of Laura's "happy place"makes up for a lot. It does not, however make up for the inconsistent artwork. Djibril Moristte-Phan's inks obscure far too much of the fine detail and Michael Garland's colors are oddly muted and weak.

All-New Wolverine #16 - A Review

Intercepted by Bellona - another of Laura Kinney's clones, who lacks her healing factor but feels no pain - the all-new Wolverine is back in the clutches of the mad scientists who created her! Laura's only hope of rescue lies with Gabby - her adopted "sister". Even armed with no sense of pain and her own set of bone claws, can Gabby hope to save the day?


All-New Wolverine #16 is an enjoyable action-packed issue. Tom Taylor does a fine job of explaining Laura's past as X-23 for newer readers who might not be familiar with that time of her life, not slowing the story down a moment while allowing for this exposition. The action sequences are illustrated amazingly by Nik Virella and finished well by Michael Garland.

All-New Wolverine #15 - A Review

The people who created X-23 want her back, but the young woman cloned from Wolverine will not give up her life as Laura Kinney without a fight. With SHIELD now on the hunt following Laura's killing the inhabitants of a small town (an accident caused by the release of the trigger scent that makes Laura go berserk), Laura and her adopted sister Gabby have taken refuge on a pirate ship bound for Madripoor. They hope to find Laura's former masters there but can they truly trust the people giving them transport?

Artist Djibril Morissette-Phan takes over the art duties on this series with this issue. For the most part, the artwork is competently crafted though hardly outstanding. There is not a lot of variety in Morissette-Phan's expressions and the design for Gabby here is probably the least subtle ever in depicting her light facial scars. They seem anything but light here.

For the most part, this issue is one extended action sequence. It serves its purpose well enough but it still seems sort of flat compared to previous issues which had a bit more nuance. There is some of the humor that sets your average Tom Taylor story apart from the common clay of comic books, yet this issue is perhaps the most straight-forward Wolverine-style story since the series began. It isn't bad but it's far and away from what the readers have come to expect.

All-New Wolverine #14 - A Review

Somebody is trying to turn Laura Kinney back into the mindless killer she once was. They succeeded, however briefly, after Laura fled to a small town seeking to get away. Now, with SHIELD chasing after her, Laura will have to turn to an old enemy for help in getting into the hostile nation of Madripoor, where her would-be controllers have fled.

Tom Taylor continues to impress with every issue of this series that he writes. While I have to question the intelligence of SHIELD Command continuing to send ordinary agents into Laura's life (to say nothing of the bigoted Agent Bennett acting on his apparent hatred of mutants in front of Nick 'Goddam' Fury!), I can't deny that the action sequence where Laura escapes from a SHIELD plane is  a great one. And Taylor's command of comedy is still second to none.


The artwork is equally enjoyable. New penciller Nik Virella sports a simple, serviceable style. Scott Hanna does his usual stellar job on the inks. And colorists Jesus Aburtov and Michael Garland do such a fine job you would never know that there were multiple colorists at work on this book.

All-New Wolverine #12 - A Review

The Inhuman Ulysses foresaw Old Man Logan killing his young clone, Gabby Linney. Somehow, he did not foresee it going badly when SHIELD and Captain America went to take Logan into custody regarding something he hadn't done yet. Now, with Gabby seemingly dead and a berserk Old Man Logan rampaging through New York City, it falls to The All-New Wolverine, Laura Kinney, to clean-up SHIELD's mess.

Alas, not even Tom Taylor's brilliant writing can make the stupidity of Civil War II entertaining. Captain America is horribly out of character here - apparently a major complaint about the crossover. (I, wisely it seems, have been avoiding the special apart from the tie-in issues in the Marvel books I regularly read.) Still, Taylor's script makes the most of a bad situation and Laura's speeches to both Cap and Old Man Logan are pretty damn awesome.

The artwork issues from the past few months continue to be a problem. Ig Guara draws a good fight scene, but his takes on Laura and Gabby appear to be the same age! However, the inking by Walden Wong is consistent and colorist Michael Garland manages a few neat touches, such as using single colors to punctuate key close-ups.

All-New Wolverine Annual #1 - A Review

Being a superhero makes one accustom to all kinds of weirdness. Yet nothing can prepare you for waking up in a body that isn't your own in a parallel dimension! Such is the fate that has befallen the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 (aka Spider-Woman) and Laura Kinney of Earth 616 (aka Wolverine). And unless they can figure out the cause of the switch quickly, they'll be sent back to their respective realities without any kind of body at all!



Body-swapping comedies tend towards the cliche, yet Tom Taylor manages to twist the classic trope enough to make it amusingly fresh. The artwork by Marcio Takara is lively, flowing smoothly with the action of Taylor's story. And Mat Lopes' colors are vibrant and well-chosen. This is a fine-one shot story, sure to please fans of both the former X-23 and Spider-Gwen.

All-New Wolverine #11 - A Review

Laura, Gabby and Old Man Logan are settling into their new digs fairly well, despite having to deal with the most unlucky burglars ever. Unfortunately, SHIELD is concerned about a recent vision by their pet precog Ulysses - one which has predicted Logan killing Gabby in the immediate future!


Tom Taylor weathers the forced tie-in to Civil War II as best he can.  Unfortunately, not even the cutest Gabby scenes can mask the stupidity of the mini-series base concept or the contrivances this issue's plot requires. There is no circumstance in which sending a SHIELD SWAT team to take down a PTSD-suffering Logan makes a lick of sense. It makes even less sense that Captain America would allow that team to accompany him, even if his plan were to try and talk everyone into going along with what the secret spy organization wants. The action scenes are decent enough if you can get past the fact that everyone is fighting for the sake of the issue needing an action sequence.

Ig Guara's artwork continues to be uneven, despite only having one inker to work with this month. There is very little consistency to the characters appearances, with Wolverine herself shifting between looking like a middle-aged woman or like a adolescent girl depending on the panel. The final art looks very strained, thanks to Wong's thin inks and Michael Garlands muted colors.

All-New Wolverine #10 - A Review

Laura and Gabby have taken Old Man Logan (i.e. an version of the original Wolverine from the bad future of an alternate universe) home for a bit of rest after their stressful encounter with Fin Fang Foom's stomach. Their afternoon will be made more interesting by the most unlucky burglars in the world. And somewhere else, the precognitive Inhuman called Ulysses has a vision of the future that concerns them all...



Thankfully, the Civil War II tie-in sections of this comic are mercifully brief and have no real impact on the action of this issue. This allows Tom Taylor to do what he does best with the rest of the issue - play with expectations, make the audience laugh and provide the occasional moment of charm. And how can you not be charmed by the idea of a Wolverine family that has a pet wolverine named Jonathan The Unstoppable? (They will write songs of his legend!)



Sadly, the artwork for this issue is a little uneven. I think the fault for this may lie with the two inkers, whose differing styles add moments of visual discord to the flow of the issue. The artwork doesn't look bad as such - the character designs and coloring are quite good - but there's just something off about some of the finished panels.

All-New Wolverine #9 - A Review

Laura Kinney doesn't work for SHIELD but she is willing to lend a hand when Maria Hill asks nicely and pays for her take-out. It seems they lost an agent investigating some new bio-weapon, which turned out to be pheromones meant to attract Fin Fang Foom. And the missing agent turns out to be an alternate universe version of the original Wolverine, from the future. And those facts are the least strange thing about the day the all-new Wolverine is about to have.


The cover may say this is a Civil War II tie-in but Tom Taylor keeps the script mercifully free of any reference to that event, save for gratuitous (and hilarious) cameos by Iron Man and Captain Marvel. This issue is high on laughs and short on drama, which is as it should be.

Marcio Takara's artwork is most enjoyable. The lack of backgrounds and pixelated skies in some panels threw me off a little bit but his character designs are good and the action of the issue flows well. And Matheus Lopes continues to impress with his color work.