Hey y’all. We’ve got some really good comics to take a look at this week. Before that, I realized I forgot to review S.W.O.R.D. #1 last week. It was incredible. Al Ewing’s sensibilities match up with Hickman’s perfectly and it feels like a natural extension of the ongoing mutant story. Valero Schitti and Marte Gracia make it one of, if not the best-looking X-Men comic on shelves. I mean, just look at this:
S.W.O.R.D. is
shaping up to be a really fun series with cool characters and high concept sci-fi.
I’m all the way in. I also read Power Rangers #2, which is a
significantly better comic than its sister series but not enough is happening
currently and I didn’t have anything to say about it. Looks unbelievably good
though. Anyway, let’s get to the main reviews.
As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon or Ko-fi to help cover costs and improve the site.
Spoilers for: X-Force #15, New Mutants #14
X-Force #15
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Joshua Cassara
Colors: GURU-eFX
Designer: Tom Muller
Letters: VC’s Joe Carmagna
Production: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Cassara and Dean White
I asked for Cassara to be on the
X-Men comics more often and here he is. You’re welcome. This comic is truly beautiful.
Every scene is rendered immaculately and clearly. GURU-eFX’s colors are muddy
and grounded in the exact way this series about the mutant CIA needs. It is a
brilliant art team and that hopefully stays aboard for some time.
The story of this series has
been a mixed bag for some time. This issue continues the pre-X of Swords
plot of a potential conflict brewing with Russia (something several titles have
developed) and Beast rounding up the Russian mutant to determine if they are
spies. This included Colossus, who was tricked into coming back to Krakoa. Here,
we see Jean looking into the mutants’ minds to see what they know. Colossus, of
course, is innocent and allowed to return to the Savage Land.
Omega Red, however, has been tranced by a vampire. So what does Beast do with this information? He has him killed and revived, with a surveillance device implanted. The Five obviously object to this but are made aware that X-Force has complete authority in this situation. That level of authority is clearly a bad idea as Beast has been acting like a supervillain (or the CIA) for 15 issues. He destabilized a South American nation!
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| I hate this guy |
New Mutants #14
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Rod Reis
Design: Tom Muller
Letters: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover: Reis
Vita Ayala is trying to make me
cry. And you know what? It almost worked. After spending a significant portion
of this issue on Karma’s traumatic experience in Otherworld, Magik’s denial of
her own, and Shadow King’s sad backstory, the issue ends with a prose page
where Dani asks everyone to keep private journals and includes a list of potential
prompts meant to inspire reflection and emotional catharsis. It worked.
The other prose page features the
New Mutants writing a letter to Xavier about the fact the young mutants are
directionless and being nuisances. Xavier writes them back a letter that more
or less says, “lol ok thanks for volunteering to fix that.” It is perfect
Xavier-is-an-ass characterization. They get it.
The remainder of the issue is dedicated to the training of the young mutants, focusing on the various ways they can combine their powers. S.W.O.R.D. #1 dove deep into mutant technology—the combination of mutant powers to achieve what was previously impossible—and this series seems to be following up on those ideas. It is very cool and is a good excuse for a boys (Warlock) vs girls cool action scene.
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| THOSE TEETH |
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