Friday, March 15, 2013

Wolverine & the X-Men #26


This issue suffers by comparison to the other recent books in this series. Jason Aaron’s mad take on the X-Men has been one of my favorite comics for months now, so when we get an issue that is merely entertaining rather than brilliant? I’m going to be a bit tougher of a grader.

This issue focuses on Wolverine’s half-brother Dog, introduced in the terrible Origin limited series. I don’t have a problem with the idea of an evil brother; it’s a staple in fiction. But when Sabretooth is already out there in so similar a role, it’s tough not to compare Dog to the more established villain.

Dog’s past is entertaining and sad, there is no doubt. It is easy to see why he turned out to be such a jerk. I even like that Dog articulates every villain’s belief: he’s the hero in this story, Wolverine is the villain.
The problem is, in order to make Dog a legitimate threat to Wolverine, Aaron has to equip him with all sorts of neat futuristic weaponry. It just doesn’t work for me. Dog’s look doesn’t lend itself to future weapons, the incongruous match of future tech and old-timey clothes make for a confusing villain. His powers don’t match the look, basically. I’m still anxious to see how the brothers resolve this confrontation; I just don’t care for Dog as much as I could.

Ramon Perez is very impressive once again this month. His art switches back and forth between the pastel-style of Wolverine’s “Origin” series and the more modern look he established last month. I love his cartoony style when drawing Wolverine. Logan’s eyes are particularly expressive. I will say the backgrounds are lacking, but the dynamic foreground action during the fight distracts from the lack of setting.

Fair

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