Wolverine and the X-Men vol. 2

The insanity doesn’t let up for a second in this volume even for a second, though it does start to strain against the boundaries of the story logic on display here.  I realize that’s a funny thing to call insanity on except that one of the main plot threads here (spotlighted on the cover) involves Wolverine and Kid Omega heading out to “Planet Sin” in order to raise funds for the school.  Part of me wonders why they just couldn’t have headed off to Madripoor for some illegal high-stakes gambling, but that’s not how this book rolls.  No, this is a book where taking the most outlandish route towards solving a problem is always viewed as the best one and that’s what makes it so entertaining.

Believe it or not, the interstellar gambling parts may be the most restrained in this volume.  That’s because the majority of the plot here follows up on Kitty’s surprise “pregnancy” reveal.  Of course she’s not pregnant with an actual human, she’s just showing the effects of being invaded by an army of microscopic Brood!  While Beast’s initial plans involve pumping her full of every antibiotic known to man to buy enough time for the xenobiological medics from S.W.O.R.D. to arrive, Kid Gladiator forces his, Iceman, and Rachel Grey’s hands by shrinking down and jumping into Kitty’s body to take the fight to the aliens.  Then you’ve got the actual mastermind of the infection travelling to Earth to commit murder in the name of science.

Even if the logic behind Wolverine and Kid Omega’s gambling epic strains even this book’s tolerances, there’s still plenty of good banter between the two (“I pulled all of the flight instructions out of your mind.  And about 57 ways to kill a man”).  It also shows that Quire can function in a not-completely-antagonistical way and still maintain the edge that makes him distinct.  The Brood-related madness of the scenes at the school manages to be quite engaging both in and outside of Kitty’s body thanks to the focus it puts on Broo, the only non-violent member of the species who is currently enrolled at the school as well as the imaginative settings illustrated by Nick Bradshaw in both environments.

Really, this volume is Bradshaw’s show as he knocks it right out of the park with all of the crazy environments he has to draw.  Much like fellow series artist Chris Bachalo, he can draw pretty much ANYTHING but he’s much less impressionistic with his style.  Bradshaw’s work has a very cartoonish, expressive vibrancy to it that makes scenes like Beast’s field trip through Toad’s body, the ensuing fight scenes in Kitty’s and all of the alien sights of Planet Sin a real feast for the eyes as it’s incredibly easy to appreciate the detail he brings to each panel as well as to follow his storytelling as well.

I do like Bachalo’s work in the issue he illustrates here, though he trades the cartoonish expressiveness of Bradshaw for raw energy.  That gives his story, which serves as an epilogue to Wolverine’s gambling trip as well as an update on the Hellfire Club’s plans, a darker edge which is appropriate given Sabretooth’s involvement and his plans to take out Beast’s girlfriend Agent Brand.  Though there’s a lot of talk here about having faith and heart that could’ve come off as unbearably saccharine, that’s avoided here as these ideas are dramatized quite well.  Angel wants Wolverine to have faith in him and everyone so he goes back to Planet Sin with some of the students to take care of some unfinished business.  There’s also a scene here between him and Genesis that will be quite interesting to anyone who has read “The Dark Angel Saga” (and if you haven’t… well, why haven’t you).  Beast’s showdown with Sabretooth has him providing some credible rationalizing for the need for heart in order to do the impossible. Or at least successfully pull off the irrational as he does here.

Jason Aaron may have let things get a little too crazy in parts here, but that’s okay as far as I’m concerned. I’ll always take “too crazy” rather than “not crazy enough” where superhero comics are concerned, provided it serves the story rather than becomes an end in itself.  (Which I realize goes against the idea of something being “too crazy”… but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)  Particularly when the art here is as good as it is.