By Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, (Writers) and Clayton Crain (Art)
Now this is more like it! With X-Force #4 it feels like the series has finally found its footing in a big way. This issue puts X-23 in the drivers seat while all hell breaks loose at Warren Worthington’s home, where the Purifiers ultimate plan for Wolfsbane and, ultimately, Angel comes to fruition. X-23 is one of my favorite characters and this issue of X-Force is reason enough for why she should have been included in this week’s X-Force Special: Aint No Dog (review coming tomorrow). If the series can keep with the momentum generated by this issue, X-Force will become a must read X-Book. Now for a quick rundown of the writing and artwork.
The writing is a huge step up from previous issues because we finally get some solid character moments between the team. More specifically, X-23 is shown to be both perfect and problematic for the team. Also, the Purifiers plan is finally given some clever depth beyond the “all mutants must die” motivation. However, it is clear Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle didn’t do some continuity homework, which is why I have some complaints about how Elixir is portrayed and how muddled the scientific aspects of the Purifier plan is. The dialogue could also improve a bit more, but, for the most part, things have been drastically improved.
As for the artwork, Clayton Crain has finally found a good look for body structure. His character movements seem much more natural, too. The action is also much easier to follow than previous issues, with storytelling elements stepped up. This is particularly apparent with the Wolfsbane sequences, which come across as brutal and striking. If you were waiting for X-Force to finally find its “x factor” (no pun intended), the wait is over. All signs point to this issue being a turning point for the series and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here. (Grade: B)
-Kyle Posluszny
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Christopher Yost, Clayton Crain, Craig Kyle, Marvel Comics, Mutants, Wolverine, X-23, X-Force, X-Force #4, X-Men, X-Men
