Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #8

Let me begin by saying, “Chris Bachalo is BACK!” After too long of a hiatus, Mr. Bachalo returns back to the school, and brings all his insane art sensibilities with him! And it’s the perfect time too, because Jason Aaron’s tale is certifiably, over the top insane as well!

Wolverine returns from space and is having a little trouble adjusting. That’s mostly do to the fact that his legs are both broken and fused in unseemly positions! I guess the bouncers on Planet Sin don’t take too kindly to thieves! But on the other hand, students don’t like their headmaster being put in a wheelchair either, which leads to more high flying space fisticuffs that are sure to appease any cosmic fan! Plus, Angel’s insane, Genesis finally lashes out, S.W.O.R.D.’s gonna need a bigger boat, and the Hellfire Club has a new hitman —Sabretooth! Crazy!

Jason Aaron isn’t holding anything back these days, and it is great to see his tales brought to life again by Chris Bachalo! There is a cohesion between their artistic abilities that make this book work at peak performance when they are together. It is stylized chaos that grabs you, shaking until you pay attention to how good it is. And it is one of the best X books on the shelves today! Even through the outrageous storylines, the heart of the characters shine brighter than all the distractions. It is Aaron’s attention to detail and an underlying order to the chaos, that makes us feel vested in characters that would be lost in the background by a lesser writer. Though the tales are quite quirky, they are crafted from the highest caliber!

If you like space and blood, fights and blood, casinos and blood and watching Wolverine puttering around in a wheelchair like a hairy Professor X — you will love this book! This will probably be the last chance to see some truly insane stuff before the highly regimented A vs. X storyline passes through the book — so get it while it’s hot! And be sure to check out the letters column at the end. This month all the letters are answered by one of my new favorite characters — Broo!