Review: Wolverine and X-men #4

By: Peter J Mellini

Wolverine and the X-men #4 brings some new faces to the Jean Gray School for Higher learning, including new artist Nick Bradshaw.

The issue opens with the question most comic fans have been asking; how can the leader of the mutant hit squad X force also be the head master of a school dedicated to allowing young mutants to be kids.  Writer Jason Aaron depicts the extreme duality of Logan’s situation by showing him teaching an English lit class during the day and in a bloody ninja battle at night.

As to not keep secrets from his faculty Wolverine comes clean about what X Force does. Beast isn’t happy about it but feels its not a problem as long as it doesn’t effect the school. That doesn’t last long as wolverine transfers Genesis, a clone of Apocalypse raised in a virtual reality to be a hero, to the school.

Artist Nick Bradshaw work on Army of Darkness completely prepared him for this series. His style is a perfect balance of wacky humor and superhero comic action. His designs on the characters are very animated and fun.

For too long X men books have been doom and gloom instead of the fun and adventure super powers bring. Writer Jason Aaron has recaptured the feeling of those Kirby era books as he tells fun and weird stories. From the living island the school rests on, to the teleporting gremlins makes Wolverine and the X men the most fun and entertaining read in the X line. Seriously, what other book would feature a lecture on future history by the cyborg zombie Deathlok?