Last issue, Wolverine grabbed telepathic sociopath Quentin Quire and the pair blasted into space on a desperate mission to obtain funding for the Jean Grey School, which had depleted its funds after the X-Men built the school and then had to rebuild it, after the Hellfire Club assaulted them (beginning in issue #1) and demolished it. Wolverine’s plan is to cheat the house at an intergalactic casino.
Meanwhile, the X-Men have reduced themselves to microscopic size to voyage into Kitty Pryde’s body, which is infested with thousands of tiny Brood aliens. They must also reign in the overly enthusiastic Kid Gladiator, who in honesty, is making the most headway in the battle.
Speaking of The Brood, a massive, mysterious alien arrives on Earth with a pack of regular-sized Brood on leashes. Beast had called in reinforcements from S.W.O.R.D., the agency that polices aliens on Earth, but the alien and his pet Brood get to them first and kill them all. Krakoa attempts to stop them, but there are too many and some of them manage to slip through, into the mansion. Meanwhile, the mutant Brood, known as Broo, a student at the school, is telepathically drawn to Kitty, or more specifically, the tiny Brood in her body. The pair are then attacked by the normal-sized Brood and flee.
Back at the casino, Wolverine and Quire are cleaning up, but their suspicious string of wins doesn’t go unnoticed by the house. They attempt to use a telepathy sensing worm to discern what the pair are up to, but Quire’s abilities are too much for it. The pair are nearly home free… until they are stopped and surrounded!
There’s a lot of story going on in this book, but it’s juggled perfectly and this light-hearted adventure series continues to please! Jason Aaron writes humorous, fun dialogue. Quire and Wolverine mesh like oil and water, so it’s fun to see them work off one another. And with the Kitty Pryde sequences, you really feel the sense of urgency and danger as the team inside of her body is struggling against overwhelming odds and attempting to control Kid Gladiator, while Kitty and Broo are scrambling to escape from and defend themselves against the invaders. Another plus is that even with the overall “light” nature of this book, the action scenes are still exciting and there is a sense of danger.
Nick Bradshaw’s clean lines and attention to detail serve the story well. His work has a cartoon-y vibe which fits perfectly, as do the vibrant colors that just pop off the page, thanks to Justin Ponsor and Matthew Wilson.
Yeah, this is definitely my favorite among the various X-Books!
Verdict: Buy
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #6
Written by Jason Aaron
Art and Cover by Nick Bradshaw
