Excalibur #7: Shh… We’re Hunting Warwolves

Tini Howard has a firm grasp of the characters. She writes them with a voice that is true to who they have always been; Rictor is far too quick to trust suspicious men bearing gifts, but also continued growth; wine mom Jubilee is quickly becoming my favorite Jubilee. The strong voice of the characters serves to be a firm anchor of the series. Whether it’s Captain Britain chopping at the less-than-trustworthy people she is getting orders from or the ticking time bomb that is Gambit’s distrust of Apocalypse, these character interactions not only move the plot forward but keep me interested.

The rest of the issue, while still enjoyable, doesn’t seem to reach the level I want it to be with these characters. The storyline has several fun moments and I’m curious as to where this second arc is going. But if I push too hard, there’s a lot of “why” questions. The biggest being – why the team not only agrees to murder sentient beings but actually note how it could be fun. (Yea, I get they are murderous creatures, but there is more discussion around if they should because it came from Apocalypse than there is about hunting creatures that have shown the ability to talk and show emotion.)

The art of the issue is okay. I didn’t find it to distract from the story, but the longer I looked the more I found myself put off by the faces. In some frames, the proportions seem a little off and while it may just be some cases of unflattering angles, but I can’t shake the feeling that Betsy’s forehead changes size.

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