NEW MUTANTS #29
Recap
Gabby is missing…and it's up to Daken and Warpath to track her down! Akihiro overcompensates - due to guilt over not being able to protect Gabby from the Shadow King. James stresses - due to his hesitance in reuniting with his newly resurrected brother. So the two must overcome their own insecurities in order to find the young New Mutant, last seen heading for an Orchis station. Or for pizza, depending on who you believe.
Review
Knowing these two characters are both pretty similarly acerbic and as such interchangeable, I went in not thinking I’d warm to the pairing at all. But I soon found a great character analysis issue from Danny Lore, masquerading as a Buddy Team-Up. In fact I personally think they have given more thought to the two protagonists than most bother to do in the past. I expected very little in the way of characterisation, with not much to differentiate them from each other to make it an interesting story. As such I didn’t expect much banter between them and wasn’t surprised at the opening to see the tried and tested grumpy snapping. So it was a pleasant surprise to see it quickly get so much better once they are discovered by the Orchis guards. And what followed was a huge departure from how these two are usually (under)written. And James giving Daken and the Wolverine family some kudos raised an eyebrow in surprise and a smile.
Final Thoughts
A surprisingly deep character analysis of what can sometimes be two very difficult characters to relate to. So much so I barely noticed the lack of Honey B...Scout. All of which makes me see this was the team up I never asked for and didn’t expect to love as much as I did.
New Mutants #29: Room to Swing a Wolverine
- Writing - 9.5/109.5/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10