S.W.O.R.D. #7: Dinner is Served With the Things We Do for Sol

Disclaimer: This issue will make a good deal more sense if you read Guardians Of The Galaxy #16

The Last Annihilation is upon us! Ewing contrasts the issue between a dinner engagement between Doom and Sol’s new regent Storm with the invasion by The Mindless Ones set loose by Dormammu who has possessed EGO the Living Planet. The action picks up almost immediately from GOTG #16.

The dinner engagement is an interesting throwback to Uncanny X-Men #145 which Doom even references but the circumstances are vastly different and while Doom seeks to further his own agenda (whatever that may be but you can bet powerful men always seek more power) and the verbal barbs traded are a brilliantly written exchange that covers past present and the future, it’s ultimately Storm that shows her metal and why she has been appointed to the position of regent as she rebuffs him. Ewing’s Doom is excellent, impeccably mannered yet ruthless. Storm is regal and resolute but you cant help but feel that Doom’s warnings go beyond posturing or empty threats. Regardless Storm isn’t having it.

Meanwhile Hulkling is defending Throneworld II even bringing the treasonous Captain Glory to assist but even so they are soon overwhelmed by The Mindless Ones. HOLD ON you say! Isn’t this a S.W.O.R.D issue? So Where the hell is S.W.O.R.D? Ewing inserts S.W.O.R.D into the fray as they rescue the fallen Hulkling. Brand continues to play a dangerous ethical game with the lives of a great many people as she manipulates the situation to the advantage of S.W.O.R.D and the Sol system in order to curry favor amongst those that are not huge fans of certain policies (including the WANDA situation which we see Brand straight up lie about to Hulkling) and S.W.O.R.D itself.

Time will tell if it comes back to bite her and S.W.O.R.D in the butt or not but for now Brand and her team get to come in as the seeming white knights and help the Kree/Skrull alliance.

I loved Valerio Schiti on this book and was sorry to see him move on (looking forward to Inferno book 1 though!) but Stefano Caselli steps in and doesn’t miss a beat. His Storm is beautiful and so is his Hulkling. In fact all his main characters are perfectly rendered against alien backgrounds be it Arrako or the action packed scenes of the battle on Throneworld II as we are reminded we are out in the 616 galaxy.

Protobunker’s Fer Sufuentes-Sujo brings the full color spectrum to Caselli’s gorgeous line art for an issue that is absolutely perfect from art point of view to round out an chapter that has it all from political intrigue and manipulation to heavy action scenes as we see the S.W.O.R.D team in action. Ariana Maher brings the thunder (and the lightning) with some superb sound effects and quality lettering and we get some Valerio Schiti in a ominous but superbly rendered cover.