Musings on ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’

“Stay the hell away from my school.”

I love Wolverine and the X-Men.  

Sure, sometimes it seems like there are at least 283 X-Men titles and about 342 other comics that feature Wolverine in some way, shape, or form each month, but I dig this one the most. Why? Well let’s start with the absolutely brilliant writing from Jason Aaron, who has managed to make the story of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning a hell of a fun read that I’d rank up there with anything on the shelves these days. I’ve always been a fan of writers who are able to juggle action, comedy, and off-the-wall ideas in their storytelling, and Aaron manages this exceptionally well.

Honestly, where else can you go to see Deathlok the administrative assistant to the headmaster, Broo the nerdy Broodling student, Toad the school janitor, or Doop the mysterious, lima bean-looking jack-of-all-trades? Are there any other titles featuring schools that have a sentient lawn? What about spontaneous pregnancies? Well, that one might not be all that uncommon in the comic book world, but I digress!

It also helps that the artists working on the title to this point, Chris Bachalo and Nick Bradshaw, have styles that really mesh with the tone of the book and work to elevate it even further in quality. While still being an action-oriented X-Title, the book is also extremely light-hearted and goofy at times, and it helps tremendously to have artists on board whose art meshes with the content so well. While I’m mentioning the art, I’d also like to point out Mike Allred‘s recent guest spot as the artist in issue 17, one of the most bizarre, yet amusing comic book tales I think I’ve ever read.

Wolverine and the X-Men, out of the dozen or so titles I pick up each month, is the one I make sure to read first. Even if you aren’t normally a fan of the X-titles I’d recommend giving it a shot, because Jason Aaron and the artists are doing some fantastic work that you shouldn’t miss out on. Marvel has a good thing going here and I hope it gets even better in the future.