X-23 #11 & X-Factor #220

Two non-Crazy Mutie Island X-books here. Are they any good? Well if I told you in the introduction, why would you bother to read the review?!

X-23 #11:

Summary: Picking up from last issue, Vampire Jubilee is about to bite X-23, but upon touching X-23's blood, her head is(for some reason...) filled with an image from X-23's past. This image is enough to break Vampire Jubilee's bloodlust, but it leaves Vampire Jubilee kind of pissed that X-23 tempted her like that. Somehow, and I literally have no clue how or why, the two make up, and the next day go dress shopping with Gambit and Wolverine... Ugh... Anyway, X-23 tries on a dress, but doesn't know if she likes it, and I'm literally embarrassed that I just tried to review that scene... Moving on... Gambit learns about somebody selling a trigger scent, and figuring X-23 was involved, the four mutants head to the location of the sale. The trigger scent being sold is an improvement on the scent that drives X-23 into a murderous rage, and can be used on anybody. The mutants shut down the sale, but X-23 catches a whiff of somebody she knew from her past, and heads after them, Vampire Jubilee follows after her, and X-23 inevitably winds up smelling the trigger scent, which puts her at Vampire Jubilee's throat to end this one.

Thoughts: This was, by FAR, the worst issue of this series I've read thus far... I mean, I've really been enjoying Marjorie Liu's work with X-23, a character I don't even particularly like, but THIS issue... Ouch. I didn't get the beginning at all, with Vampire Jubilee licking X-23's blood and then getting a random image from X-23's mind. How exactly does that work? And then X-23, Vampire Jubilee, Gambit and Wolverine going dress shopping is something I honestly never wanted to see, and bizarrely, it didn't lead to ANYTHING! X-23 announces she didn't like the dress and that she preferred dark colors... So yeah, this was bad... Really bad...

Score: 2 1/2 out of 10.If you ever wanted to see Vampire Jubilee and X-23 go dress shopping, then THIS is the comic for you!!!

X-Factor #220:

Summary: We get started with something slaughtering a mess of people in a church. From there, Wolfsbane decides to take a stroll in the rain where she winds up bumping into Shatterstar. The two discuss Rictor, and Wolfsbane basically apologizes for her attempts to trap Rictor into a relationship with her to keep him away from Shatterstar. While talking, the two come across the church from earlier and both immediately sense the fact that something was wrong inside. Shatterstar goes to check out the back of the church, while Wolfsbane simply walks in the front door, coming face to face with a mess of mutilated corpses and herself at about 10 years old or so. After a while, the 10 year old Wolfsbane reveals itself to be a Sin-Eater, and tells Wolfsbane that the impending birth of her child was weakening several dimensional barriers, allowing creatures such as itself to head to Earth to make a play for Wolfsbane's unborn child. The Sin-Eater offers to take away all of Wolfsbane's sins in return for the life of her unborn child. That naturally leads to Wolfsbane attacking the Sin-Eater, soon assisted by Shatterstar, who must have finally found a way in. The two do a number on the Sin-Eater, but it proves to be too durable to perish, and it flies off, promising the two that they hadn't seen the last of it yet. The duo leave the church, not wanting to be found there when the cops arrive and walk right into Feral(!!!), ending this issue.

Thoughts: Meh. This issue was okay-ish, but it never really wowed me. Well, the last page with Feral did, but the rest of it was just sort of there. I like Shatterstar a lot(especially Peter David's version, take THAT Rob Liefeld!), and I like Wolfsbane, but for whatever reason, the story here never clicked for me. Maybe it was the whole, “I hope there's no hard feels about me trying to entrap your boyfriend with my pregnancy!” thing, maybe I was just in a lousy mood when I read this comic(which is a possibility, since I read this one RIGHT after X-23 #11), but this issue just didn't do it for me.

Score: 5 out of 10.Hey, Feral loooks good for a corpse!