X-Force Special: Ain’t No Dog #1 (Marvel – Huston / Aaron / Palo / Dell’Edera)
Ain’t No Dog”: There will be blood. Gallons of it. Because Cyclops needs only one scalpel for a surgical strike mission and Logan’s the ideal man for the job. Tonight, Wolverine flies solo—dressed in black and operating off the grid. And when the night is through, there will be mountains of corpses, and no one to answer to. What could be better? PLUS, this one-shot features a solo Warpath story, as he learns what it really means to go home again.
It’s been a while since I have read a mainstream book with this level of body count. But what Marvel is doing here is trying to give a taste of what the X-Force book is about (black-ops get-your-hands-dirty type missions). This is more-or-less a Marvel Max book being sold under the mainstream Marvel title.
Not that having more a hardcore book is a bad thing, it’s just a fan of the X-Men Evolution cartoon show might have a rude awakening when they check out this very Logan-centric story. Charlie Huston’s take on Wolverine is dead on, whether he is bumping chests with Cyclops or getting to the heart of the matter and taking down a cult leader. The title of the one-shot comes from a line from Wolverine himself, describing how he approaches life in his straightforward way “I’d say it’s been good to know ya, but I would be lyin’ like a dog… an’ I ain’t no dog”. Jefte Palo’s dark, gritty style with blood splattering on everything is a great match for this story that ends literally with Wolverine on a heaping pile of bodies. The back up story written by Jason Aaron and penciled by Werther Dell’Edera is a little bit more of the same “see how dark we can get” feel with a character sketch on Warpath.
Overall a good “get into X-Force” book, but a tight buy at $3.99.
Issue Grade: B
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