X-Men #7

By Brian Wood, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Jason Keith.

In the aftermath of Battle of the Atom, writer Brian Wood picks up the pieces of the story he had to put on hold and moves forward with action and intrigue. This issue centers on the return of Lady Deathstrike and her mission against the women of the X-Men

It’s refreshing to see a new take on Lady Deathstrike and Wood handles this character just as well as he handles the other women in the book. He fills this issue with her narration, so the reader gets a sense of who this new woman is and how she comes to acquire Lady Deathstrike as an instrument of destruction (I won’t say anything more in case of spoilers). This really humanizes the villain and gives her as much depth and character as the members of the X-Men this book focuses on.

With the loss of Kitty Pryde, we gain the appearance of two new X-Women. Wood approaches these ladies just as he does with his other cast members and gives them voices of their own. In fact, most of this issue is about their interaction with Lady Deathstrike and how they are coming to be a part of the X-Men team.

The art for this book really pops off the page. It’s a bit cartoonish, but it fits the style of the story very well. Terry Dodson offers some really great line work throughout the story, and is able to bring fluidity and motion to the pages easily. He is also able to capture the emotions of the characters very well, and the interactions did not fall short throughout the entire book.

I look forward to what Wood has to offer with the rest of the story around Lady Deathstrike. It seems to be a promising, exciting read.