Weapon X #12

By Greg Pak, Yildiray Cinar and Frank D’Armata

This is a big story arc for Weapon X. The series got a huge boost in popularity with it’s crossover with Totally Awesome Hulk that introduced us to Weapon H, a cross between Wolverine and Hulk DNA. The problem is that the last arc was extremely popular and grabbed a lot of fan attention and headlines that the follow up needs to be equally as exciting. What does Greg Pak do? He brings back Nuke, which should get fans riled up.

There is something to be said about writing a darker book for Marvel. While comics have definitely gotten more mature in the past decade or so, a book about a group of killers on suicide missions is not something we see all the time from the house of ideas. Greg Pak continues the trend of giving us good character driven stories packed with action. One of the things that has continued to work for this series under Pak’s pen is his characterization of Domino. She’s been some much needed comic relief for the series and she scores once again this month, and she really wants to rob a bank. The idea of a group of “nukes” running around and wreaking havoc is also a pretty cool idea for a storyline. Pak also delves into how much of a loose cannon Sabertooth is as a character and teammate. He constantly does selfish things and rarely thinks of the team. This issue he lets his rage control him and he makes a bad move that has some unfortunate consequences. While last arc may be hard to follow in terms of mass appeal, this issue has put a very good foot forward and should intrigue any fan of the book.

The pencils this issue are handled by Yildiray Cinar with colors by Frank D’Armata. The art for this issue is decent, but there are some spots where things seem rushed or body parts seem misshapen. An example of this is in the first couple of pages as the team is in Mexico. There is a panel of all of our main characters and they just seem odd looking standing in the field. That small gripe aside, there are some very good action pages in this issue. The team attacking a team of Nukes looks excellent, and Cinar does a wonderful job of framing the page. It draws your eyes in a zigzag as you look at the action sequences. There is nothing wrong with seeing Sabertooth leap into action and tear at Nuke soldier’s stomach either. The colors by Frank D’Armata are fine here as well, but seem a little light in spots. The beginning of the issue is kind of serious, as people in Santa Marco are hunted by Nuke soldiers, and it seems like the colors could be a bit darker. As the team reaches these soldiers later in the issue, it does feel like things are a bit darker. One panel that will stand out is when a soldier takes a pill and D’armata colors this perfectly, there is a lot of red in the background and a silhouetted figure, but what really sells it is the close up panel of a red-eye opening. Overall the art has a couple of small bumps in the road, but it’s still very fine and compliments the writing.

Weapon X has kicked off this new arc at break neck speed. This was an exciting issue orchestrated by Greg Pak with a great sense of urgency. This is a series that has consistency on it’s side and if you’re a fan of darker Marvel titles, Weapon X is worth a read.