Hellions #11

By Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia and David Curiel

Hellions has consistently been one the best books in the X-line. Each title has has some very good issues, and some disappointing ones, but Hellions doesn’t seem to have a bad issue to it’s name. With a group of misfits as it’s cast, and the body count constantly rising, Hellions is an unpredictable series that doesn’t allow anyone to be safe.

Zeb Wells continues his hot streak on this series with issue 11. If you were wondering how this story arc was going to play out, Wells answers it in a satisfying manner. Wells writes Arcade, who really is a goofy villain, quite seriously. Arcade is not dumb, his plans are diabolical enough, he’s just not able to get over the hump of super villainy because he’s kind of a coward. Wells again allows Psylocke and Mr. Sinister to shine. Sinister, with an injury to his face, slurs everything that he says, which actually leads to some funny moments. Psylocke continues to tow the line between hero and morally gray character as Wells allows her to make deals and decisions that other character might not have. Although his panel time is somewhat limited, Graycrow has an impact on this issue as well. Mastermind lets a secret slip to Psylocke that should be interesting moving forward with this series.

The pencils this issue are handled by Stephen Segovia with colors by David Curiel. Segovia is a pro who has worked on this title for a while, so he knows what works and what doesn’t. His early pages in the book, where an older Psylocke and Graycrow find each other look good. He uses the appropriate amount of shading as a fire burns between them. There’s a cool panel where Psylocke bursts into Arcade’s room and slices a character in half. The whole image is a silhouette, props to David Curiel too for the shade job, but it looks great. Segovia knows that few images are more satisfying than Mr. Sinister missing teeth and smiling. The colors by David Curiel rock, as usual. His close up panels of Psylocke and Mastermind with that vibrant pink coloring from Psylocke’s power leap off the page at you. The pencils and colors for this issue are very good, but you already know that. This team has worked on Hellions before, and know the quality needed to keep the standard of the book amazing.

Hellions #11 isn’t a groundbreaking issue or anything like that, but it is really fun. Zeb Wells just has a knack for good story telling that continues to show in each and every issue. The pencils and colors grab you attention from page one and never let go. Hellions is the escape from reality that we all need.