At their worst, X-Men stories completely glaze over their characters’ uniqueness and let the mutant class issues that Uncanny X-Men was built on dissolve into bland, sanitized adventures that stare down “God Loves, Man Kills” from an opposite corner of the storytelling spectrum. When writers really understand what they’re doing, as Kathryn Immonen and Phil Noto do in Wolverine and Jubilee #1, X-Men comics drill a little bit deeper into the spheres of society that exist in the Marvel world. The first issue of this four-issue miniseries picks up as the team is deciding what to do with Jubes, who’s been bitten by a vampire and is taking doses of Wolverine’s blood to keep her humanity (or de-powered mutantdom, or whatever you want to call it).
Things get complicated as she discusses her new plight with Emma Frost and gets approached by a mysterious stranger with something else to offer her. I loved every page turn in this book, and it’s one of the best surprises I’ve encountered in a Marvel title this year. I’m definitely in for all four issues, and the shipping container plot twist at the end right down to Wolverine’s vow really seared some angst into things.
It’s all wonderfully drawn, and though you may feel a little disoriented if you haven’t been following recent vampire-related Marvel Universe goings on, you should be able to get up to speed with what’s provided herein. It’s a fine read.