Wolverine Origins 34
"Weapon XI" Part 2
Written by: Daniel Way
Penciled by: Doug Braithwaite
Inked by: Bill Reinhold, Cam Smith and Paul Neary
Colored by: Art Lyon and Andy Troy
Lettered by: VC's Cory Petit

Origins shows a marked improvement over previous issues. Way seems to  have successfully found Daken's voice and seems to be genuinely trying to make Logan's son an interesting character. Most of the issue is a  fight scene between the team and Daken but unlike it's sister Uncanny the fight is actually fun. The stakes are high, the action is  explosive and it's cool to see the team's first interaction with Logan's wayward son. Braithwaite's pencils are stunningly suitable for the issue at hand, Way really knows how to play to his strengths as an artist The issue does get a bit awkward by the end when the last page cliffhanger is almost identical to another full page splash earlier in  
the issue. Other than small nitpicks, this issue proved to be an enjoyable action romp.
B+

X-Factor 41
"Back and There Again"
Written by: Peter David
Penciled by: Valentine De Landro and Marco Santucci
Inked by: Pat Davidson and Marco Santucci
Colored by: Jeromy Cox
Lettered by: VC's Cory Petit
Cover by: David Yardin with Nathan Fairbairn

X-Factor slows done a bit after two very strong and shocking issues. I  feared that the last two issues relied a little too heavily on shock  value and this comic hasn't done much to assuage those fears. X-Factor  is still better than it has been in a while but it's definitely lost  some momentum with this storyline, we check up with the team itself this issue which proves to be a bit disappointing because X-Factor works best as the Madrox show. Peter David's usually witty dialogue seems a little clunky and awkward with a Madeox-less team (Syrin sounds particularly weird). The art seems pretty strange at times as DeLandro and Santucci can't agree on the angle layouts of the action scenes, but the character work with the talking heads is still as solid as ever.
B-
 
X-Force 13
"Suicide Leper" Part 2
Written by: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Art by: Clayton Crain
Lettered by: VC's Cory Petit

X-Force is a strong showing this week but as the case with most issues  of the series, the good parts are brilliant but the rest is  boarder line dreadful. First off, Kyle and Yost understand the  characters they write better than most of the other X-writers of  today. Every member of the X-Force team spout flawless dialogue and  the inner relationships of the team are extremely interesting,  particularly with "team hostage" Vanisher who is easily the most fun  character in this book. The Cyclops/Wolverine relationship is clearly  where this book shines the most, their dialogue is so pitch perfect  and intense I wish I was reading their next confrontation now instead  of writing about it. And now, the bad: after thirteen issues the  violence in this book feels very gratuitous, especially the death at  the end of a character with a lot of potential (so much for a reunion  of one of my favorite team books of the decade). The Rhane subplot is  also dragging it's heels and is condensed to a two page sequence that  reads like a bad romance novel. Crain's gloomy yet clean artwork is  perfect for this book but two certain female characters are wearing  very ridiculous clothing for no particular reason but for T and A  which is strange because they spend the issue as drugged hostages. The  following Messiah War crossover should prove to be very fun and play  to Kyle and Yost's strengths.
A-

Young X-men 12
"End of Days"
Written by:Marc Guggenheim
Penciled by: Rafa Sandoval
Inked by: Roger Bonet
Colored by: Ulises Arreola
Art (Future Sequences): Daniel Acuna
Lettered by: Dave Sharpe

Young X-men wraps up with issue twelve and to be honest the less said  about it the better. This issue is a typical example of a rush job,  this was not the story the creative team wanted to tell but one they were forced into due to low sales. Writer Guggenheim clearly wanted  this gig and put a lot of effort into the title but in the end was bogged down by a lame cast of characters and living in the gigantic shadow of it's predecessor New X-men. All that and Guggenheim clearly  didn't have a grasp or much care for these characters from the start,  mostly wanting to focus on his own creations and old New Mutants. So,  all in all, this series was mostly a failure. Guggenheim clearly  couldn't tell the stories he wanted to before the death sentence was  put on this book. I wish I could say that was a shame but Guggenheim is clearly more suited on books like Amazing Spider-man. He does  manage to squeeze in some good meta commentary on the junior X-books with Anole saying all they are good at are dying (seeing as they  always get cancelled) but the issue is mostly an awkward mess. Even  the art by the solid Sandoval and Acuna are rushed and messy, showing  strange angles and clashing colors. Hmm, I guess now we'll never see  those visions we saw in issue 5, well here's hoping Doug Ramsey still  comes home one day...
D+