X-Force #11 // Review
Krakoa is again under attack in X-Force #11, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Bazaldua, colorist GURU-eFX, and letterer Joe Caramagna. This issue acts as an X Of Swords prelude, but Percy still manages to do some of the deft character work that makes this book so engaging after a kind of confusing beginning.
Beast and Sage watch Cecilia Reyes autopsy some Russian supersoldiers Wolverine and the Marauders brought back from their attack on the Flower Cartel (in Wolverine #3). A smaller version of the soldier pops out of the corpse and kills Reyes. Beast deals with that one, but another pops out of a corpse, and he and Sage start pursuing. After they leave, more start coming. In the Savage Land, Domino tries to convince Colossus to work with X-Force, but he refuses, telling her that farming is what he needs, not fighting. On Krakoa, the mini-super soldiers start to wreak havoc. Back in the Savage Land, Colossus notices the Madroxs being called back to Krakoa and sees one pop out of the portal shot. He encounters a scene of bedlam, as the X-Men and X-Force battle the tiny soldiers, who have gotten into Forge's lab. Black Tom gets Xavier to safety, and one of them steals the Cerebro Sword from his quarters. The heroes deal with the attackers, and Colossus returns to the Savage Land. Near one of the portals, Quintin Quire and Phoebe of the Cuckoos finish a secret romantic interlude, and after Phoebe leaves, one of the small soldiers stabs Quintin with the sword as he barrels through the portal. As Quintin lay dying, he sees the one behind it all.
The beginning of this issue feels like the middle. While it's explained in short order, this still a problem because even readers who had read Wolverine #3 probably wouldn't remember this and have no reason to believe that Wolverine and company brought the supersoldiers back to Krakoa for autopsy. This rocky beginning is the only fault of the comic, though. Everything afterward is top-notch.
Percy manages to fit a lot into this issue, continuing his development of Colossus and his reasons for staying away from the fighting and showing readers how he spends his time and what it means to him. Percy paces the whole thing expertly, constantly moving things forward, and it all works wonderfully. It also appears like he's doing a running gag with the deaths of Quintin Quire, which is kind of funny because he literally always gets killed in every story arc.
Bazaldua's art is outstanding, but what makes it really pop is the coloring by GURU-eFX. It has a brushed look to it that makes it stand out and gives it an extra sheen. It gives everything a vibrancy that it wouldn't otherwise have. Bazaldua draws some very cool Krakoan biomechs as well, and the action scenes are exciting and well laid out.
X-Force #11 may be a prelude to another story, but it's one done right. Percy manages to keep his own plots moving forward while still serving the purpose of the prelude story. While the beginning of the issue is a little clunky, it all develops nicely as things go on. Bazaldua's art is fantastic and, with GURU-eFX's coloring making the whole thing pop. As a prelude to X Of Swords, this issue is excellent, and it also just a great issue of X-Force in general.
Grade: B+
