Hellions #13
Sinister gets an unexpected visitor in Hellions #13, by writer Zeb Well, artist Roge Antonio, colorist Rain Beredo, and letterer Ariana Maher. It appears that some writers remember that X of Swords was a thing, as this issue deals with the repercussions from that and the Hellions' battle against the Smileys.
At the Right's shattered laboratory, Dr. Murch and his compatriots discover what the Hellions wrought on the base and call in the ZETA Team to hunt down the robot's mutant offspring. On Krakoa, Nanny plays with the baby while the Hellions unwind, with Greycrow making another shot at Psylocke and getting shot down. Orphan Maker discovers Nanny playing the robot, and she browbeats him into keeping the secret. Afterward, he talks to Greycrow without revealing what he saw, and they decide to clean guns together. At Bar Sinister, Mister Sinister and Mastermind talk about the cloning facility they're setting up in Arcade's old space. Sinister leaves to go have dinner, only to find a surprising guest there, one who has a surprise for him and the Hellions, care of Amenth.
One of the biggest problems with X Of Swords is how little most of the writers have used Arakko in the books. Ewing has in S.W.O.R.D. and Duggan did famously in Planet-Size X-Men #1, but other than that, the events of the massive crossover have barely had much of an effect on things. Wells laid out some very cool stuff in his X Of Swords issues, and this issue pays those off and things from previous issues as well. Wells' writing has a lot of strong points, and the way he can fit so much character development into such small spaces is one of them. He finds a way to use just about every member of the team in this issue in interesting ways, doing a little bit of work with each of them. Team books are a delicate balancing act, and he constantly pulls it off, and this issue is no different.
Another thing he's great at is continuing plotlines; from the pages at the beginning dealing with the aftermath of the team's fight with the Right to Greycrow continually trying to get Psylocke to the bitter fruits of Sinister's machinations in Amenth, this issue picks up threads that Wells has been working with for months, and it's honestly delightful; too many comics today don't play as much with the episodic nature of comics except to write for the trade. There's something that's very Claremont-esque about the way that Wells writes this book and fits the flavor of it wonderfully.
Antonio's art is different from Segovia's, but that's okay. Every page looks great, and while it takes a little bit of getting used to after Segovia's art, it works very well. His figure work and character acting are great, and the final pages reveal of the next chapter's villains works wonderfully.
Hellions #13 has an old-school feel and looks to be building an excellent story. The Hellions' past is coming back to haunt them, and if it's anything like previous issues, it'll be a great story. Wells and Antonio make a good team for this one; it balances character work, set-up, and humor expertly.
