X-23 #7
Laura and Remy head off to Madripoor to investigate the remnants of the Weapon X program, but before they can do that Remy has to payback an old debt to secure them passage across the high seas. but who really cares about all that? We all know you came for the hot and heavy Laura on shark action!!! Oh and there's pirates, definitely pirates in this issue.
The Good
First cover for this series that I can actually say I genuinely like top to bottom. It's simple but effective, Laura and Gambit as pirates. I don't know if this was intentional, but I like how Laura's costume's reminiscent of Wild Thing's.
Okay, seriously Will Conrad has got to go. The man could barely finish an issue last arc. I loved her fill in art on Issue 3 and after seeing the A-FRAKIN-Mazing job Sana Takeda does here I gotta say I'll be starting a lobby to ensure she stays on as the artist for this title. Every single page in this comic is pristinely beautiful and vibrantly colored. It all just looks so lush and alive and is a pleasure to gaze upon. Seriously? Has man vs. shark action ever looked more awesomely kick ass and elegantly beautiful? Takeda effortlessly steals the show from Liu
After the last 3 issues uninspiring talk fest it seems that Liu's gotten the message that we want to see Laura BE LAURA!!! Open up this issue and what's the first thing we see? Laura...in water...fighting sharks? Oh thank you, Based God!!! I said in my last review that I had faith in Liu to balance out her intense character study with enjoyable action, much like she did with Black Widow, and she finally does it here. This issue we see Laura whip out the claws and not only lay the smacketh down on a mako or two but a few pirates as well.
As always, Liu does a great job of showing Laura's growth as human being. She fails to save a man this issue and her contemplation of that towards the end of the issue is a great moment. I really like the relationship that Liu's created between Gambit and Laura. It was a great move on her part to have these two interact during Laura's sojourn. What could've quite easily been a train wreck has more or less been the saving grace of this sub par arc. At the end of the issue he asks Laura why she didn't lay waste to all the pirates and her answer fully encompasses her evolving outlook on life and it's value without being over the top schmaltzy and saccharine. The image of Laura and Gambit a drift at sea, at peace with the world and themselves makes for a very fitting ending to this story.
The Bad
I really like the design of the head pirate. He reminds me of a golden age SNK boss. Sadly we barely get to see him before he gets the claws. I mean we don't even get to know his name. I seriously feel like Liu dropped the ball by making this a one off filler issue and not having the arc be about this. Laura/Gambit vs This guy and his cohorts and their sharks...I really like sharks.
Once again as much as I (highly) enjoy Liu's take on Gambit, he's got to go. The comic's called X-23, Liu needs to ditch the Caijun side dish and serve us healthy helpings of the main course. The first arc (strong as it was) was hampered down in The Wolverine goes to hell event, and the second arc was a mess and split Laura's screen time with the Ragin' Caijun. The next arc is a crossover with Daken. Will Laura ever exit the shadow of the men in her life?
As much as I enjoyed this issue, it is admittedly filler
The Verdict
Buy This Comic!!!
Normally I wouldn't so strongly recommend a filler issue, but this is such a fun issue and Takeda's artwork is worth the price of admission on it's own. Seriously, I defy you to find a better looking comic this week. After last issue I was truly considering dropping this series, but I'm glad to say that Marjorie Liu brings her A game. Hopefully she'll continue to do so with the next arc. If she can continue to inject the much needed action that's essential to a character like Laura into future issues than I foresee blue skies ahead.
