One of my favorite - although short - story arcs in Wolverine and the X-Men (WatXM) is the Kill Circus in which the X-Men are magicked into thinking their circus performers. So hilarious! And the real plot includes finding one of the new members of the Hellfire Club.
That whole storyline is a little longer, and the arc lasts much longer, although it's occasionally the subplot as other horrors and enemies take center stage temporarily. But it's like real life - sometimes shitty things happen in the middle of other shitty things.
This story is hilarious and brilliant, and it all makes sense within Marvel's current world, and it makes sense given all the characters have been through. It's also got one of the best surprise endings, a cliffhanger that is satisfactorily pulled through in the next volume. (Although it's been long enough since I last read it that I can't remember exactly when.)
This was going to be a longer review, but honestly? Someone fell, almost on their face, and almost on top of me when I was sitting on the couch. I hurt my wrist, trying to save them, me, my comics and my computer - which were sitting next to me - all at the same time. Good news? WatXM 24 might be a bit dented, but not much if at all, and everyone else is safe. I'd rather my comics be crunched than people, anyway, so even if it had been shredded, I would've been fine with that. I'm just astounded that was the extent of the damage, besides my wrist.
I'm not going to do a, like, two page review due to that, though, and my reviews today and tomorrow, at least, will likely be shorter. Here, have some favorite quotes that I typed up earlier, though. My wrist is aching, so that's all I have left in me right now.
Dr Nemesis: “Wait a second, so Wolverine actually is running a school? I could have sword Fantomex was joking. And you expect me, Dr. Nemesis, to teach here? Okay, fine, just tell me one thing. How liberal is your policy on shooting children in the face with hypodermic needles?”
Kitty: “Next!”
Dr. Nemesis: “Yes, I thought you might say that.”
The interviews for new teachers in issue 19 alone are worth the price of this graphic novel.
“Ghost Rider. Penance. Motorcycles. Burning.”
Deadpool: “I once assassinated a Nobel Prize winner. Doe stat count as qualifications?”
Seriously - these interviews are amazing.
Deadpool: “I promise I’ve never killed any children. Or, wait, is that a negative? I’m always willing to learn!”
Kitty: “For the love of god, someone get him out of here!”
Spider-Man: “Ha! I just had to see this for myself. Can you show me where Wolverine sits when he’s grading papers?”
God, this is hilarious and amazing.
Angel: “Wait! Don’t believe what you’ve read online! I promise Wolverine doesn’t kill students! He’s only never wounded a few!”
Worst pitch ever.
Iara: “…every word that comes out of your mouth sounds way too churchy for me, pal.”
Angel: “Sorry, did I forget to mention the part about Wolverine? And the claws and the stabbing?”
Finally, having a headmaster who stabs people has become useful as a recruitment tool for those anti-churchy people!
Silver Samurai: “Wow. I’ve never been turned on by a shark before, but… wow.”
This is even funnier out of context.
Silver Samurai: “Tell the me the truth, this is turning you on too, isn’t—“
Angel: “Hold this. I’ll be right back.” Angel tosses SS his sword, and SS screams in pain in the background, as he apparently gets electrocuted.
This is just awesome.
Mudbug: “I reckon Wolverine used to be all right, back when he was always stabbin’ folsk in their faces all the time. But now he’s tone all sissified, ain’t he? I heard he don’t even use his claws no more ‘cept on folks that actually don’t something wrong. What kinda tree-huggin’ liberal crap is that?”
I just snickered at all this.
“Now go back to camp and plug yourself in, you useless android.”
The Hellfire Club must die for this outrage. Oh, yeah, and tying to kill off Wolvie’s students…
Genesis: “Jet-boots don’t fail me now!”
Such an awesome line.
Genesis: “This is horrible. These monsters are an affront to decent, hardworking clowns everywhere.”
I don’t know why this line is so funny, but it is.
Warbird: “Forget your pathetic teenage hormones for one second! Focus on killing zombie clowns!”
Um, yes, please. Loves me some Jason Aaron.
Beast: “Your clowns have been dealt with, sent back to the wretched hell from whence they came.”
No love for clowns. And yet, it’s all so very funny.
Angel: “I’ve been given the honor of paying for everyone’s drinks!”
Poor, poor Angel! I foresee them taking much advantage of him in the future.
Abigail: “Even if Ego the Living Planet comes by to make out with the moon…”
I just love that image!
Storm: “And I know you miss Scott. Though you’d never dare admit it.”
Wolvie: “If by ‘miss’ you mean ‘would love to stab in the face,’ then yes.”
I love Wolverine. Just love him to pieces.
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