Hellions #15 (Hellions by Zeb Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not the biggest fan of Tarn The Uncaring and his weird, uncanny grossness, but this is fun stuff.

Sinister’s plans and schemes are fast unravelling as the team finally learn that they’ve been manipulated and used and that Sinister’s secretly been using Arcade’s Murderworld as a cloning facility. Oh, and that he’s been holding Kwanon’s daughter hostage so that she’ll keep his secret.

We also learn that he’s created the first chimera, moving us one step closer to the future world of Powers of X. Although the chimera he’s created isn’t quite what you might be expecting…

Overall, this is a solid issue, and even if it didn’t quite blow me away, it still had some great moments.

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Hellions #14 (Hellions by Zeb Wells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off, I should mention the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage variant cover by InHyuk Lee, because it’s simply gorgeous, and if you have a chance to pick it up you definitely should. The regular cover by Stephen Segovia is nice, but the InHyuk Lee variant is just on another level.

Okay, but what about the actual comic, ‘cos we don’t just buy comics for their pretty covers, do we? (Yes, ok, so sometimes I do.) It’s…ok… A little muddled and a bit confusing. Tarn and the Locus Vile are back, which basically means that everyone is talking nonsense for most of this issue. And maybe I’m just tired but that didn’t really work for me.

What is significant is that Tarn reveals to the Hellions that Sinister killed them all, causing Sinister and his clone to flee…but not before revealing that he’s been working on chimera. Now, if you’ve been paying attention and have a good memory, you’ll remember that chimera played a big part in the future sections of HoX/PoX. Many people had been wondering when they were going to show up again, and it would seem that the answer to that is – soon.

The art is similarly just ok. It suffered in comparison to Larraz and Gracia’s work on X-Men #2, which I read immediately before this. There’s some nice work here, but, you know…it’s not Larraz…because nobody’s Larraz except Larraz.

Still, important things happened in this issue, and it’s moved the plot along, and I’m excited for the consequences of everything in this issue.

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Hellions #13 (Hellions by Zeb Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mr Sinister’s been a very naughty boy, and Mr Sinister’s here to make him pay.

Meanwhile, Nanny’s raising a mutant AI baby and Orphan Maker’s found out about it, so she’s very cross with him and makes him promise not to tell anybody about it. I expect he’ll end up spilling the beans in the next issue. But Greycrow finds him crying about it and they end up bonding over cleaning guns…which seems to drag up some of Greycrow’s childhood trauma.

But, yeah, it seems like all of Sinister’s machinations are starting to catch up with him, although he’d probably claim that this is exactly what he intended to happen all along.

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Hellions #12 (Hellions by Zeb Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I quite literally laughed out loud while reading this comic. Wells has found the perfect balance of drama, action and comedy in this book, and every issue feels better than the last.

It’s Hellfire Gala time and the Hellions are not invited (well, other than Sinister, Alex and Kwannon, that is…and Alex’s outfit is so fabulous I kinda’ want to cosplay it), but not being invited isn’t going to stop this team from just, well, going anyway…thanks to some psychic shenanigans and a running gag about Phoebe Cuckoo’s dress.

We also have the deepest of deep cuts here as Wild Child runs into Aurora, and if I hadn’t just been listening to X-Plain The X-Men episodes where they discuss their break up I would have had no clue they’d ever dated (I mean, I did read those X-Factor issues, it was just a lifetime ago). I was half expecting someone to shout, “Leave it, Kyle, she’s not worth it!”

Anyway, can all the X-Books be about awkward social gatherings from now on, please? I’m loving this!

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Hellions (2020-) #11 by Zeb Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The mind games continue as Kwannon and the rest of the team work to break free of Mastermind’s mental prison.

And, well, I could say more but that would spoil the twists and turns in this comic, which are all quite brilliant.

Suffice it to say the Sinister is playing a very dangerous game and I suspect that it’ll end in tears…and a psychic knife in his head.

Hellions continues to consistently be one of the best X-books in a very excellent line up of X-books.

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Hellions (2020-) #10 by Zeb Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clones, clones everywhere…and Arcade wants a slice of the action!

See, that’s why he’s kidnapped Mr Sinister, and Sinister is quite happy to provide…but Arcade feels he gave in too easily, so he’s going to torture him first anyway.

I’ve always found it hard to take Arcade seriously as a villain, he just never felt like a real threat in the past. He’s supposed to be a genius assassin, an experienced killer, but all of his plans fail, always. But here, finally, he seems dangerous…probably because he has Mr Sinister strapped to a table while he pulls teeth out of his mouth. It’s all very bloody. He’s also successfully blackmailing Mastermind to help him, because he has one of his daughters, and he’s set up an elaborate system to ensure that Mastermind doesn’t use his powers on him (and if he does his daughter dies). It’s an elaborate scheme, but that’s what Arcade’s supposed to be good at, and it’s refreshing to see him actually being good at it.

Oh, yeah, and I had been thinking “Isn’t Miss Locke dead?” But there’s a line in this which suggests that the Miss Locke in this might not actually be Miss Locke…so it’s good to know the creative team have been paying attention.

There’s a lot more to this issue than that, and it’s at times dark and at times funny…and at times darkly funny. Plus, you know, it has gorgeous art.

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Hellions (2020-) #9 by Zeb Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, it’s about time someone remember exactly how much a threat Mastermind is!

Unfortunately, for him, Mister Sinister is not the one that remembered. And now he’s dead. Or is he?

Also, just how creepy are Nanny and Orphan Maker? Very creepy, that’s how creepy they are. Like, extremely creepy. This issue was light on the jokes and heavy on the darkness, but Peter’s insistence that Nanny call him “Pete”…and his insistence that she’s not his mom, provided some welcome light relief.

Hellions continues to be a twisted little gem of a book…and speaking of twisted, here comes Arcade!

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Hellions #8 by Zeb Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hellions continues to be superb. I love the art and I love the writing.

But, also, wow…this was a wild ride, with some truly wonderful moments…not least of which was Empath figuring out that Hodge was 100% robot.

And then we have the revelation of Krakoa’s anti-Ai protocols, which could bring them into conflict with a LOT of people in the Marvel universe.

But the big, gut wrenching moment was the Hellions’ ultimate betrayal of the newly evolved Right robots.

Ah…there’s just more to process here than I can coherently write about.

Just, you know, go read it…it’s good.

Also Empath is still both the worst and the best.

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Hellions (2020-) #7 by Zeb Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

RIP Clive, we hardly knew thee…

Wild Child, Nanny and Orphan Maker are resurrected but they’re…changed…honed… And, more importantly, Orphan Maker needs a new containment suit lest his mutant power manifests and that CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. It would be bad. Very bad. Oh, and the technology to build him a new one is held by The Right.

Oh, also, Sinister is keeping from the rest of the team exactly how they died. Mainly because he murdered them. It would probably be bad if they found out. Bad for Sinister, that is.

This continues to be the funniest X-book right now. It’s so much fun, and it’s beautifully illustrated too.

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