When this series is on, it's well on, and it has been for the past few issues now. There's so much going on, and all of it is engrossing, compelling, and exceptionally well drawn. There are a lot of X-Books on the shelves at the moment, but Wolverine and the X-Men is at the top of my reading pile when it's on top form like this. Read Full Review

Last issue wasted too much time introducing the various X-Men in their new circus statuses. And considering how little of that matters in this issue, Aaron definitely wasted too much time before. Here the X-Men are just the X-Men under mind control, their various circus identities completely unremarked upon. So really they're just comedic chaos as Aaron bounces around the few stories he actually cares about. And each of those stories is pretty good. Eye Guy gets a bit of character development in this issue, though he's still rather pathetically pitiful. Idie and Max get the most work, and I must say it was very entertaining, even though I hate Idie and the Hellfire Kids. Still, there's a chance that Aaron might actually make something out of this one. Read Full Review

If you don't mind the nagging feeling that much of the whole Murder Circus production is window dressing, you'll be able to appreciate the teen drama at the heart of this book. Aaron has set up a nice dynamic with two interesting and relatively new characters for the near future. Let's just hope that the comedy that has bolstered this series for so long returns next issue. Read Full Review

Even the Frankenstein monster resembles a Broadway villain with dialogue that comes really close to being over the top. There are cliche elements that drag the story down and make it feel trite as if the creative team is balancing a line they don't want to cross by making things too serious. Not that Wolverine and the X-Men #22 is terrible — it's a fun book that doesn't want to take itself too seriously. The problem is it feels a little too light for its own good. Read Full Review

What's less impressive is Aaron's use of thoughts balloon in various instances of this comic. Most of these are completely useless, as the various emotions could be portrayed much more effectively without them if only he had let Nick Bradshaw carry on those scenes without these intruding thought balloons. It shows some kind of laziness and a lack of pacing, as they are kind of annoying. There is a reason why most comics don't use these nowadays and this comic is a good example of that. What's worse is that most of them belong to the Maximilian character, which does not help him be an attaching or original character in any way. Comics are a visual medium, which means you must show, not tell, how your characters feels.The A somewhat bad comic with scenes mostly starring an uninteresting character saved by some great art. Read Full Review