A year and a half ago, fans watched as Laura Kinney declared herself Wolverine in the absence of her mentor, and she did so with an optimism and fervor that called back to the days of good guys fighting bad guys because bad guys are bad. Since then, that hopefulness and cheer has been slowly beaten out of Laura, culminating in her murder of an entire town after exposure to her trigger scent. All New Wolverine #18 acts as her rebirth from all things X-23 as she sheds her past and embraces her future with her allies at her side. With the only downside of this issue being some of the art, this conclusion to the Enemy of the State II arc does so neatly, with a few twists and turns, while still feeling very faithful to the characters.

Great artwork. Decent start to the new Legacy art that ties back into Laura's past. An interesting twist ending I didn't see coming. Less Daken than I was hoping for.

Really great issue. The Orphans of X are intense with the torture and the weird family setting. Daken is always welcome. Gabby is funny. The mystery of what exactly is going on its intriguing. Can't wait for next month.

Spider-Man continues on excellent trajectory since the ending of the Clone Conspiracy. Osborn's master plan and revelations are devious and entertaining. After the way Norman's identity was treated back in Superior, I'm really glad to see Slott picking up that thread and using it to showcase more of Osborn's batshit insanity. Loved Mockingbird's part, Silver Sable's revelation was interesting and believable, and I can't wait for the inevitable Spidey vs Goblin showdown. Also Immonen should never leave this book.

A hilarious and sad look at Parker's life now, with some great character building and set up for a good arc that looks to get Peter back to his roots.

Peter's back to being on the bottom, but at least he's got a friend to work stuff out with. Another excellent issue that wraps up some nice loose ends that have been dangling for a minute, while also setting up for a coming change in Parker's world. Immonen needs to never leave this book.

A pretty strong close to the first chapter of this title that I'm honestly surprised is still around. All previous elements were brought back in to play a role, whether they fit into the story naturally or not. It will be interesting what effect this has on Normie when we catch up to everyone eight years later.

An interesting study in what regret is and how we overcome it. Both Angel and Illyria (and Fred) have differing ideas in how to deal with regret, but here is Angel's biggest regret playing out in front of him. No flashy monsters to beat here, just world ending decisions being averted. Angel's forced sacrifice in comparison to Illyria's emotional catharsis she received by changing history earlier this season poses a really interesting ethical dilemma that I hope gets fully explored by the end. The last page was weird but whatever I'll roll with it.

A crossover clash that's been building for a year, Avengers vs Champions delivers on all the interpersonal drama without sacrificing any action. The only negative is del Mundo's absence.

David's dialogue in these last two issues is seriously atrocious. I'm not sure if he's just phoning it in but why is Ben suddenly using British slang? It's just so stilted that it prevents me from enjoying the story, which is actually starting to get interesting with Ricochet's addition to the mix. Bagley's art is great as always, but not enough to make up for the poor writing.

Pretty much perfect, if it wasn't for that ridiculous hidden message in the notes. Really sets up for a nice adventure, and a very good twist means very bad things for the good guys.

A good, almost great first issue, except it is a little too familiar, a little too we've seen it all before. Jubilee as the adult is a great lens character, one that almost everyone will be able to relate to in some way. The kids themselves are barely given any major characterization, instead just given brief introductions of their powersets. Overall a decent start to an X series that I'm excited for. Plus Benjamin Deeds!

A fascinating character study on the road to recovering from trauma, Jen's story continues to burn slowly into what will (hopefully) be an intense and worthwhile conclusion to this first arc. The lack of Hulking in a Hulk book is disappointing, but the deep character work and unique tone is the meat to this comic.

A hilarious one shot that also nods to the background threat looming closer, builds character development, and breaks the fourth wall. What more could you ask for? Also a nice break after a pretty dark and intense first 10 issues.

A continuation of a stylized romp through Wolverine's history. While it's fun and gorgeous to look at, there's no suspense or tension. Each scene is little more than a brief shot of something that Logan has no control over. However, the art and nostalgia carry this arc enough that it doesn't feel like filler, despite knowing we're halfway through it and have almost nothing new to show for it.

I hope Rodriguez never stops drawing this story. The Progenitor planet looks trippy and weird, and the set up here is incredible. I still don't understand what future Maximus is up to, nor do I enjoy Medusa/Gorgon.

Gert's back! Classic Runaways. Very jarring twist ending, followed by another ominous reveal.

It's nice to see some plot threads, like the team challenging Robin's leadership or Robin's teaming up with the Green Arrow, are picked up and referenced here. It gives the book a nice sense of continuity. The introduction of the Red Arrow and Kid Flash as new potential members of the team is pretty exciting, and the conflict at the end will be fun to see them all resolve.

The hunt for Weapon H is still going strong. The team gets their collective ass kicked (except for Domino, which provides the issue with some much needed levity and fun character interactions) and we as readers get to see what the Hulkverine is capable of. The monstrosity itself continues to be fleshed out as a person, making the conflict multi-faceted on both sides. The awesome end reveal bumped it from a 7.5 to an 8.

Not the greatest. I wish there was more team building in the actual team, and Laura's inclusion felt extremely unnecessary. Weapon H and Dr. Alba do make for a pretty formidable threat, but I'm ready to move past this Hulkverine stuff.

The revelation of Dr. Alba's plan and how insanely fucked up it is is pretty dark and I enjoyed it. It was nice to see more of the title team working together since we get so little of the 3 back up characters, but Laura, as much as I love her, is still drawing attention away from a team that we already have had very little time with. I'm enjoying the direction the Weapon H story is going now, but after literally 15 issues building this arc, I'm ready for Weapon X to move on to something fresh.

Solid issue with some good characterization for Jean as a team leader. I love that every member of this team really works together. It makes for good action sequences. The villain of the issue was an interesting one with unusual motivations. Blue continues to hit it out of the park while Gold struggles to keep up.

While the story is good, Mojo's onslaught of the X-men is so frantic that it's hard to keep up with everything going on, and not enough time is devoted to each group. I'm pretty upset about a certain character's potential being (maybe) squandered too.

Everything is working out a little too well for our heroes in this Mojoverse. Back to back with Gold the way this arc is, the art really can't hold a candle to its sister series. The twist at the end was a little interesting but honestly I'm ready for this crossover to be done with.

While I do find that Blue has been a more consistently interesting and imaginative book so far, this issue to me seems to move past the awkward start and begin to build a stronger second arc, even if it does echo the one-and-done story Blue just did with mutant sentinels. Gambit is always a welcome addition, and I like the seeds sown during Storm and Logan's police scene. Rachel's psy-skills, while visually cool and fun, are starting to feel a little too OP.