X-Force #33
Kraven, Beast, and Wolverine learn the law of the jungle in X-Force #33, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Robert Gill, colorist GURU-eFX, and letterer Joe Caramagna. This issue is exactly the fun romp readers expected it to be.
The plot to this one is pretty simple: Kraven tests Beast and Wolverine in the Shadow Room while Sage wrangles up Deadpool and Omega Red for backup. The fight has its ups and downs, especially when the ongoing Eternals attack disrupts the Shadow Room’s systems, but in the end, Wolverine takes down Kraven as everyone escapes. He refuses to kill him, letting nature take its course.
X-Force is great for character building, but this issue is mostly just an action extravaganza, something else that this book has proven great for. Percy gets how to set up action set pieces, and this chapter shows it. An interesting little wrinkle to the whole thing is Kraven’s narration, which has been part of this story since the beginning. His pompous, self-important way of referring to things is wonderful, as his entire life is looking at things through the lens of pain and death. It sets the scene for a life and struggle very well.
There’s really not much more to say about it. This one isn’t a deep dive into the morality of X-Force or anything like that. It doesn’t impart any new character information to the readers. It’s basically just a nice long fight. Percy paces it perfectly, which definitely helps. This is a hunt as much as anything else, and it feels like it, a game of cat and mouse that throws intriguing new things at the readers to keep them entertained.
Gill and GURU-eFX make an excellent team, but that’s to be expected by now. Getting to draw the Savage Land is a treat for any artist, and Gill has a lot of fun with it. His dinosaurs look amazing. His action scenes have just the right heft, and his page layouts guide readers through the action. Plus, there’re a couple of sight gags involving dinosaurs and Deadpool that work really well. As usual, GURU-eFX’s colors are brilliant, both in how they’re used, how they accentuate the pencils, and in how they capture the lush vegetation and burning lava of the Savage Land. GURU-eFX understands just how important his palette is to the book and uses it expertly.
X-Force #33 closes out this Kraven story in wonderful fashion. Percy, Gill, GURU-eFX, and Caramagna give readers an action-packed romp of an issue. It shows off everything this team does well.