Review: ‘X-Terminators’ #2 Gets Crazy & Gross

After last issue’s intense debut, X-Terminators ups the ante as our intrepid mutants fight for survival.

Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez, Bryan Valenza, and Travis Lanham crank up the craziness as the girls do their best to survive.

Jubilee, Dazzler and Boom Boom find themselves face to face with Wolverine in the vampires’ labyrinth. Their only hope is to band together to fight. But do they stand a chance when the odds are stacked against them?

This is a plot light issue, but that’s okay, but what Williams did in this issue was just so damn fun. Realistically only about fifteen minutes elapses, but it’s packed. Williams gleefully goes all in on gross out moments, silly dialogue, and over the top action. This is a transition issue, but she just has a lot of fun building the story up through these moments. The dialogue is great too, even if I didn’t quite get a few jokes.

With a plot light issue, that provides a fantastic showcase for Gomez and Valenza. Williams has said in podcast appearances recently that there were a few places that she just left vague art directions and told Gomez to go nuts. It shows in the best ways.

Gomez makes the gruesome nature of the situation shine. His design for the labyrinth is outside of the ordinary, making shiny surfaces and bright lights much more threatening than they normally are. The girls each have unique body language that makes their reactions to the escalating situation more and more interesting to read as the story goes on. Valenza makes the colors bright, and eye-catching, which makes the horror and gore stand out even more.

After a great launch issue, this issue dials everything up more, and it makes for a very fun read. This is a totally unique series on the stands, and one I think any X-Men fan should be reading.

X-Terminators #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.