Review: ‘Blood Hunt: X-Men- Laura Kinney The Wolverine’ Captures A Long Lost Feeling

Years ago, Laura Kinney was a feral young woman. That all changed when she took up the mantle of Wolverine after 2015’s Secret Wars. A big part of that is one person who’s been missing from Laura’s story for years, but this week that returns in the middle of the Blood Hunt.

Stephanie Phillips, Robert Gill, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham throw Wolverine into the middle of the hunt.

Laura Kinney is the best she is at what she does, and at the moment, what she does is hunt vampires. But she’s not just killing vampires, she’s trying to find her sister and rescue Gabby from the bloodsuckers. Even when she does find her, the mission isn’t over- Gabby needs to save others, including one other prisoner who may not deserve it…

One of the best things about Laura Kinney’s recent history is her relationship with her sister Gabby. It was a move that instantly humanized a character with no real connection with other people. That was missing through most of the Krakoan era.

Here. Phillips captures both characters’ personality and their sisterly bond. The plot is simple- kill some vampires, save a victim who’s also a vampire, have a small debate, kill more vamps. Some of the banter is a little cliched but otherwise Phillips hits the right notes for restoring the sisterhood between these two. Lanham’s letters helps the dialogue feel like an actual conversation between them, pacing it across the page so it feels like spoken dialogue and not just word balloons.

Gill has been one of the artists working with the Wolverines and X-Force for the last couple years, so he gets these characters already. He choreographs the action just right, and understands how to give violence a weight and presence on the page. Even though Laura and Gabby are fighting monsters, Gill makes it feel just real enough that it gives a sense of visceral horror- you can see weight behind the blows and the claws. Woodard adds a layer of grime to the story- fitting since its set in an abandoned hospital- and makes the viscera of the vampire slaying feel gross and real.

Blood Hunt: X-Men- Laura Kinney The Wolverine is available now from Marvel Comics.