Wilfred: "Resentment" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Wedding bells were ringing on Wilfred this week as Drew and Jenna prepped for their big espousal. Of course, to keep things relevant, Wilfred was assigned the title of ring bearer, with Ryan as co-ringbearer -- or rather "associate" ring bearer. Meanwhile, Ryan was still down in the dumps over Amanda after the emotional revelation we were given in the last episode.

As always, it was fun seeing Drew again, just as dopey and clueless as ever. His toke-up scene with Ryan was pretty hilarious, particularly Wilfred's irritation with Drew, who kept lobbing chips in Wilfred's direction as Wilfred instinctually caught them in his mouth.

However, it was also interesting to see Drew opening up to Ryan again, especially in regards to Jenna's cheating on him. At this point, it's almost pathetic how trusting Drew is, despite his shallow and often bro-tacular conventions. I don't think I ever expected to sympathize with his character, but he and Ryan definitely share a unique friendship themselves, even if it is largely one-sided.

The wedding ring dilemma, on the other hand, was a bit more predictable and wearisome, although it had its moments. Wilfred's jealousy of Jenna was a nice counterbalance to Ryan's own mixed feelings in regards to the wedding, and the moment when Wilfred literally had the s*** scared out of him was a pretty awesome conclusion.

Of course, the absolute greatest scene was Ryan's meeting with Amanda in the final few moments of the episode. It's difficult to say with a show like this, but it feels like they might actually be straying away from the Ryan/Jenna romance after all. That doesn't necessarily mean things will pan out with Amanda, but Ryan certainly appears to be breaking down some deep-seeded emotional barriers romantically this season.

It was also a nice touch to have Drew's injury result in Ryan playing host to Jenna's wedding. Naturally, this sounds like a horrible idea, but what better platform for some inevitable and devastating hijinks?

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Astonishing X-Men #52 Review

If last issue’s violent cliffhanger left you scratching your head, then this issue will be just what you need. Marjorie Liu is done with the wedding ceremony and immediately gets back into the thick of things by exploring why Karma betrayed the team. She also reveals some background information that fleshes out Karma’s character so the reader has a reason to care about the terrible things that have happened to her. I praised Brian Wood’s X-Men for Storm’s attitude, but pick up Astonishing X-Men for characters that are likeable for more genuine reasons.

Because half this issue is flashbacks, having two different pencillers make a negligible impact on quality. Mike Perkins does a great job with the quirkiness of the wedding reception -- Northstar and Kyle dance midair above the crowd -- but his best work comes when he produces some of Karma’s more surreal moments. They’re haunting and frankly gross, which is no doubt the effect he was going for. Cris Peter handles the flashbacks well, although a few facial expressions don’t seem to fit what is being said. Still, this book looks good overall.

Initially, Liu’s tendency to show events out of order turned me off, but she hits her stride here and makes the flashbacks catch up to the present in a huge way. Also, her dialog has a nice touch of sentimentality to it that shows these are X-Men, but they’re caring beings, too. The characters act like teammates ought to with personal jokes and chummy behavior, which goes a long way to make Liu’s version of the X-Men one of the most authentic out there.

Joshua is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter or IGN, where he is hell-bent on making sure you know his opinion about comic books.

Source : ign[dot]com