Akihiro and Warpath go looking for Scout at an Orchis facility in New Mutants #29, by writer Danny Lore, artist Guillermo Sanna, colorist Dan Brown, and letterer Travis Lanham. This is a nice little action-packed one-and-done.

Akihiro confronts Warpath about Scout being missing, and the two have a short fight before Warpath agrees to help Akihiro find her. They track her to an Orchis facility and run through the guards before finding out she left. Akihiro and Warpath have a moment talking about familial relationships and then go back to Krakoa, where they find Scout waiting for them.

Lore takes over as writer for an issue. This one is a pretty simple comic for most of it. It’s a big action scene, which is a lot of fun, and it’s not as heavy as a lot of Ayala’s run has been so far. It’s an exciting, fast-paced chapter that kind of feels a little light throughout it. In fact, it would be easy to want to skip over it entirely after the first few pages, as it doesn’t really seem like it’s going anywhere interesting. Even though there’s an Orchis facility, there’s no way it will be an important one because Akihiro and Warpath, as good as they are, would be toast against some of the more powerful members or even a couple of Sentinels.

The meat of the issue is the conversations towards the end. Warpath gets to the heart of why Akihiro is so mad about Scout disappearing and blames the New Mutants: he almost lost her to the Shadow King, and as her older brother, that was a massive failure. Warpath has had his own brother issues with Thunderbird’s return, in that he doesn’t feel worthy of seeing him yet. He’s kept himself away from his brother on purpose. He can’t completely understand Akihiro because he is the little brother, but his fear of seeing his brother again matches Akihiro’s fear in some ways. Later, Warpath sees through Scout’s lies about what she did at the facility and mildly chastises her. Seeing the relationship between the two makes him want to see his brother, which is a great way to end it.

Sanna and Brown do a good job with the art. This issue mostly being a long action scene demands a lot from the art, and the two of them deliver. From the opening battle between Warpath and Akihiro to the long fight at the Orchis facility, the action is fluid and exciting. Sanna’s character acting is okay, which is a bit of a weakness, but otherwise, the art is fine.

New Mutants #29 works well as a one-and-done. It’s not exactly an issue that will hook a new reader, as it deals with a lot of stuff that a reader would need to know, but Lore does a good job. Sanna and Brown deliver some kinetic action, but the character acting isn’t as strong. This one is a fun comic and a great read, despite some of its flaws.

Grade: B