Wolverine Wednesday #54
After holidays and heat waves, it is time to catch up on a summer of Wolverine comics. Just a reminder that I will be doing the Patch mini-series as one piece at its conclusion.
Wolverine #22
Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Adam Kubert | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit
So far during this story arc I have had a mixed reception. There have been parts I have really enjoyed and parts I haven’t liked as much. With this issue, I can move from sitting in the middle to being firmly onside with this story arc. Everything seems to move in a more natural, perfect balance and I think that’s why it hit with me. The who, the what and the why all come into focus. Things kick off right from the cover with Wolverine, Deadpool and Maverick in a 90’s comics version of a Mexican stand-off. It is always fun to have your protagonists start a story with their backs against the wall, also what helps this story move so well is getting the reveal of the case’s contents out the way early. It means the story is then free to hit its beats. Deadpool humour, action, reaction. Boom. Boom. Boom. The issues breezes by at an exhilarating pace, then towards the end there is breathing room for a good cliffhanger and then exit with anticipation for next month. The issue like the rest of the arc so far is chocked full of humour, of course, Deadpool is at the centre of most of this. What Percy executes really well though, especially in the opening sequence is different tones of humour. At the start, you have Deadpool, Wolverine, Maverick and Weasel and they are all feeding off each other and all providing different levels of humour. It reads better and is more realistic, well as realistic as comics can be in that regard. It may not seem like much, but a little detail like that can make a big difference in how a reader enjoys a story. Again it is all about balance, Percy understands that and uses it to develop his stories. This is the most enjoyable and consistent the Wolverine series has been for some time. Another area where Percy strikes a perfect balance is in his use of violence, is this issue for example he has worked into the script a lot of visually violent jokes, which Kubert portrays expertly. I think Adam Kubert may be producing the best work of his career and this has been a huge part of the high levels of consistency in the series. The issue again opens with that purple framing to the first few pages. This time around I noticed little details within the borders, showcasing characters popping up in the story. I will have to go back to the previous issue and pick up if that detail is present throughout. In this issue, Kubert hands out four pages of pure genius. It shows the trust and respect the creative duo must have. Firstly for Percy to write the scenes with as much or as little detail as required, then being safe in the knowledge that Kubert can deliver the goods for the pages to be wordless, letting the action speak for itself. It is a master class in wordless storytelling. As the reader you know exactly what direction to read the pages in, everything just flows and is a feast on the eyes. There is a lot to be happy about with this issue, builds and improves in the previous instalments and sets all the pieces up nicely for the conclusion.
Wolverine #23
Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Adam Kubert | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit
I am going to open with the art this time around, again and for the final time the issue opens up with the same panel sequence. To have this theme running through all the issues gives the story arc the feel of a title sequence, which is very on point in the streaming generation and stories being collected for the trade audience. To come out of the first few pages of the thematic panels there is a brilliant transition of Wolverine popping his claws, which gives the feeling he is cutting through the opening sequence into the main story. The story wraps up with the final two pages having a version of the same panels, again this lends itself perfectly to the trade collection and acts as a nice bookend for the story arc. Lastly on the art side the cover is Kubert cheekily homaging his very own cover from Wolverine #88 from 1994. That cover depicted Wolverine impaled on Deadpool’s twin swords. This time around we have Wolverine and Deadpool impaled on a sword each from Danger. What really makes it for me is the blue digital-esque font running down the three characters at play. It gives it a video game vibe, this series throughout has never been afraid of wearing its 90’s comics pride on its sleeve and I loved it for that. Onto the story which comes to a very strong conclusion. It reads very much like an all X-verse story of Scarlet Witch in the Multiverse of Madness. That may be underselling it slightly but the ending we get is a million miles away from anything I would have guessed when this arc started, but I enjoyed the direction it did take. It entertained, wrapped itself up and even had some tandems to expand the X-Force/CIA angle. As well as keeping Maverick on the peripheral of the series, which I’m not going to complain about. Part of the reason I believe this had such a strong ending both in this issue and in the previous issue is that Wolverine takes more of the narration. Percy writes good Wolverine narration as I have said before he has a great handle on his voice. So yes I was a little disappointed to see Deadpool take such a central role in #20-#21. Percy too writes good Deadpool otherwise it would have been a big miss for me. Again it is all about getting the balance right, if you were to read this arc as a trade Deadpool being central in the first two chapters makes sense with all the unknown quantities at play. But as everything becomes more clear and the path towards the end of the arc takes shape it fits Wolverine retaking the central role in his own book. There is a good payoff in this issue where you get Wolverine narration and then Deadpool doing his usual chatter through the action sequences, it gives things a strong flow that you carry through to the end of the story in a breeze. There is a sequence in the now abandoned X-Mansion where Deadpool talks it way through as the pair move from room to room. I really like this as I am a sucker for a cut-away diagram. The big fight comes to a shocking conclusion and is another example of Percy and Kubert working in perfect tandem. For Percy to write this idea down and for Kubert to execute it in the way he does is a perfectly sick visual. The story wraps up with a lovely moment, a moment with an MCU mid-credits feel. It may even leave a lump in the throat of some readers! We are nearly two years into this run of Wolverine and Percy and Kubert continue to deliver. Like I said I wasn’t completely sold on this arc at the outset but by the end I was won over. It is always good to end the story arc before an event crossover on such a high note. Wolverine will in the next few issues crossover with AXE. Previously Percy has dealt with crossovers very well so I am not expecting the standard to drop too much. I have largely been avoiding solicitations lately so it will be fun to see how Wolverine looks coming out the other side.
Sabretooth #4
Writer: Victor LaValle | Artist: Leonard Kirk | Inker: Craig Yeung | Colourist: Rain Beredo | Letters: Cory Petit
As a reviewer of comics perhaps it is not the done thing to do but I am happy to admit I didn’t follow the path of this issue one bit! It isn’t bad, over convoluted storytelling, it’s not me being dumb (well maybe a little). It’s not one thing I can put my finger on but after a promising start it feels a little flat and things are happening out of nowhere it seems. One thing that stands out more in this issue than the previous ones is that the story focuses on too many low-list characters who I don’t care about. Five issues are not long enough to make me care about them and therefore the story loses focus on Sabretooth. The story too also suffers from the reader having to be overly familiar with the politics of Krakoa. Maybe it would actually benefit me to have read the text pages in these issues! Oh well, you live and learn! Lastly, delays have had a big knock-on effect to the flow of this series. There is a moment in this issue that plays off of a moment from wither X-Lives or X-Deaths of Wolverine, that seems so long ago now I can’t even remember which! The art has picked up in this issue and there are some stunning visuals on display. There is a muck-encrusted, tree hybrid version of Sabretooth that provides a nice splash page. As much as I have enjoyed Kirk’s previous body of work Ryan Stegman’s version of the same character is done much better on the cover. Where Kirk does excel is on the talking head pages. In this issue he breaks up the potential monotony of it by varying his shot levels. Particularly on group shots where he may have an extreme birds eye view angle to get everyone in shot. There is a nice two-page 12-panel sequence that replays a moment from #1 which leads neatly into ending the issue lead into the finale. At this point, my disappointment in the direction this series has gone is probably showing through, so I think it would be better to say less now and review the final issue before saying what I really feel.
Sabretooth #5
Writer: Victor LaValle | Artist: Leonard Kirk | Inker: Craig Yeung | Colourist: Rain Beredo | Letters: Cory Petit
All the reasons for my previous complaints become very clear in this final issue. As things turn out this five-issue series has been nothing more than a prologue to another incoming Sabretooth series. This feels disappointing on so many different levels. I don’t know about the workings of the industry to say it feels wrong. There was no guarantee at the outset of this series that it would be popular enough to garner a sequel. I will admit at this point that I have seen positive feedback online, but if more people had felt about it like me is the next series going to sell any better? Why not just commission it as a 12-issue maxi-series instead? Like I said this very much feels like a prologue with every turn of the page in this issue. My feeling is every issue and every series should stand on their own and this just doesn’t. Adding to this prologue feel is the fact Mystique, Destiny, Nanny and Orphan Maker have all been added to the mix so late in the game. The angle the four come into the story with probably would have provided a better arc for a mini-series, which makes it even more annoying! Again delays and not having a larger understanding of the wider X-verse are detrimental to the flow of the story. After X Lives/Deaths I thought Destiny was dead, isn’t that what that was all about with Moira? The X-Men comics at the moment are so strongly tied to the groundwork laid out by Hickman that I feel more and more mini-series introduced this amount of years from its inception will suffer. I can safely say at this stage I will not be buying Sabretooth and The Exiles! To end on a positive another wonderful Stegman cover that gave me a huge X-Men The Animated series vibe which is still the best visual depiction of Sabretooth.