Wolverine Wednesday #70

Wolverine #41

Writers: Benjamin Percy & Victor LaValle | Artists: Geoff Shaw & Cory Smith | Inker: Oren Junior | Colourist: Alex Sinclair | Letters: Cory Petit

I am a sucker for a good old-fashioned brawl between Wolverine and Sabretooth. They are actually few and far between when compared to other great comic book rivalries. Here is hoping that this is one for the ages! Just as a bug that is affecting all X-books at the moment is the timing. Again the cover carries the ‘Fall of X’ banner and on the credits page we get a caption explaining this story takes place after X-Force #50 and before the new Powers and House of X books. I have said before how wider continuity doesn’t bother me too much when it comes to reading Wolverine, but it can just take you out of the moment every now and then. It’s a minefield when you consider ‘Sabretooth War’ being billed as an epic still falling under the shadow of the main event! The issue starts in the presence of Sabretooth and his army of himself from different realities. As we have LaValle alongside as co-writer I would have to assume this picks up after events of the last Sabretooth mini-series that I pulled the plug on. But I felt I could read this without that being essential, though I have to admit of not knowing anything about any of the alternate Creeds. Despite my opening rant, I do like how this seamlessly folds into current goings-on. X-Force are torn apart and Sabretooth is going to kick them while they are down! This probably ties better into X-Force than it does the previous Wolverine arc! Daken is now going by Fang and Wolverine is calling him by his birth name? When did all that happen? Again though I didn’t feel I had to know that to get a sense of what was going on in this issue. The issue read very much like set up and from reading solicits there is going to be plenty of room to play, so honestly not a lot happened here and it was totally fine. The exchange between Wolverine and Fang was one of a handful of character moments that were gleefully overshadowed by the impending doom. It is a deliciously dark storytelling by Percy and LaValle. The cover which is again brilliant from Lenil Yu has the caption “The most violent Wolverine story every told!” and that all kicks off here. Percy has a knack of presenting characters as you would expect them, he isn’t trying to force his own stamp on things. Laura feels like she has just walked out of a Tom Taylor issue, Black Tom is how he was established by Hickman and obviously LaValle brings his input to Sabretooth. It feel like he understands them all and knows best how to use them within his world. As always Percy wears his inspiration on his sleeve, showing a great knowledge of the Wolverine mythos I am also getting vibes of The Thing. I would really like to know the division of labour for the writing duties. I have no doubt that Percy if was sailing solo on this arc he would deliver. Having LaValle along adds a new dynamic, especially to the Sabretooth angle. As well as dual writers we are also treated to a pair of artists. We have Geoff Shaw and Cory Smith who have both worked with Percy on Ghost Rider, Shaw has also done some issues of X-Force, much like the storyline they are keeping it in the family. To be honest when I read the issue the first time I wasn’t even conscious of the change in artist. On the one hand this may not seem like a compliment when it comes to the artists respective styles. It may also speak volumes about the state of art in ‘Big Two’ comics. However, one plus of it is that you didn’t have that jarring shift mid-issue just as you are getting into the story. Most importantly they both bring a solid Wolverine to proceedings. They both supply that blend of short, solid, stockiness that all great Wolverines should have. For an issue that doesn’t actually feature a lot of heavy action for its star both artists are able to bring a presence to him whenever he is walking into a scene or talking to a character. It really adds to the foreboding feeling that hangs over the entire issue. Going back to the cover caption I think Shaw and Smith strike the right blend of living up to that billing and not going to over the top. It leaves them room to ramp it up when called upon, but it also shows they can show restraint when the story isn’t going a mile a minute. I had read plenty of positive hype of this issue online before reading it myself. In that regard, it was never going to love up to that hype. And while it may not have been the introduction I was expecting it done enough and left enough promise for the rest of the arc.

Wolverine #42

Writers: Benjamin Percy & Victor LaValle | Artist: Cory Smith | Inker Oren Junior | Colourist: Alex Sinclair | Letters Cory Petit

Part 2 of Sabretooth War offers more of the same in terms of set-up. The violence is ramped up, as the cards are further stacked against Wolverine and his allies. One thing that really stood out and it is a positive in the column of this story falling under ‘Fall of X’ is that the stakes now feel real. It is even addressed in a simple caption as part of Wolverine’s internal monologue. “Resurrection is over.” This is an action-heavy issue and Cory Smith on solo art duties this time provides an excellent page to it all through panel layouts. It begins with two panels of Wolverine and Sabretooth side by side as they face off. All snarls and claws, this sets the tone from the outset. This is followed by a two-page, four-panel spread. The words and action bounce from panel to panel and it is immediately clear which way it should be read. Sometimes with a big spread you lose your orientation. There are some lovely artistic choices that let the action pop. Like a POV shot of Colossus being attacked, we just see his arms in the bottom of the frame as he readies for action. There are also some nice visual homages. The obvious being a take on the cover of Uncanny X-Men #251. Then there is also a claws in the side of the head, with the shocked eye bulge straight out of Logan. The best from Smith has to be the 9 panel self dissection to escape said homage to Uncanny X-Men #251 and its bloody aftermath. This time round the caption on the cover reads “Parental Advisory! Not for Kids!” Again I have to say for my taste it’s not OTT, it’s not gratuitous for the sake of it and it’s not venturing into torture porn territory. But yeah definitely not for younger readers. Even though this is a Wolverine story where we are expecting big things between him and Sabretooth from the title alone it is littered with really strong character moments. It has the feeling with this era of X-Men coming to an end Percy is trying to get as much out of his extended family as possible. Giving them one last hurrah. Sage, Domino and Laura all get moments to shine and with the later I feel she is going to have a bigger role to play further down the line. Maybe we will get to see Percy write Scout in the pages of Wolverine too?! #42 is another block on the foundation of Sabretooth War, it delivers what the reader wants and probably expects. It is not trying to reinvent the wheel in regards to big epic story arcs. It ends with a hell of a cliffhanger and the next issues cover promises a change of direction…

Finally…

Was there any other Wolverine news recently? Oh yeah, just the small matter of the Deadpool 3 trailer. Or as we now know it’s called Deadpool and Wolverine. I thought the trailer was solid enough, without being anything special. I’m certainly not throwing my hat into the ring of this being the movie that turns the tide for Marvel. If anything that is the thing giving me the most trepidation about the whole thing. In the current climate of trailers which seem to give away the entire plot, I thought this struck the balance between giving some plot details but still holding plenty back. The final reveal of Wolverine would have played even more perfectly if we hadn’t already seen the costume online. Admittedly I did have to pause a few times to confirm if a mask had been added or not. There was a small feeling that it felt like a rehash of the Loki season 1 trailer, just subbing in the Merc with a Mouth for the God of mischief. But the positives far outweigh the negatives. Nearly a week later and people are still losing their collective minds over the double gun reloading scene. This stood out for me more because it says the film is still going to have the visual feel of the previous movies rather than falling in line with the rest of the MCU. The quick inclusion of Pyro gives promise of more cameos to come, especially with the revelation that all previous movies are canon. The icing on the cake for me had the be the glimpse of Patch. Something I never knew I wanted in a Marvel movie till the moment they did it in the trailer. I can not wait to see what context this has within the movie!