Wolverine Wednesday #4
It’s that time of the month again to go through all comics laced with more than a hint of adamantium.
Generations: All New Wolverine/Wolverine
Writer: Tom Taylor | Artist: Ramon Rosanas | Colourist: Nolan Woodward | Letters: Cory Petit
When the ‘Generations’ one shots were announced in conjunction with the upcoming Legacy initiative by Marvel it was assumed a few currently dead heroes would be returning to the fold and this would be the jump on point. I don’t know if the premise for these one shots was set up elsewhere as picking up just one like I did is a little confusing to start with. Right away I can say without it feeling like a spoiler this has nothing to do with 616 Wolverine returning. It has to do with Laura going back in time to visit Wolverine in his prime and that’s where its confusing. But that doesn’t and shouldn’t take away from a brilliant story from Taylor. We already know from twenty three issues of All New Wolverine he has a brilliant handle on Laura. Even with this just being a one shot he gets to grips with old reliable Logan straight away. Taylor doesn’t waste any time getting into it. We start with Wolverine fighting The Hand which never gets tired. Logan and Laura have never had the most straight forward or comfortable of relationships (what with her being his clone and all). Plus the recent events of Civil War II didn’t help matters. But here they just slip into working side by side and have some banter. There are moments Wolverine is in awe of her abilities going as far to say she is better than him. There is even a brilliant call back to a line from the ‘Logan’ movie. Ramon Rosanas on art would be a welcome addition to any of the current Wolverine related books on the shelves. He is channelling John Byrne with his Wolverine in the old school tiger stripe costume. It still looks amazing and Rosanas excels at showing it off. He also draws an old school Sabertooth and that is a look that needs to come back. Whatever plans Marvel have with Legacy going forward isn’t really important here. Taylor tells a beautiful story with both characters coming to a clearer understanding about themselves. A great one off read for fans of either character who can pick up and enjoy time and again.
Old Man Logan #27
Writer: Ed Brisson | Artist: Mike Deodato Jr | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit
I’m still not completely in love with this story arc but this has been the best issue by a long way. Part of this is because Maestros plan finally starts coming together. I’m not saying there haven’t been hints in the three issues so far. Maybe its me being dumb to pick up on them. I am a reader who likes my stakes laid out early. For me its the journey that is the story. With still three issues to go in this arc I’m happy to see it picking up and hope we are in for an entertaining home straight with some twists to come. One of the twists could come from Cambria. She is a female member of the Hulk gang and is the only one who has shown any real character development. So expect something to happen with her before we reach the conclusion. With the action continuing to be balls to the wall Deodato keeps bringing his A game. With the Hulks teaming up on Logan and Logan never being one to back down from a fight Deodato gets plenty of opportunities to show said A game off. The title for this story arc really could have been ‘Deodato Porn’. There is an image of Logan strung up by the Hulk gang which hits the nostalgia note as it recalls the cover to Uncanny X-Men #251. I love his panel layouts for long pages of conversation. They keep you alert and guide the flow. The saving grace of this issue is the last page reveal. I’m going to say it… Hawkeye. That’s right Hawkeye the laughing stock of the MCU for his lack of powers, but he really does have a cult following comics wise. Glad to see him along for the ride as we well get some call backs to the original ‘Old Man Logan’ story as these last three issues become a buddy piece.
All New Wolverine #23
Writer: Tom Taylor | Artist: Leonard Kirk | Colourist: Michael Garland and Erick Arciniega | Letters: Cory Petit
Where as Ed Brisson on ‘Old Man Logan’ has been a slow burn for me, I have been completely on board with Tom Taylor on ‘All New Wolverine’ since the first issue. Again he delivers a cliff hanger with real consequences. With The Guardians in tow he is even able to inject a little humour into said cliff hanger and still it works. Along the course of the series Taylor has done a great job in clearly defining Laura is so much more than just a female Wolverine. But this arc has played to a typical Wolverine character trait. He loves and will do anything to protect those closest to him. Laura and Gabby are extremely close since the latter made her debut and Laura will do anything for her. Like running head on into a Brood hive. It is probably coincidence this issue came out the same time as the ‘Generations’ issue as they deal with a similar theme. Just swapping Logan and Akiko with Laura and Gabby. Something else Taylor has done during his run is showcase the depth and strength of Marvels female characters. In this issue he plays it out again with Gamora taking Lauras side against Quill and Drax on how to handle the situation. Leonard Kirk on art continues to match the brilliant story telling stride for stride. With this arc he gets to play outside the usual Wolverine toy box and go inter galactic. His different species of alien that crop up are all colourful and uniquely different. His Brood are terrifying, all teeth and saliva. Calling out to any fans of Alien/Aliens. There is a page of four panels towards the end of the story. It is Wolverine and the Guardians fighting the Brood. Three of the four panels would have worked as a kick ass splash page on their own. The fact he makes them work as the four flowing panels shows a master at work. It also shows I have no artistic instincts! Lastly if you are a fan of random cameos from Claremont/Cockrum 70’s creations pick up this issue.
Weapon X #7
Writers: Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente | Artist: Marc Borstel and Ibraim Roberson | Colourist: Frank D’Armata | Letters: Joe Caramanga
From reading the solicitations I see Totally Awesome Hulk gets to deal with the ‘Weapons of Mutant Destruction’ on an emotional level where as the merry band of Weapon X get to literally clean up the mess. The arc is titled ‘Hunt For Weapon H’ just to distinguish it as separate from the previous issues. You get the feeling all current story arcs will take us up to Legacy and new arcs will start from there. But the pacing of this first issue of the arc is good that it will keep my interest till then. Just from this issue we are going to get some back story from the guy who has become Weapon H. Marvel comics have always fleshed out their villains better than the MCU. Obviously the comics have more time to do that and Doctor Alba is a good case in point. In this arc she is going to grow the signs are there, she is no longer happy being chief scientist. William Stryker better watch his back. I’m surprise Logan and Sabretooth have been able to coexist for this long! In fact Sabretooth has provided most of the light relief in between all the fighting. Like in this issue where he actually tries to claim the name Weapon X for the cast of the book. Warpath is coming across as more of a badass than Sabretooth and even one ups him a few times. This series could really be a plat form for Warpath to grow (there’s that word again). I know I complained during the last story arc about a lack of visual time spent on Weapon H, but the way they use that in this issue is to good effect. It has been a strong month for homages in Wolverine books and Weapon X gives us another. The cover is a tribute to Incredible Hulk #340. Instead here we get three members of the team reflected in each one of Weapon H’s claws. The artists name is Skan and he has provided the covers for this and the previous arc. Also Fred Van Lente joins as a co-writer. I don’t know how much input he had as I assumed this was something Greg Pak had tightly planned as writer of both Weapon X and Totally Awesome Hulk. Van Lente is pretty consistent so I’m not going to complain at having him around.
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