04th Oct2017

Wolverine Wednesday #5

by Ian Wells

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Being my fifth blog milestone it is fate that the comic gods have dealt me a good hand this month. Marvel Legacy #1 by Jason Aaron and a whole bunch of artists dropped last week. For those who read and for those who haven’t spoiler… Logan is back! Yes the original Marvel 616 Logan is back from the dead. There are very little details to work with at the moment. Immediate questions are what does his return mean for the current books I’m reviewing? Watch this space…

Old Man Logan #28

Writer: Ed Brisson | Artist: Mike Deodato Jr | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit

After the last issue and now this one this story arc is going places. It just adds weight to the claim not every story has to be six issues. There are still a few problems with it but now my enjoyment has been increased they feel very minor. Maestro’s grand plan is finally taking shape and after four issues of keeping the reader guessing it doesn’t seem that grand. It is a rather stereotypical plan. Obviously the target remains unknown so will set up a grand stand finish for the reader, but it is not a plan to have major implications going forward in my opinion. Of course not every story needs a have major implications going forward, especially as we head into ‘Legacy’ but after four issues of build up it falls a little flat. Also Logan and now Hawkeye seem a little out numbered to take on the threat. But this is what will get us back for the next issue. Of course our heroes will triumph but how? I still can’t believe Logan has never heard of Maestro! Really? After how many years in the Marvel Universe? In this issue Maestro gets to show he is a true Hulk and not just super smart as he is forced to show some discipline. It is a sequence that Deodato absolutely nails matched stride for stride by Martin’s colours to present a truly brutal scene. Current day Hawkeye joins the fold in this issue and it helps the story a lot. It adds the road movie vibe that was such a big part of the original ‘Old Man Logan.’ Before that story I didn’t really have Logan and Clint as characters that run in the same circles. So to have the young Clint meet Logan and ask him questions about the future is a good moment in this story and injects some humour which it hasn’t had previously. As predicted we get the reveal as to what the deal with Cambria is. It works for this story but it is another case of a retcon on a popular story to tell another one. In summary for me the story is now matching the stunning visuals and I’m looking forward to the outcome even if it is two issues away.

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All-New Wolverine #24

Writer: Tom Taylor | Artist: Leonard Kirk | Colourist: Michael Garland & Erick Arciniega | Letters: Cory Petit

Before I get into reviewing this issue I want to commend Tom Taylor for his deep continuity cut of using Fang in this story is that cut. I only found out his importance in the original ‘Brood Saga’ between reading the previous issue and this one. I am a huge fan of deep continuity cuts! #24 brings to an end Laura and Gabby’s time in space along side The Guardians fighting The Brood. Having recently re watched GOTG2 I can again say Taylor as a writer has the characters personas down to a tee. After twenty four issues I have a negative comment about this series! I felt the resolution of the story arc in this issue wasn’t as strong as the set up in the previous two. Last month we were left with a big cliff hanger and the resolution seemed hurried. Also it felt like The Guardians got a lot of time in this issue rather than supporting Laura. But the heroes are safe and the galaxy is safe so maybe I shouldn’t complain. With this issue we also say goodbye to Leonard Kirk on art duties. His action sequences have really raised Taylor’s story telling from earlier on in the series. His use of panels to convey different perspectives of the same sequence really make the story flow, particularly during the action. Hopefully he can return to the title in the future, but every cloud has a silver lining. If you read the solicitations you know whos coming on board next. But I will save that for next month. Although I have enjoyed Laura’s team ups so far going into ‘Legacy’ it would be good to see her and Gabby go it alone at times.

Weapon X #8

Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente | Artist: Marc Borstel & Ibraim Roberson | Colourist: Frank D’Armata | Letters: Joe Caramagna

Lets skip right to the last page and without spoiling anything say kudos to a brilliant Incredible Hulk #181 homage. It was bound to happened considering the characters involved in this story line. This series continues to be fun and action packed. I like how the stakes are high for the characters involved and potentially could be for all of mutant kind. But the stories being told are focusing solely on the team and not the bigger picture. There are no ‘huge ramifications for mutant kind’ promised and that is refreshing. One the second page we get a lovely splash of Weapon H in all his glory facing off against our team. I think I previously mentioned how I love they went with a grey Hulk for this. With the characters on the team all possessing a similar power set (Domino excluded) Pak does a great job shaping their personalities to make them stand out. I would like to see how far he can take Warpath and Domino. Its been good so far, but would be good if they got moved more front and center for an arc. Particuarly enjoyable is how Warpath stands up to Sabertooth. He mocks him again brilliantly in this issue. Borstel and Roberson have a similar approach to panel layouts as Kirk. They use it to great effectiveness to add a sense of pace to the fights. With this story arc at the half way point now I look forward to finding out about the man who is Weapon H and whether he will play a role in the MCU going forward. Dr. Alba is seeming to be more of a threat at this point than William Stryker so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top when the dust settles and what kind of villainous threats the team will face going forward.

 

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