Wolverine Wednesday #88

Ultimate Wolverine #8

Writer: Chris Condon | Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio | Colourist: Bryan Valenza | Letters: Cory Petit

Now there is as much mystery around the release of this series as the story itself. I read recently that the series had been increased to run twelve issues. I haven’t been up to date reading solicitations, so I don’t know if an end issue was advertised beforehand. I’m curious as to whether this issue has been put together after the news or what? Have we already gone past the original ending? Was it when Wolverine woke up on the side of the good guys? All that being said, this issue continues the high standard set out before. It certainly doesn’t read like a finale; in fact, it ends on a cliffhanger and introduces a new character. New in the sense of its an existing character being in this universe for the first time. And it is a perfectly grim version of Angel; he just slots right into the existing fabric of the series seamlessly. As someone who has always loved the Angel/Archangel dynamic, whether that is in the animated series or a series like Yost/Kyle X-Force, I can really appreciate this issue. Wolverine even drops the phrase “Horseman of the Apocalypse.” Now I don’t know if this is hinting towards something for this series or what. But it made me smile simply for the fact that both these characters served as Death, the fourth horseman, in regular continuity. While this issue is not as layered as previous instalments, it has a more dip-in-and-out feel. It is much more action-oriented from beginning to end; it is one mission. We even have some characters go down in the line of duty, and not an eye is battered, giving the feeling that there is something bigger at stake, and we have no time to stop as readers. The same goes for the characters on the page. As always, Cappuccio is a force of nature on art. Together with Valenza, at this point they have well and truly created a tone and palette that sets this apart from other Wolverine comics and, to my knowledge, the other Ultimate series. As mentioned, his re-imaging of Angel is just perfect. A nightmare depiction of a classic hero you might say. Grim and haunting might be another way to describe it. Though he is seen rather fleetingly on the pages he is on, we don’t even get him in full flight, but it is a lasting visual. Cappuccio delivers solid action throughout the issue and is probably the first time in the eight issues that he gets to do action over a prolonged period of time. There are some nice moments where he gets to spotlight the powers of Wolverine’s team, like Gambit and Red Guardian. As well as being some cool moments when Wolverine and Angel go toe-to-toe. A solid issue, if not spectacular. It keeps things moving along whilst adding some new elements to the mix. As always with this series, it has left me wanting more and sooner.

Wolverine #12

Writer: Saladin Ahmed | Artist: Martin Coccolo | Colourist: Bryan Valenza | Letters: Cory Petit

I think it is fair to say Ahmed has delivered a mixed bag across his time on Wolverine so far. I think this issue best highlights why that has been the case. Firstly, while I had complaints that his first arc meandered too long, this one seemed to be over far too quickly. Wolverine’s mother returning to him, albeit in the guise of Mastermind, is a big deal; it should have had more time to breathe. In this finale there should have been a big emotional open-heart surgery scene, in my opinion. There is discussion that comics don’t always need this for a satisfactory conclusion. Regardless of which side of the argument you fall on, I feel that this issue needed a more definitive ending. The caption on the cover of the issue is “On the run with Elizabeth Howlett’ we get so little of that and then it’s over. It is somewhat ironic that all the positives from this issue stem from the artwork, as I have had mixed feelings about it previously too. There is some talking head stuff at the beginning, which is strong without being anything we haven’t seen before. Once the story makes the revelation that Wolverine has discovered Mastermind’s machinations, then Coccolo opens up and gets more experimental. There are ‘trippy’ effects to show Mastermind’s manipulation powers. There is psychedelia straight out of a Doctor Strange comic. There is a labyrinthine staircase; there is always a labyrinthine staircase when someone wants to show off psychological trauma. Lastly, there is violence far beyond what we have seen Coccolo deliver before. When the mind manipulation dancing is over, Wolverine lands bloody, brutal blows on Mastermind. One a full page splash, the other a half page. They leap off the page and make a lasting impression. There are three panels of the pair fighting in silhouette. Black shadows on a blood red background. For me, these two consecutive pages represent Coccolo at the top of his game. Add in the last two pages of Wolverine left alone in the rain, and at this point he very much feels like a Wolverine artist finally.

Wolverine #13

Writer: Saladin Ahmed | Artist: Martin Coccolo | Colourist: Bryan Valenza | Letters: Cory Petit

Number thirteen may be unlucky for some, but for Ahmed and Coccolo it represents something of a redemption arc in this issue. Wolverine has always been a character perfectly suited to done-in-one issues. He can drop in and out of any genre; he can be part of stories with long-running consequences or stories that won’t exist anywhere past the last page. Here, Ahmed and Coccolo deliver just that. Wolverine and gangster are something we have seen before. Often over longer arcs, so here the quickness of it makes it all seem fresh and exciting. Via an editor’s note we are told some elements of this story connect to a set-up in Giant-Size House of M #1. I couldn’t tell you what that is, and not knowing didn’t ruin the enjoyment of this issue. It is a rather simple set-up. A relative of someone from Wolverine’s long past is cashing in a debt. This is an easy concept to accept, as it has worked for the character many times in the past. You don’t need to know too much about who the person is, what the debt is. It is just plot points to get the wheels turning, and once they are turning it provides a very good story. Simple, yet effective storytelling from Ahmed. With his biggest strength continuing to be his internal monologue. The issue opens with a strong entry in this field, as is so often the way in comics, with Wolverine bringing the reader up to speed in previous events. Early on in the issue there is a lot of exposition as Wolverine first converses with Nightcrawler, then the femme fatale-esque character who sets him on his arc. Coccolo continues his hot streak on art duties that began in the previous issue. You can see right from the cover that he is really good at the darker tone, why haven’t we seen more of it? On the cover, he gives us Wolverine doing his best Pacino in the Godfather impression and provides a highlight of the impending violence. A strong element of his work that comes through in this issue is his character design. The femme fatale and the rival Mafia boss are really strong and he even squeezes Jay and Silent Bob into a crowd scene! Lastly, his depiction of violence is the highlight, although it isn’t too gratuitous in my opinion. It is spot on for the grading of the comic. Once the action gets underway, the dialogue takes a back seat as though Ahmed is saying the ball is in Coccolo’s court now and he doesn’t disappoint. There is a nice 9-panel page sequence as Wolverine works his way through a crowd of Mafia tough guys. Then there is a brilliant splash page showing the aftermath, Wolverine all flesh torn and body smoking from gunfire. All in all, the best way to describe this issue is as a firecracker. Very fun to read and it delivers on both story and art. You can’t ask for much more.

Deadpool/Wolverine #6-#8

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Joshua Cassara | Letters: Joe Sabino

Three issues, one review. It just makes things easier. Also, I’m not going to lie, I can’t remember how #5 ended, so I have no idea how well things are flowing! Things start big in #6 with Apocalypse entering proceedings. We get some back story to the Apocalypse/Stryfe connection, which you may already know is convoluted 90’s comics! As if to prove this point, there is an editor’s note referencing ‘The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix’ yeah, remember that one?! The visuals of this sequence though are very good, with Cassara serving up a gnarly younger Apocalypse. Once again, Percy gives the readers lots of hot Maverick action. At this point he really just needs to do a mini-series for him. He plays the greatest hits of ’90s action sequences as Maverick fires big guns from a helicopter, jumps out of said helicopter with a parachute and continues firing a big gun upon landing! One criticism of a comic called Deadpool/Wolverine is that we get very little of the former, and Wolverine is still serving as Stryfe’s lackey, which is a big turn-off for me. Although it does allow for a well-choreographed fight at the issue’s climax against Nick Fury (or an LMD more likely). #7 picks up right where we left things in #6, and that is with the plot point of Stryfe’s helmet finally coming into play. I liked this element of the story right from the get-go. Stryfe is famous for his OTT helmet, so why not use that as a thread in the story? Kudos Mr. Percy. Director Talyn gets a lot of play over #7 and #8. I think I mentioned before, I’m not 100% sure where she comes from. But she does provide a good element to the story, a contrast to the machismo going on elsewhere. She is a scene-chewing, mad scientist of an antagonist, but we need that from time to time. There is a lot going on across these three issues. It is not like it is complex stuff but there is a lot of it and I will admit I’m not sure what is going on and why. The biggest example being why has Pestilence become a mutant called Legacy? It is made even more bizarre by the fact #8 has the caption ‘Watch out for the mutant called Legacy!’ Just for them to not really contribute much to the story. Perhaps this is the ultimate ’90s homage from Percy! The consistent strength and high point over these three issues has been the Deadpool/Maverick buddy cop style story with Talyn as their antagonist. As I said, Wolverine has been underused in a book that bares his name in the title. This series has felt like one big set-up so far, well eight issues worth of set-up so far! Wolverine is part of a crazy cliffhanger that I am really hoping leads somewhere interesting. If you had told me when this series started I would be having doubts over Percy’s storytelling direction I would have called you crazy, but here we are! The positive side of me is still expecting him to deliver, it just feels at this stage the set-up to pay off ratio is a little skewed.