Wolverine: Civil War Review

Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Humberto Ramos

I read the crossover story Civil War, and planned on reading, and reviewing the tie-in novels that I had, and although I read them I never got round to reviewing them. I am however hoping to do that now, and am continuing with the this Wolverine tie-in volume, with this being my seventh review on Wolverine.

Plot

After the deaths of innocent people in Stamford, CT causes the start of the superhero Civil War Wolverine decides to track down the man responsible, Nitro.

Review

This was yet another brilliant tie-in story to Civil War, also being a great Wolverine story. Marc Guggenheim did a great job of putting Wolverine into this event, as with the X-Men staying out of the Civil War, I was wondering how Wolverine could have a tie-in story, and this story showed perfectly how there could, and should have been one. The drama, and excitement in this story was simply outstanding, as it had a great atmosphere, with brilliant tone. It also had some amazing action that was fitting of a Wolverine story, being explosive, and exciting, whilst also being gritty, and slightly graphic. The emotion in this story was also great, as although Wolverine doesn't produce your normal sad, or happy emotion often, there's a lot that he cares about, and this is shown through his rage, which Guggenheim handled perfectly, adding depth to his character throughout this story.

I was in two minds whether I liked the art in this story, as although I usually love Humberto Ramos' art, I wasn't entirely sure whether it suits Wolverine. Now I loved how he drew Wolverine in costume, as he looked amazing, but the problem I had was that outside of costume Ramos went a little over the top, as the hair was a little too jarring, and the distinguishing features of Wolverine were enhanced too much. The action however was handled perfectly, being very graphic, and explosive, and if Ramos either kept Wolverine in costume all the time, or improved his look outside of the costume he'd be perfect for this series. Ramos' layouts were also brilliant, adding depth, and tone to the story, also giving a brilliant atmosphere to the story. The colours from Edgar Delgado was also brilliant, making Ramos' art more vibrant, also adding more texture, and tone to the finished artwork.

With the X-Men staying out of the Civil War, Wolverine would have a dilemma, as although he sided with his team, he wanted to do what he felt was right, and that was track down Nitro. I loved the interaction that Wolverine had with both Cyclops, and Emma Frost, as although he was friends with them at the time, he didn't always see eye to eye with them, and this is obvious during this interaction. I also enjoyed seeing how he interacted with members from his other team, the New Avengers, who were mainly involved in Civil War, and I especially enjoyed his interaction with Iron Man, and Luke Cage.

What I liked most about this story was that it actually showed something getting done about Nitro, as although he was only the catalyst to start the Civil War nothing happened about him in that story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am however happy that there is a series that is dealing with it, and what better series than this one. Besides Wolverine's personality the fact that he isn't on either side of this war makes him the perfect candidate to track down this killer. I also loved seeing Nitro himself, and the fights he had with Wolverine throughout this story was amazing.

This story would also see the involvement of Atlanteans, and with the Atlanteans come their ruler, Namor, who wants justice for his cousin, Namorita, who was killed by Nitro. The inclusion of Namor usually adds excitement, and this time was no different. I found his appearance to be very interesting, and the interaction between him, and Wolverine was brilliant, only being beaten by the small fight that they had, which was simply outstanding. I also loved how this would develop from another part of Civil War that got forgotten, and it was very appropriate that it was developed in this story..

Following the main story there was an issue that would showed what happened to Wolverine during his healing process. Now you may say that this was a cheap additional issue, as a fair chunk of it was the reprint of events from the main story, with new thought boxes added, as well as some additional sequences in between the events. I did however like it, and felt it was a very unique addition, and a nice extra. I also loved how there was thought put into it, and although it wasn't a necessary addition, it was a nice addition.

Final Verdict

This was a great tie-in story, and it was great to see some development from the actual Stamford incident. The story itself was also very gritty, and dramatic, having the perfect tone for a Wolverine story, also having great action sequences, as well as a great addition cast. Due to all this I'd easily recommend this story, as it's a great accompaniment to the Civil War event itself, and although it's not necessary to get Civil War as well to enjoy this I'd highly recommend doing so, as that is a tremendous story itself.

Rating: 9/10

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine Origins: Born in Blood.

Wolverine: Origins & Endings Review

Writer: Daniel Way
Artists: Javier Saltares & Mark Texeira

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my sixth review from it.

Plot

After the events of House of M, Wolverine has finally regained all his memories, and begins a mission to try and right some of the wrongs in his life.

Review

This was a good story, and although it wasn't without it's flaws, overall it was very good, and interesting. Daniel Way is a writer that I've had mixed feelings about in the past, as he's done such amazing work, with stuff like Wolverine: Origins, and Deadpool having tremendous stories, but for all the good stories he produces there's at least one poor one to match it. Anyway Way did a great job on this story, and although it wasn't phenomenal, it was a great way to follow with Wolverine regaining his memories, and the perfect prelude to his Wolverine: Origins series, which would see Wolverine try and rectify his past wrongs. Although I've been a fan of Wolverine for many years, I feel that Way has done a good job at introdcuing readers to the character with this story, as although there are many better stories for new readers to try, if you're looking for a modern story that introduces there's only really one other story like that I feels better than this, and that's Origin. The story itself was exciting, and interesting, as well as having some brilliant appearances, as well as giving plenty of insight into what would happen in the Wolverine: Origins series. In saying that, this story still wasn't without it's faults, as there were times that it felt a little too slow. Another negative thing was that whenever it built up to something interesting it'd sometimes trail of into a different part of the story, and by the time it returned the situation would have defused itself, going from something possibly exciting to something slightly disappointing.

The art in this story was once again great, and Javier Saltares, and Mark Texeira once again did a good job, but it just didn't feel quite as good as it was in House of M: World of M Featuring Wolverine. There's two main reasons that I believe is the reason for their art not being quite as good, with the first being that I don't feel that Jonathan D. Smith's colours suit their artwork, and although normally I'd love this type of colouring, due to it not suiting the pencils it just didn't feel right. Besides that I also didn't feel that Saltares, and Texeira did as good a job at drawing Wolverine himself, as although I felt their art was perfect for Wolverine when he was out of the blue and yellow spandex, it didn't really suit him when he was in it. There was however still positives to their art, as it wasn't terrible, and the overall detail was just as good as it was in House of M: World of M Featuring Wolverine. I also loved the layout (which I believe Saltares was responsible for), as it added a lot of drama, and depth to the story, making it feel more alive, and vibrant. The action was also handled very well, as although there were certain panels that looked a bit motionless, and unrealistic, the rest was pure brilliance, and really gave a lot of excitement to the story, as well as giving the violence this sort of story needs.

During House of M Wolverine regained all his memories, something that he's been trying to get since Weapon X experimented on him, and this story shows how he deals with them. What I found most interesting about Wolverine regaining his memories was that after all these years of wanting them, that now he does, he wished he didn't. It's kind of a natural reaction though, as if you don't know something you have the natural urge to know it, especially if it's something personal like this, but due to the nature of these memories, and how they now haunt him it's also natural to no longer want them. The best thing however about regaining his memories was that we got Wolverine: Origins to follow, and although that series was far from perfect, it did have it's good moments, like the introduction of Daken.

The first real appearance in this story was from the Silver Samurai, a person that knows Wolverine very well. I always love it when Silver Samurai makes an appearance in stories, especially when they're Wolverine stories, but at the same times he's made some terrible appearances, which makes me sceptical when seeing him. Now this wasn't the best appearance from Silver Samurai, but at the same time far from the worst, as the interaction between him and Wolverine was awesome, and the fighting was also brilliant.

The New Avengers, who Wolverine's a member of make an appearance in this issue, working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to get Wolverine back, or prevent him from doing further damage. To be fair the New Avengers did next to nothing in this story, and all of them besides Captain America could have easily been left out. At the same time that doesn't mean that the appearance wasn't nice, it's just that it wasn't any thing special, and removing them from the story wouldn't do much difference. I also found the way Iron Man was drawn, and more importantly coloured to be very weird, and didn't really like it.

The reason I said that Cap kind of needed to be involved, and you could involve Iron Man for the same reason, is that Cap's former sidekick Bucky Barnes who's now the Winter Soldier appears in this story, and has an interesting run in with Wolverine. Although due to Bucky only re-emerging recently there hasn't been a lot of interaction between him, and Wolverine unless in stories set during World War II, but for anyone who follows Wolverine will know that since his re-emergence they've had history. Now I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't know, as this is the story that reveals why, but I will say that it was very interesting finding out, and reading when it occurred, and the aftermath from this would be interesting, even if it never reached it's full potential (the aftermath that is).

This story also revealed how the Muramasa Blades were created, something that I'd always wanted to read prior to this. When I started collecting Wolverine comics it was during the time of Wolverine: Origins, and the Muramasa Blades were frequently used during that, as well as in other Wolverine related series'/stories, so to read the actual origin of the blades was interesting. Now again I won't spoil anything, even though it's pretty obvious, but I will say that the sequences that lead up to this were exciting, and interesting, even if they were a bit sudden.

Final Verdict

This was a very interesting, and entertaining story, and although it's not the best Wolverine story ever (far from it), and also isn't without it's flaws, it's still very interesting, and a great way for newer readers to understand Wolverine in a modern story. It was also the perfect prelude to Way's Wolverine: Origins series, and although there's many Wolverine stories I'd recommend over this story, I'd still recommend giving this one a try, as it's worth the read.

Rating: 4/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine: Civil War.

Before that however I'll be reviewing Civil War itself.

House of M: World of M Featuring Wolverine Review

NOTE: This review is just for the Wolverine issues (#33-35).

Writer: Daniel Way

Artists: Javier Saltares & Mark Texeira

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my fifth review from it.

Plot

In a world where humans are the oppressed minority, and mutants rule Wolverine work's for S.H.I.E.L.D. who's commanded by Director Sebastian Shaw. After Wolverine disappeared after a mission Director Shaw questions Wolverine's partner, Mystique about the events, and what caused Wolverine to go AWOL.

Review

This was both a good, and poor story, and to be honest I wasn't sure if overall it was good or bad. Daniel Way did a decent job of the writing, and in many ways it was good, but like usual with Way there's always something about his work that lets it down. That's the thing that disappoints me with Way's writing, as he did good stories whilst working on Wolverine: Origins, Daken: Dark Wolverine, and Deadpool, but they were all surrounded by poor stories as well, and stories that had promise, but overall didn't quite work, like this story. Now don't get me wrong, as I said this wasn't a terrible story, as the way it ties in with House of M, and the whole mutants ruling the world interested me, especially with Shaw ruining S.H.I.E.L.D. and Wolverine working for Shaw, but the problem was that there wasn't enough Wolverine throughout. Another thing I liked was how the story was told through Shaw questioning Mystique, as this was quite interesting, and unique, but again the lack of Wolverine spoiled this, and overall it didn't really matter how good this story was, the fact that Wolverine didn't appear as much as he could have just spoiled it completely.

The art in this story was amazing, and although it's not startling, or phenomenal, it was still brilliant, and perfect for a Wolverine story, and Javier Saltares, and Mark Texeira did a good job, with Saltares doing the layout/breakdowns, and Texeira doing the finishing art. Now I've never fully understood who's done the main bit of art when it comes to this, abut I believe that the layout/breakdown artist draws the rough image, and the finishing artist does all the detailed art. Either way it was brilliant artwork, and although as I said it isn't anywhere near the quality of the very best artists, it's still far above the worse artists. What I really liked was that the art was very gritty, which really suits Wolverine, but at the same time it was also looks very smooth, and realistic, which is nice. The layout of the art was brilliant, and if I'm correct in thinking how the art is distributed Saltares' has done an excellent job, and it really adds drama, and depth to the story, which really needs it. I also loved how all the characters were drawn, and especially Mystique, and Wolverine himself, as the looked perfect. I also loved these new S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms, and whoever designed them did a fantastic job, as they look very unique, and different from the normal S.H.I.E.L.D. attire, whilst also looking very sleek, smart, and dynamic.

It's bee a while since I actually read House of M, and I've only read it once at that, so I can't remember everything that happened in the main story besides the basics, but from that I can say that how these changes have affected Wolverine is interesting. Now this story could have also really been done in a side, mini-series, and would probably work better like that, but I liked how it came into the main series, as it makes everything feel like it's in unison, and continuity. Besides that the changes themselves were brilliant, and very interesting, and to be honest I'm surprised that they didn't do this before, the whole House M thing that is, as mutants ruling the world, with humans being the oppressed is just brilliant.

With Wolverine working for S.H.I.E.L.D., which is now run by mutants (naturally), he's partnered up with Mystique, also appearing to have a romantic relationship with her. Now the history between Wolverine, and Mystique is very long, and complicated, with them being friends in the past, as well as enemies, so it was natural for a world ruled by mutants to have them together, as to be fair the changes a mutant ruled world would cause to their lifestyles would also change their personalities to a certain extent. Besides that their relationship was very interesting, and the chemistry between the two was magical, and Way really did a good job of this, even if the story itself was slightly disappointing.

As I said S.H.I.E.L.D. is now in the hands of mutants, and on top of that it's run by Sebastian Shaw. Like Mystique, and Wolverine working together, Shaw is the perfect mutant to run S.H.I.E.L.D., as although he's evil like all X-Men villains, he's probably the most professional out of them, and with him also having lead the Hellfire Club in the past, he's the perfect leader candidate. The way he lead his mutant agents was also very interesting, and overall this felt exactly like it should have been, a slightly different S.H.I.E.L.D., and yet again Way did a good job with this, which made the fact that the story didn't live up to potential even more disappointing.

With the mutants running the world, and S.H.I.E.L.D. there needs to be some form of human involvement in this story, and that's were former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury steps in. Fury appears to have been the one that caused the attack in Mexico, which caused Wolverine to go AWOL, but Shaw was sceptical about this. I won't go into any more detail about Fury's involvement as to avoid spoilers, but I will say how I felt about it. The fact Fury was involved really gave more depth to this story, and the flashbacks of his time training the Red Guard's was really entertaining, and interesting, giving more drama, and variety to the story. The way Fury's involvement would shape this story was also very interesting, and this along with the other good points is what made this story a good read, even though it didn't live to it's potential.

Final Verdict

Overall this wasn't a terrible story, and it did have it's moments, it's just that it had so much more potential, and although the story was unique, and interesting, the fact that Wolverine didn't feature as frequently as often was a let down. It did however also have the odd bit of action, as well as suspense, and drama, but unfortunately that was overshadowed by the negatives. I would probably recommend this, especially if you get it at a decent price, as it's worth the read, especially if you have House of M (although it's not essential), as it was worth the read, but at the same time if you're new to Wolverine I'd recommend trying some of the better, or more well known stories first.

Rating: 3/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine: Origins & Endings.

Wolverine: Enemy of the State Review

Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: John Romita Jr.

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my fourth review from it.

Plot

When Wolverine travels to Japan to try and save the life of a friends son, it turns out to be a trap to lure Wolverine out, as HYDRA, who are now working with The Hand, and the mutant group known as Light Dawn of the White Light, lead by Gorgon, killing him, and resurrecting him as their brainwashed assassin to fight S.H.I.E.L.D. and a list of other superheroes.

Review

This was an amazing book, and probably one of the best Wolverine stories to feature Wolverine getting brainwashed, and Mark Millar did a tremendous job. Now with Millar being my favourite writer it's sometimes hard to not be biased, and I try to be as fair with his stories as possible, as things like Kick-Ass, ans The Ultimates was amazing, yet other works like Supercrooks, and his run on Fantastic Four although good, weren't brilliant, but this has to be up their with his best work, and although it's not as good as the Ultimates, or Kick-Ass, or even Millar's other Wolverine story, Old Man Logan, it's not far off. Now as I was saying this was probably the best brainwashing Wolverine story I've read, which I was happy about, as although there have been ton's of stories to feature Wolverine getting brainwashed, most of them are mediocre, whereas this was unique, interesting, and entertaining. Also with the story being spread over 12 issues it would be easy for it to start getting a bit dull, and boring, and at some point start to drag, whereas the way Millar has wrote this story that isn't the case, as he's kept it interesting by splitting it into two halves, but in a very unique way were it feels like two stories, but also one. I say this as most long stories are broken into acts, whether just the two, or more, in an attempt to make the overall story flow smoother, not always working, whereas Milliar's managed to accomplish this. Besides the divide, the overall pacing of the story was brilliant anyway, with it being exciting, and dramatic, knowing when to add action, and when to slow the pace down a bit, to allow room for development. I also loved how Millar made this an emotional struggle, having Wolverine fighting to control his actions, whilst still making it exciting, and action packed. I also loved how Millar handled all the other character's in this story, as although this remained a Wolverine story, the side character's were still amazing, being used perfectly.

Like usual I'm not 100% sure on what I thought of John Romita Jr.'s art, as there were parts that looked like his best art ever, and other parts that looked plain terrible. I've recently been seeing Romita Jr.'s art in The Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection, considering his work on that some of the best he's ever produced, and that left a lot to live up to in this story. Now when I started reading this I thought that I'd went from seeing Romita Jr.'s best art, to his worst, as it looked plain horrible, and messy, but as I progressed through the book I began to change my mind, as it became truly amazing. I think it started when Wolverine changed into his yellow spandex, as Romita Jr. really excels in drawing masked hero's. Even with this his art still wasn't without it's faults, as like usual there's something that puts a blemish on his art, and it came in the form of the X-Men, and Elisbeth Von Strucker, as although certain X-Men like Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, and Storm looked alright, others like Cyclops, and Beast looked a bit weird, and the wrinkly Elisbeth looked down right weird (although his later art on the character looked more realistic). The way Romita Jr. handled the action in this story was also brilliant, and alone with the dramatic way he laid his art out, it was probably the best part about his art, as although the facial injuries sometime looked weird, and unrealistic, the fights themselves were epic, and overall Romita Jr. did a decent job on the art for this story.

This story centred mainly on Wolverine being brainwashed, and used to work for HYDRA in attacking certain superhero's. As I said I felt that this was probably one of the best brainwashing story to involve Wolverine, but besides that the fact that Wolverine was working with HYDRA was interesting in itself. Added to that the fact that HYDRA's working with the Hand, and the Light Dawn of the White Light, this story just screams to be epic, and it didn't let me down. The way HYDRA use Wolverine as if he's both their best weapon, but at the same time expendable was brilliant, and it really showed the mentality of HYDRA, as although they have this powerful weapon in Wolverine, they're not that bothered if they lose him, even if they're trying to avoid that at the same time.

With Wolverine now working for HYDRA, all be it involuntary, this meant that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be trying to take Wolverine down before he did any damage, and what person for S.H.I.E.L.D. to hire than Elektra. I said that having HYDRA working with the Hand, and the Light Dawn of the White Light screams to be epic, but then Millar goes and adds Elektra, making this story even better. It just seems that Millar has decided to add as many big, violent characters, and put them in a really violent situation, and although a lot of the time when this is attempted it fails, that isn't the case when Millar works on a story. Elektra just kicked butt in this story, and to have her track down Wolverine, and fight him was brilliant, and Millar did this perfectly, and although I already knew that Millar was brilliant at action, this just goes to remind me.

Now Elektra wasn't the only additional character besides the villains in this story, as there were also the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Captain America, and other Avengers. The best out of these additions was probably between the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil, as although these were two of Wolverine's targets, the interaction between Wolverine, and them was also brilliant. I know Millar can write Fantastic Four well, even if his run on the series wasn't his best piece of work, and to see him unite this with Wolverine was brilliant, as the chemistry between the character was perfect, and this proves that Millar really knows how to write superhero's brilliantly, as well as writing amazing violent stories. I also loved how this added a little bot of suspense, and fun as well, especially with the Fantastic Four, as with Wolverine going on a violent rampage, it's not the easiest thing to find time to add in some humour, even if with generally funny character's, but Millar's managed to yet again amaze me, by making this story even more versatile and dynamic.

As I said earlier, this story saw the return of Wolverine in the blue, and yellow spandex, and that made me happy. Now I loved seeing Wolverine with the whole rebel look, and it really suited Greg Rucka's grittier, crime stories, but with a story that sees Wolverine taking out certain superhero's he needs to be in spandex (which isn't worse than leather Cyclops (X-Men film fans will get that)). I also loved how the character's that surrounded Wolverine in this story would mention this, with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent saying that he stuck out like a sore thumb in it, which although in a serious context was still a bit humorous.

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!

I try not to add spoilers if possible, but there was one point in this story that I couldn't not mention, and that involves revealing a huge spoiler, so let this be a warning (skipping to the next paragraph should be safe). Wolverine is eventually captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., and deprogrammed back to being a good killer (is there such a thing?). Now working for S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolverine seeks his revenge. Now this was what I meant when I said that Millar managed to split this story into two, and continue to make it interesting, as by showing both sides of the field, it made the pacing so much better. The fact that Wolverine worked for both HYDRA, and S.H.I.E.L.D. in this story also interested me, as it was kind of like an advantage in a sports match that was swapped half way through the game. I also loved how we get the usual angry Wolverine, that's embarrassed as well as raged about being used against his friends.

The final issue in this story was set during 1942, with Wolverine in a concentration camp in Poland. This was a brilliant issue, and although it doesn't quite top the actual Enemy of the State story, it was still awesome, and the way that Wolverine never said a word really made this story much more eerie, almost like a ghost story. The art from Kaare Andrews on this issue was also perfect, and having Wolverine silhouette like, with only his white vest sticking out really helped to add to the eerie tone of the story. I have to say that although I enjoyed the story on the first read through, it wasn't until I read an article at the back of the second volume written by Millar, talking about a discussion he had with comic book legend Will Eisner, and how he managed to change this story from what he considered would be slightly ill taste from a certain point of view, and changed it into this masterpiece, which really interested me, and added a lot of perspective.

Final Verdict

This was a truly epic story, and a must have for Wolverine fans. Although the whole brainwash thing has been done to death on Wolverine, this has to be the exception, as it's one of the best out of them, and full of action, suspense, and drama, as well as being very gripping, and entertaining. The back-up story was also amazing, and overall Millar has shown why he's my favourite writer, and I'd highly recommend this story.

Rating: 5/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be House of M: World of M Featuring Wolverine.

Wolverine: Return of the Native Review

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Darick Robertson

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my third review from it.

Plot

After his first attempt to capture the Native fails, Sabretooth persuades Wolverine to find her, preparing to take them both out once Wolverine finds her, but when he does Wolverine decides to protect her from Sabretooth, and the men that employed him.

Review

This was a brilliant story, and although still not the best Wolverine story I've ever read, it was still amazing, and probably the best that Greg Rucka's produced whilst he was on the series. This story has taken the good bits from Rucka's previous Wolverine stories, and put them together, making for the perfect combination of development, and action. The key difference between this story as opposed to the other two Wolverine stories Rucka wrote was that it was more like a classic Wolverine story, with him defending for himself and others, whilst trying to understand bits of his past, whereas the others were more crime driven, and although they were good, I much prefer this version of Wolverine, with him doing what he does best. The mystery in this story was also brilliant, as although it had Wolverine trying to remember bits of his own past, it had me as a reader questioning other character's links to Wolverine, and mainly the Native's link, which was interesting. Rucka also did a brilliant job with the balance of this story, as he had plenty of action, as well as mystery, and drama, which really made the story run smoother, whereas his last story, Coyote Crossing wasn't like that. I also loved the way Rucka added Sabretooth to this story, and although in many ways this caused the change from the crime style we've been seeing, to the more recognisable Wolverine style of story, that wasn't a bad thing, as although the transition was a little sudden, I'd prefer that any day if it means getting a better story.

The art in this story was amazing, and I was glad that Darick Robertson returned for this story, as although Leandro Fernandez' art on Coyote Crossing was good, it was nowhere near as good as Robertson's was on Brotherhood. In fact I much preferred Robertson's art in this story than I did in Brotherhood, as although his art was also phenomenal in Brotherhood there were small things that bugged me, whereas this time there wasn't. To start with although Robertson did a brilliant job of Wolverine last time round, I felt that his head looked a little too square, and slightly unrealistic, whereas this time it doesn't have this problem, as Wolverine's body's proportionate to the rest of it, whilst still showing him for the small runt he is. Now this may be due to Wolverine spending most of this story with his shirt off, but I just felt that he didn't look as squat as he did before, and more like the lean, muscular runt that he's meant to be. Besides that Robertson also did a fabulous job of Sabretooth, making him look as vicious as ever, and in fact this was probably one of the best drawings of Sabretooth I've ever seen. Robertson also did a brilliant job with the other characters, and especially the Native, as she looked fierce, and similar to Wolverine, which was interesting, as well as awesome. The way Roberston handled the violence in this story was also fantastic, and although again he did an amazing job with the violence in Brotherhood, it just seemed much more explosive, and awe-inspiring this time, as he did a truly phenomenal job.

This story's title character, the Native was very interesting, and although not the most interesting character ever to be created, still very interesting, and different. The fact that she was similar to Wolverine was probably what interested me the most, as although over the years there have been multiple character's similar to Wolverine come out of the wood work, including the likes of X-23, Daken, and Sabretooth, but it's still interesting whenever there's a new one, whether they're a likeable character or not. Now the only real question I had over the Native was if she was a decent Wolverine type character, and although the mysteriousness of the character, plus the fact that she clearly had some history with Wolverine, I'm not sure if she'd have worked as a long term character like the other Wolverine style character's I mentioned.

Although Native was probably the most interesting character in this story, due to her mysteriousness, it was however the addition of Sabretooth that I loved the most, and what I was looking forward to the most before I first read this story. Now there have been ton's of great Wolverine stories that have had Sabretooth make an appearance, and although this isn't the best one, it is probably one of the more unique ones, which also made it one of the more interesting ones. Now I love a good Wolverine/Sabretooth battle, and we get to see a couple in this story, but I feel the thing that made this appearance of Sabretooth more unique was the fact that there wasn't quite as much fighting between him and Wolverine, and the interaction between the two was very entertaining, and at times dramatic.

This story would also feature an offshoot of the Weapon X, who hired Sabretooth to track the Native, and return her. Now anything that has Weapon X involved grabs my interest, but at the same time that gives a lot to live up to, as there have been some great Weapon X stories in the past, as well as some terrible. Like the story in general this was also more to the middle of these two options, as although I've read better Weapon X stories, I've also read much worse. Anyway, the fact that these were an offshoot of Weapon X was also interesting, as it gives more room for creativity, as although you've got to keep to the basics, it still gives much more room for uniqueness. The fact that they were working with Sabretooth, also seeing him as expendable was interesting, and showed what type of character's they were. I also found the fact that this was a offshoot of Weapon X interesting, as it added to the question over the connection between Wolverine, and the Native, and what Weapon X had to do with it.

This story would see Wolverine continue his relationship with Cassie Lathrop, but quickly get into one with the Native. Now I found this all a little too sudden, as although I know Wolverine's been known as a womaniser in the past, he's also good hearted, usually caring about people's feelings (even if he doesn't show it), so for him to move onto someone else without even properly dumping Cassie was a little sudden. I also questioned what happened to Cassie, as when Wolverine started tracking the Native she just disappeared, and as far as I recall never made an appearance for years, which although I'm not upset, it's still annoying.

As I said there was a lot of action in this story, with Wolverine fighting Sabretooth, Wolverine fighting the offshoot Weapon X guys, and even Wolverine fighting the Native at one point, and this made for a very exciting story. At the same time it didn't take away from the development of the story, as there was plenty of time for slower moments, to give more depth, but the action was amazing. The fighting in general was brilliant, and it's really hard to pick out what of the mentioned fights was the overall best, as there were moments from each that I loved. Although there wasn't a lot of it the fighting between Sabretooth, and Wolverine was outstanding, and the sort of thing that you expect when these two meet, and although it wasn't the best fight between Wolverine, and Sabretooth, it was far from the worst. The small fight between Wolverine, and the Native was also brilliant, and very interesting, and even emotional, and although this was probably the weaker of these fights, it was also probably the most unique. The fight between Wolverine and the guys from the Weapon X offshoot was also amazing, and there was one sequence that had Wolverine jumping and destroying a helicopter that amazed me.

Final Verdict

This was probably the best story out of Rucka's run on Wolverine, and a nice way to end it. It's development, and action was blended nicely, as Rucka's previous stories had one that was either too much of one or the other, but this managed to do both. The appearance of Sabretooth, and an offshoot of Weapon X was also brilliant, and enough to drag any Wolverine fan to buying this, and although it's not the best story to feature these two, it's not the worst. Cause of all this I'd highly recommend this story, as it was very interesting, and exciting, and well worth the read.

Rating: 4/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine: Enemy of the State.

Wolverine: Coyote Crossing Review

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Leandro Fernandez

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my second review from it.

Plot

After finding nineteen dead immigrants in a back of a van, Wolverine decides to find who's responsible, taking a trip to El Paso, Texas, as well as Mexico, and is surprised with what he finds. Cassie Lathrop also continues to try and find Wolverine, following him to El Paso.

Review

This was a good story, and a fun read, but wasn't quite as good as Brotherhood, and felt a bit lacking. Greg Rucka is a brilliant writer, having done amazing work in the past, and although his work on Wolverine isn't anywhere near his best, for the better part it was still good, but this story was easily the worst. Although it had much more excitement, and action than Brotherhood, it didn't have as much depth, or drive, and although it had a relatively deep story, with conflicting emotions, the overall pacing felt a little awkward, and uneven. There was however still good points about this story, as it was exciting, and emotional, and although the pacing was a little over the pace, the message that Rucka was portraying in this story was brilliant, showing how life is, and how little certain people thing of others. I've also been really enjoying that Rucka's been making crime stories out of Wolverine, as although I'd still rather have a knock out, slasher story were Wolverine is best at what he is any day, this was still an interesting take, and although we've seen crime style stories come out of Wolverine in the past, not any that's quite as crime driven, or as unique as Rucka's have been.

The art from Leandro Fernandez in this story was brilliant, but not quite as good as the art Darick Robertson produced in Brotherhood. Don't get me wrong, Fernandez' art was brilliant, and really suited Wolverine, but I personally felt that Robertson's grittier style suited it even more. The detail in Fernandez' art was however amazing, as everything was near perfect. I did however find the way Fernandez drew hair, and certain character's a little disappointing, as Wolverine's hair looked unrealistic at times, appearing like one huge piece of hair, and character's like Nestor Garcia looked a bit weird, but overall the way Fernandez drew the character's was alright. I also felt that unlike with Robertson'ss artwork in Brotherhood, that that the colouring from Studio F didn't suit Fernandez' artwork, as although I liked it at certain points, stuff like water coming off Wolverine looked unrealistic. Fernandez did however do a phenomenal job with the action in this story, as although it's still not as good as Robertson's, it's still better than a lot of other artists work on Wolverine in the past, and was still very good. I also loved how Fernandez handled the character's facial emotions, and especially Wolverine's, as you could really see what he was feeling, whether anger, pity, compassion, or conflict, which was really nice. The covers from Fernandez were also fantastic, and although I preferred Esad Ribic's throughout Brotherhood, Fernandez' were still outstanding.

This story would focus on human trafficking, as Wolverine would find nineteen dead immigrants in the back of a van. The fact that Rucka has taken Wolverine, using more controversial stories has been brilliant, as it gives a very gritty, and realistic take on life, whilst also showing the reality of how desperate people want to leave their country. The fact that Rucka didn't hold back, making this very close to the edge was also brilliant, as I've seen stories that use controversial styles, but they try and keep it friendly, which lands up giving an unrealistic story, and I think if you're going to do something controversial you should do it right, and realistic, like Rucka has done with this.

The ATF agent named Cassie Lathrop continued to be infatuated by Wolverine, trying to find him, which included asking Wolverine's friend, Sycamore Blaine, and following a police report to El Paso. The introduction of Cassie in Brotherhood was brilliant, and I'm happy that Rucka continued to use her in his run. What I probably liked most about Cassie in this story is that she doesn't quite know why she's infatuated with Wolverine, besides the fact he saved her. I also think that she's the perfect companion for Wolverine, as whether they'd get into a relationship or not, she's a very strong minded individual, and although she'd probably be a little uneasy with the things he does, she'd probably live with it, seeing it as the greater good, as well as enjoying the thrill.

This story would also see another couple of Wolverine's estranged friends introduced in the form of Nestor Garcia and his employee Ángel. I found Nestor, and Ángel interesting, as Nestor was the perfect person for Wolverine to get information from, and Nestor needed a henchman style worker, and Ángel was perfect for that. Another thing I liked about Nestor, and Ángel was that although they seemed to be not the most innocent of people, they still seemed to e friendly, and kind hearted people. Their morales also seemed to be similar to Wolverine, and the only main characteristic difference they had were their personalities, as they were a lot more fun than Wolverine, who's always brooding.

The person behind the human trafficking was named Rojas. Now I won't go into too much detail about Rojas as a character, as they only appeared near the end of the story, and I wouldn't like to give away spoilers, but I will say that some of the things that were revealed about Rojas was really shocking, and interesting, making for something very unique. Rojas as a character however seemed to be inconsiderate, seeing the deaths of these immigrants as an inconvenience, feeling that the drugs that were being smuggled inside them was worth more than their lives. I found this real interesting, and along with the surprise it gave Wolverine a dilemma, which again added more drama, and suspense.

As I said this story had much more action in it than Brotherhood, as Wolverine took his newly shown detective skills, and combined them with what he does best, killing. Although this was the polar opposite with the action, having plenty of action, and not a steady development, the action was amazing, and really exciting, also adding drama to the story. I also loved how Wolverine was very aggressive, making for more violence, as well as excitement, and although it wasn't quite as violent as the small bit of action in Brotherhood, it was still very entertaining. It was also nice to see small bits of humour in between the fighting, something we don't entirely see from Wolverine, and although some may see this as uncharacteristic, I saw this as something unique, and interesting.

Final Verdict

This wasn't a brilliant story, and easily the worst during Rucka's run on Wolverine, but at the same time it was far from being the worst Wolverine story I've ever read. The story itself was full of action, and excitement, but the development, and pacing was all over the place, making for a exciting story that didn't have quite as much depth as it could have. I'd still however recommend this story, as it's worth the read, but would also recommend leaving it till one of the later Wolverine stories you buy, as there's a lot better out there.

Rating: 3/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine: Return of the Native.

Wolverine: Brotherhood Review

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artist: Darick Robertson

I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I've finally come to start re-reading my Wolverine collection, with this being my first review from it.

Plot

When tracking down a kidnapped girl named Lucy that he promised to protect, Wolverine travels to Westfalls to face the Brotherhood. Also Later Wolverine meets Nightcrawler in a bar to drown his sorrows.

Review

This was an amazing story, and although it's not the best Wolverine story I've ever read it was a brilliant way to start the then new series of Wolverine. I've always liked Greg Rucka's work, especially on The Punisher, and Detective Comics (when Batwoman was the feature character), and although this isn't his best work ever it's still very good, and shows his unique style of writing. Rucka's known for his more crime based stories, and he's brought that style to Wolverine, making this more of a detective story than a hack, and slash story, which was nice. I also loved how Rucka made this story very unique, showing different sides to Wolverine, which has been interesting, as although I love to see Wolverine doing what he does best, it's always nice to see something new. The way he made Wolverine awful quiet, not having him speak to much was also brilliant, as it gave more of a mood to the character, showing that he's more a man of actions than a man of words. The way Rucka handled the narrating in the first issue was also interesting, and very unique, as although I've seen similar to this in the past, I haven't seen it in Wolverine before. I also loved that this was a more deep, and emotional Wolverine story than we usually get, as although it was still violent at times, it was more character driven, with Wolverine's emotions driving him.

The art in this story was also brilliant, and Darick Robertson did an amazing job. I've loved Robertson's work in the past, especially on the likes of The Boys, and Happy!, but his work on this story was just as good. Although I'm not entirely sure if I love his art on Wolverine himself, as although I feel that his style's brilliant for the type of series that this is, there was something not quite right about how he drew Wolverine, as he looked more square faced, and darn right uglier than usual. Put it this way, better artists have drawn Wolverine in the past, and after this. Besides that Robertson's art was brilliant, and as I said really suited the tone of the series. I really loved how it was gritty, and the violent way he drew the action was phenomenal. The way Robertson laid the art out was also amazing, as it really helped to add more drama to the story, also giving more depth. The way he drew the rest of the character's, as well as facial expressions was also brilliant, as they looked very natural, and realistic, and you could easily tell what they were feeling. The detail in Robertson's art was also outstanding, as everything looked perfect. The covers from Esad Ribic were also amazing, and like always Ribic produces covers that are simply phenomenal.

This story sees Wolverine going detective, as he tracks down the people responsible for kidnapping a girl he swore to protect. Now Wolverine has tracked people many times, and it's one of the things that he's particularly good at, but this time it was much more of a detective style, as he'd use his raw strength to get answers, instead of reverting to his Adamantium claws. He did occasionally use his claws, but he was mainly able to use his smarts, and force to get what he wanted. I love seeing Wolverine use his claws, and felt that he could have used them more in this story, but at the same time it was a nice change for him to use his other skills, which proved just as effective.

The girl that Wolverine promised to protect was called Lucy. The first issue basically revolves around her, even being narrated by her, but after that she doesn't really feature in this story much. From what we saw of the character in the first issue, I found her very interesting, as she was clearly a character that was on hard times, and who knew trouble, but wanted to change her life. The way she also interacted with Wolverine was interesting, and her calling him, "Mean Man," was also funny. I also liked that Lucy also appeared to be very strong minded, as she seemed to know what she was doing, and what it'd cause. The addition of Lucy was also brilliant as it gave motivation for Wolverine, as well as a starting point for the story, as Wolverine's always been soft for innocent girls, wanting to help, or avenge in anyway he can.

The people who kidnapped Lucy were called the Brothers of the New World, or Brotherhood for short, and were lead by a man named Cry. When I first bought this book I thought that it's have Wolverine against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (having not looked the book up), and was initially disappointed in what I found, but the Brotherhood was actually an interesting group, and although their goals aren't exactly original, they were strong enough to power this story, and to be honest how many ideas are completely original. The way they operated was also interesting, as well as the fact that they had the towns people scared, and the town Sheriff in their pocket, and overall although not the best group of villains I've seen they were perfect for this more realistic crime style story.

This story also saw the introduction of ATF agent, Cassie Lathrop, who follows Wolverine trying to find out what he's up to. This was a very interesting character, and with Lucy not making much off an appearance, it was nice to see another female character feature. The way she was introduced as an undercover agent was brilliant, but the way she became intrigued by Wolverine was even more interesting, as although Wolverine has had a lot of lady friends in the past, he doesn't always get ones that search for him. Her characteristics were also very interesting, as she appeared to be a curious woman, that was strong minded, and resourceful, planning on getting what she wants.

Although there wasn't ton's of action in this story, there was some, and it was awesome. Both Rucka, and Robertson handled it brilliantly, and it really gave excitement, as well as more drama to the story. The violence was also brilliant, as although this means the story isn't suitable for as many readers it does appeal more to readers like me, as I want to see Wolverine killing people in his solo series, whereas you can have a X-Men series to give a more child friendly version (e.g. Wolverine & the X-Men). I also loved how we saw the berserker come out of Wolverine, and the way that the colourist, Studio F made his eyes a different colour was very unique, and made it more viscous, and gritty.

The final issue in this story featured Wolverine in a bar drowning his sorrows, when Nightcrawler disguised as a priest comes to console him. Besides Wolverine, Nightcrawler is my next favourite X-Man, and I always love seeing the two interact. The history the characters have is amazing, and always leads to brilliant sequences, and cause of that it's easy to make an entire issue about these two. The issue itself was very emotional, and showed the character's characteristics perfectly, as with Nightcrawler coming in disguise (he later removed it) it shows how insecure he is. Now I won't go into too many details as it'd spoil the main story, but overall this was a amazing appearance, and seeing Nightcrawler, and Wolverine interact in an emotional way is always brilliant, and this was no exception.

Final Verdict

Although not necessarily the best Wolverine story ever, it's also far from being the worst, and was a brilliant start to Rucka's run on the series. The way that it's became more of a crime series has also been interesting, and the development, and pacing of the story was outstanding, and although I personally would have preferred it at a bit quicker pace, the slower pace helped the story, and development go much smoother. The limited action was also amazing, and very violent, and although there wasn't a lot of it, what there was of it was outstandingly brilliant. I would highly recommend this story, as it is very unique, and interesting, as well as exciting, and dramatic.

Rating: 4/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine: Coyote Crossing.