I may sound a tad jaded, after all this is a book of two halves. Both are written by Benjamin Percy, who may be trying to break the X-book record for writing separate tittles, currently held by Chris Claremont. The first story starts kind of in the middle as we get a Wolverine at odds with his current situation. This leads to flashback storytelling, before things get a chance to move forward. Of course, with this being the first issue, nothing is resolved. The second story also has an element of “seen before” as another of Wolverine’s big bad’s comes to Krakoa to partake in the mutant amnesty. But can Omega Red be trusted on the island where harming mutants carries a stiff penalty?
Benjamin Percy is certainly making his mark on Marvel since leaving the home of Green Arrow and Nightwing. As much as I loved his Green Arrow run, Percy has really come of age, to some extent with his three X books as each have their own feel. X-Force and Fallen angels are dramatically different from each other, with this book feeling like a connecting X- Force book. It is strange then that continuity raises its head, take Domino for example. I do worry that Percy may be spread a little too thin. This isn’t helped by the inclusion of a second story rather than continuing the main one. The dialogue works well, showing that Wolverine seems to be a better foil, whether that is with Kitty, Jean, Omega Red or the kids that he is “teaching jungle survival” too via hide, go seek. Percy definitely has his Logan voice down; maybe the amount of appearances that he has made over the years has had an impact.
The art for the first half is also a bit of a blast from the past as former Wolverine artist Adam Kubert returns to the canny canuck. Over that time, Kubert has worked hard to divest himself of the familiar lines seen from both his brother and his early work. Back around Wolverine #76 Marvel were looking to maintain its Jim Lee inspired house style. The Kubert brothers were at the forefront of that charge. It may be that it is that flexibility of style that brought Kubert back to the fold, given that there is a new house style for the X-books that he mines. I am not saying that it’s bad, but I do question why have a genuine superstar artist on a bonk, then ask him to draw like someone else? It seems that imitation is the name of game, given how the art on the second half, from Viktor Bogdanovic, has more than a Greg Capullo feel, with images and panels looking very familiar to a particular Bat-run. Colors are provided by Frank Martin and Mathew Wilson respectively, which again leads into the current differentiation of the X-books from the rest of the Marvel world. VC’s Cory Petit provides the fonts that has become the recognised X-font.
There will be fans who are looking forward to a new Wolverine book. Whilst the Krakoa situation certainly adds a different spice to proceedings, at this early stage, this issue isn’t that “all new or all different”; for some that might be great, for others less so. Truth be told, regardless of how popular Wolverine is, I could take or leave this new book.
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art (Kubert) – 3 Stars
Art (Bogdanovic) 2.5 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Overall – 3 Stars
Written by; Benjamin Percy
Art by; Adam Kubert & Viktor Bogdanovic
Colors by; Frank Martin & Matthew Wilson
Letters by; VC’s Cory Petit
Published by; Marvel Worldwide
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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