In the pages of Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force, most of the members of that assassination team have lost something. Wolverine lost his son. Angel lost his life while Psylocke lost her love. Fantomex lost his independence. And Deadpool? Well, as in almost all things, Deadpool was the oddity in Remender’s story about the moral ambiguity of these heroes.
Old Man Logan #1 is the extremely dark mirror to the “Days of Future Past” storyline as Wolverine doesn’t sheathe his claws and abandon violence to bring hope to mutants and the world, but decides to take revenge on the people responsible for destroying his family
Marvel used to be wary of the legacy game. Sure, the odd villain or minor hero would pass a mantle on here or there, but it’s never been a consistent move. The publisher was always more content to give characters new titles rather than give them established ones, unless it made narrative sense to do so like …
Ultimate X-Men #7-9 goes for a more political look at the well-worn “mutant as a metaphor for oppressed minorities” story by making the formerly shady Weapon X folks completely aligned with the US government even if members of the government and military want to shut them down.
With a dose of political satire, some soaring team-up action grounded in character moments (Storm struggling with her power; Quicksilver’s daddy issues; Wolverine the reformed assassin), and a robust arc for Cyclops, Ultimate X-Men #4-6 is definitely an improvement over the preceding three issues. The “death” of Beast is a cheap storytelling ploy, and I am still skeezed out from Wolverine’s sexual liaison with Jean Grey, but Millar and the Kuberts end this first arc on a triumphant, if dark note albeit with some skeletons in the closet waiting to be brought out for the following “Return to Weapon X” storyline.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #1 introduces a more traditional version of Wolverine to the Ultimate Marvel Universe. He is gruff and violent, but actually wants to co-exist with humans and leave his dark past behind. In a later filler arc of Ultimate Spider-Man, Bendis would explore the comic potential of a Wolverine/Spider-Man team up, but he looks at the more serious implications of being a mutant in the Ultimate Universe while also making Spidey kind of geek out around him. Even if Sabretooth is a fur coat wearing punching bag and some of jokes don’t land, it is a rare privilege to see comics legend Matt Wagner put Spider-Man through his acrobatic paces and use the full comics page (or two) to its storytelling potential.
Mark Millar and Adam Kubert’s work on Ultimate X-Men #1-3 really is the blockbuster action take on the X-Men, but there is enough flashes of characterization, pretty layouts (Not so much those ugly leather costumes.), and clever twists like Wolverine being a bona fide villain and Colossus’ old crime boss supplying Magneto with a nuke. It’s not a particularly deep comic and scratches the surface of the idea of “post-humanism”, but Ultimate X-Men #1-3 is adequate popcorn entertainment, which led to it selling like hotcakes. (Ultimate X-Men #1 was the number one book in December 2000 with 117,085 copies, and issues 2 and 3 stayed in the top 3 with numbers around the 90,000 range.)
Old Man Logan #1 is a lot of things. A character study that captures the feral and peaceful parts of Wolverine through Maiolo’s shifting colors (The more violent the panel, the flatter the colors.) and Sorrentino’s layouts and close-ups of his well-worn face. It is also a chance for two of comics’ finest storytellers to place their mark on a classic genre. Even if you hate Wolverine, Old Man Logan #1 is worth picking up for its exploration of one man trying to find a kind of morally grey hope in a world bereft of it wonderfully rendered in a tapestry of blood, gunpowder, and desert sand. Leone, Morricone, and Eastwood would be proud.
Astonishing X-Men “Gifted” is one of those storylines that will make long term X-Men fans purr with delight beginning the Claremont era flashbacks in issue one. (Cassaday mimics Byrne’s art quite well.) It also can turn fans (like me five years ago) of the films and cartoons into mutie and comics junkies. Whedon pays homage to older X-Men stories without getting mired in continuity and quickly places his own stamp on the franchise by creating a new alien foe for them (Ord of the Breakworld), exploring the mutant as outsider metaphor with the cure of the X-gene, giving SHIELD a new branch (SWORD), and also bringing a beloved character back from the dead (Colossus) in a touching, visceral way that serves the long term storyline. However, the best part of Astonishing X-Men “Gifted” other than John Cassaday’s detailed, cinematically composed art and Whedon’s insanely quotable dialogue is the character arcs for each X-Man nestled in the bigger plot.
UPDATE 3/30: James Mangold now confirmed via Twitter that he will be directing Jackman in The Wolverine 2, and that that film, not X-Men: Apocalypse, would be his last time. “@RealHughJackman: WOLVERINE …ONE LAST TIME. HJ https://t.co/vlqMyFchGx” Can’t wait to make this, HJ! Been toiling quietly a while now! — Mangold (@mang0ld) March 29, 2015 There …
If you were a fan of how Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn balanced the comedy of a Weapon Plus reunion between Deadpool, Wolverine, and Captain America with real character growth for Deadpool in “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, Deadpool and Captain America will be a treat to read. Duggan takes Deadpool seriously as a character while peppering his script with puns, pop culture gags, and silly, but chuckle worthy jokes about Wolverine’s grooming. Scott Kolins’ figures aren’t as sharp and well-defined as Declan Shalvey’s in “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, but he is skilled panel architect, who can turn a mundane elevator ride into an opportunity for humor and character reflection. Kolins adds layers to the comedy with sight gags and slapstick, like when Captain America beats up an AIM.
In Death of Wolverine, Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, and Justin Ponsor had the tough job of killing off one Marvel’s most popular characters in a way consistent with his legacy of his character. Death of Wolverine #4 contains the actual “death”, and Soule, McNiven, and company stick the landing. Except for Doctor Cornelius’ supervillainous monologues, Soule’s script is terse and minimalist. Wolverine doesn’t say much, but he does a lot in keeping with his early characterization in Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s Uncanny X-Men where he would be the one still scrapping and fighting even after the Hellfire Club had taken out the other X-Men. In this last story, Soule examines all the different sides of Wolverine from lab experiment and animal to soldier, superhero, and samurai. And Steve McNiven’s art continues to be a treat from his landscape portraits of the Nevada desert to Wolverine’s last, visceral hand to hand battles. Inker Jay Leisten tightens his lines and elucidates the details of Cornelius’ lab as well as the lines on Wolverine’s determined faces. Colorist Justin Ponsor continues to be one of my personal favorites as he sets a different mood for each scene from a washed out brown for one final flashback of Weapon X to the sterile environment of Cornelius’ lab and one last walk in the sunlight.
Death of Wolverine #3 Written by Charles Soule Pencilled by Steve McNiven Inked by Jay Leisen Colors by Justin Ponsor Published by Marvel Comics Even if Charles Soule’s script reads like a compilation of the best solo Wolverine stories all rolled into one miniseries, Death of Wolverine #3 is another shining example of why Steve McNiven is one of the best …
Pittsburgh Comicon: The Legends Panel The Players: Bill Sienkiewicz -Classically trained painter known for his work at both DC and Marvel, particularly Elektra: Assassin. Sienkiewicz has won more awards than I can count (without taking off my shoes and socks at least) Joe Rubinstein -German-born artist most famous for inking the 1982 Wolverine series, …
Written by Charles Soule Pencils by Steve McNiven. Inks by Jay Leisten Colors by Justin Ponsor. Letters by Chris Eliopoulos Standard Cover by McNiven, Leisten & Ponsor Published by Marvel Comics. Death of Wolverine #1 is the culmination of a storyline begun by Paul Cornell in which Wolverine lost his mutant healing factor, and the first issue of a …
How does Charles Soule do it? If you ignore the answers provided by the comic writer himself on his personal blog, it is almost impossible to imagine how one man can spread himself so thin across eight different titles between Marvel, DC, and Oni Press. At the moment he currently writes Inhuman, She-Hulk, and Thunderbolts …
New York, NY—July 10th, 2014—He is many things to many people. Hero. Teacher. Friend. X-Man. Avenger. But above all else, he is one – Canadian! Today, Marvel is proud to unveil “Canada Variants” for all four issues of the highly-anticipated Death of Wolverine series! Comic superstar Charles Soule & Steve McNiven explore the untimely end …
Wolverine #1 Written by Paul Cornell Art by Ryan Stegman & Mark Morales Colors by David Curiel & Letters by VC’s Cory Petit Standard Cover by Ryan Stegman & Edgar Delgado Published by Marvel Comics Does the world need another Wolverine comic book? That’s the question, fair or not, that every new Wolverine series must …
New X-Men #114-116 Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Frank Quitely Inker: Tim Townsend (114-115), Mark Morales (115-116), Dan Green (116) Colorist: Brian Haberlin (114-115), Hi-Fi (115-116) Publisher: Marvel Comics In 2001, the X-Men were both everywhere and nowhere. Bryan Singer’s X-Men film had been released the previous year and was a commercial and critical success. It showed that superhero films …
Marvel Knights: X-Men #1 Written by Brahm Revel Pencils by Brahm Revel Colors by Christiane Peter Cover by Brahm Revel Published by Marvel A mutant boy runs through the forest at night, like a victim in a slasher movie. His death sends a psychic shock all the way to Rachel Grey, bringing Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, …
Uncanny X-Men 108-109, 111-143 (1977-1981) Writer: Chris Claremont Penciller/Co-plotter: John Byrne Inker: Terry Austin, Colorist: Glynis Wein Publisher: Marvel Along with Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil, Chris Claremont’ work on Uncanny X-Men during the late 1970s and 1980s was the most innovative and creative Marvel Comics title. But the comic was at its peak of brilliance when …
A few months back, I penned a rather vitriolic piece decrying the state of everyone’s favorite six-clawed murder machine, Wolverine, calling foul on his portrayal as a swaggering, invincible, unstoppable alpha-male sex symbol in most contemporary media. I’m sure many readers were wondering what my alternative would be, and this month’s theme of favorite Marvel …
X-Men Battle of the Atom #2 Writer: Jason Aaron Pencillers: Esad Ribic and Giuseppe Camuncoli Finishes: Andrew Currie and Tom Palmer Colorists: Ive Svorcina, Andres Mossa, and Guru eFX Publisher: Marvel There are lots of cooks in the Battle of the Atom kitchen which has four epilogues and a total of ten pencillers/inkers/finishers working on the …