Wolverine Wednesday #51

There is a lot to get through this week, that should bring me up to date on the events of X Lives/Deaths. I had a delay on X Deaths #5 so I thought it would be best to review to two final issues in the next instalment. That way I can compare and contrast them. Talk about which did what better and so on.

X Deaths of Wolverine #2

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Federico Vicentini | Colourist: Dijjo Lima | Letters: Cory Petit

If it was clear to readers after #1, it is safe to say now that this is very much a Moira story. There is however a much bigger Wolverine presence in this issue. It was disappointing to see this issue didn’t pick up where #1 left off. What made it more confusing is that it was referenced in the text page, but when we pick up with Wolverine it’s like it never happened. I am convinced Benjamin Percy has fantasies of being a fisherman, alone on the open seas. There have been a lot of enjoyable Jaws, Mody Dick and Old Man and The Sea references scattered throughout his Wolverine work recently. Let us not forget our Wolverine continuity and recall that he has actually hung out with Hemingway. Getting back to the story at hand and on a personal level, I have trouble coming to terms with the consequences and what the long term effects will be, if any? I mean we see Mystique die in this issue (spoiler). While it does supply a great visual of her skull headpiece in the flaming aftermath, you feel and know she will be back soon. There was an advert in this issue for the new X-Men Unlimited series in which Wolverine is a prominent player. I understand I received my comics later than release but you have to question where X Deaths is happening in the current timeline. Despite my misgivings about the issue and the questions it raises I can not fault the action. The pacing is top-notch, with the action backed up with brilliant visuals. There are some amazing action sequences on offer in this issue. The standout sequence is a two-page spread, involving Moira conducting some surgery shall we say. The two pages are split into a number of panels. It works like a puzzle with the smaller panels offering clues as to what is about to happen, with the larger panels conveying the bigger moments. If you put the pieces together early it does provide a really cool ‘Oh s*!t’ moment. I can just picture Rose Byrne recreating it in some upcoming Disney+ series! While I didn’t particularly enjoy this issue or #1 on the parameters of it not being a Wolverine centric story I would have to say this second issue is the weaker of the two. the only highlights did come from Vicentini’s brilliant action-orientated visuals.

X Deaths of Wolverine #3

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Federico Vicentini | Colourist: Dijjo Lima | Letters: Cory Petit

After a slow and overall disappointing start to this mini-series, this issue was much more my jam as we hit the halfway point. My biggest complaint of the previous two issues has been the real lack of Wolverine involvement for a series titled X Deaths of Wolverine. In this issue we get not one, not two, not three, but four Wolverines! Wolverine (Laura), Scout and Daken all come to the party and actually get some answers out of the mysterious future Wolverine along the way. I was so happy to have Scout back amongst my reading pile. I know she has appeared in some of Percy’s X-Force issues but I haven’t got them yet. The way he writes her is very much in line with the voice her creator Tom Taylor first gave her. The story begins to play with the tropes of some of the classic time travel stories. I’m talking the likes of Terminator (it even has a Miles Dyson-esque character) and the X-Men’s very own Days of Future Past. You can call me a lazy reader but this is why I enjoyed this issue much more. I like the mix of having my favourite characters with troped I’m familiar with. Done well it is an entertaining mix. Another part of why I enjoyed this issue much, much more than the previous two is that we finally start to get some answers. For the third issue in a row action reigns supreme. While X Lives has been more violent in a bloody way, the violence in X Deaths is much more like a stylised action movie. Yes, there is blood, but the fights seem more choreographed, almost like each character has a signature fighting style. Moira will move differently to Mystique and both will fight differently to Wolverine. Percy’s script gives plenty for Vicentini plenty of scope to experiment with this as he has the four Wolverines to play with in this issue. During the big fight scene in the middle of the issue he does well to showcase the four Wolverines in battle, giving them all equal time in the spotlight. All done without the fight feeling too long and taking over too many pages. Another detail I like is having the backgrounds established so we know where the action is taking place, but when the action is ramped up it is about selecting the right colours to have our characters stand out on the page before reestablishing the surroundings when the action slows again. This is was very enjoyable to read, for me it turned the tide on a series I wasn’t overly taken with so far. No doubt a lot of it is down to the inclusion of Laura and Gabby. The Moira stuff is secondary to me now so as long as those characters are along for the remainder I will be interested to see how it pans out.

X Deaths of Wolverine #4

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Federico Vicentini | Colourist: Dijjo Lima | Letters: Cory Petit

The issue begins in the future, again bringing those time travel story tropes. We have our obligatory scene in the future timeline where we see our hero sent back. It reminded me very much of a scene in the X-Men Animated series where we see an old man Forge send Bishop back. I mentioned in the previous issue Days of Future Past is an inspiration and we do get a Sentinel attack in the future just for good measure. Like with all good time travel stories we get a brutal scene detailing how everyone dies in the future! We are now well over halfway through this story with one issue to go and it only became apparent to me that everything involving Moira stems from the events of Inferno. Now I didn’t read that series so I imagine anyone else who didn’t would be in the same boat as me. Therefore it begs the question is this really a Wolverine story? I have found it surprising that there has been no crossover between the two series. We do see Professor X for a little in this issue but that only goes to muddy continuity. Percy delivers a satisfying cliffhanger that leaves you wanting the next issue. For me, that is a must have monthly storytelling so that earns a big tick. The fact that the cliffhanger was also a brilliant visual is always a nice bonus. Speaking of brilliant visuals Vicentini steals the show again with his now signature action. One thing he does really well here is in the future set part of the story you can see Forge and Wolverine are much older in appearance. His battle scenes continue to be intense and I like his take on the Phalanx stuff. Over the four issues the appearance of the ‘future’ Wolverine has grown on me. At first I saw it as nothing more than a gimmick but Vicentini has added layers with each issue. The stark black of the costume really makes it pop on the page. It makes the character look very brooding and mysterious. Two vital attributes for a Wolverine. Like I mentioned earlier we do get some answers in this issue and by the good cliffhanger at the end, a lot of puzzle pieces have fallen into place, so I am expecting a decent finale next time out.

X Lives of Wolverine #4

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artists: Joshua Cassara & Federico Vicentini | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit

We are now four issues into a time travel story featuring Wolverine so it was only a matter of time before we touched on two stables of his past. The first being World War II and then the Weapon X experiment. In fact, Percy sets up a plot thread in the Weapon X flashback that I would have been so happy if the whole series revolved around it. That being Omega Red trying to kill Wolverine off at the source, during the experiments. I do find it odd that new Weapon X flashbacks focus on Cornelius as the main aggressor as opposed to Professor Thornton. The one drawback as someone who doesn’t read a lot of other Marvel comics is that there was an angle set up with Venom that I didn’t know the origins of. I understand he is a popular character and if Percy saw it suitable to the story to use it I am okay with that. Like with X Deaths all the pieces appear to be falling into place, if not they are hovering very close to fitting in place before the finale. Also, this issue, like its X Deaths fourth issue counterpart, had a shock cliffhanger to end on. Perhaps one criticism of the four issues is that some of the flashbacks we continue to visit have been nothing more than prolonged fight scenes. There are times when I think traditional panel layouts are going out of fashion in mainstream comics. Then a top highly regarded young talent like Cassara will deliver a more traditional panel count like he does here. While it isn’t on every page there are a lot of six and nine-panel pages scattered throughout. In this issue it works effectively to cram a lot of storytelling into one page. It is good at building both tension and suspense as the story jumps between multiple timelines. Cassara also does a brilliant homage to some Barry Windsor Smith visuals. While it does lack the amazing colours of that seminal work it is more than a fair attempt. The action on offer in this series has matched that of X Deaths stride for stride. I would say this is the more violent out of the two. With claws and tentacles alike slashing through anything that gets in their path. X Lives of Wolverine has been more consistent over its four issues. It has kept me guessing every time a new element has been added to the story. I am really looking forward to how it all concludes in the final issue. Will we finally see some crossover in the two issue fives?

Sabretooth #1 – #2

Writer: Victor LaValle | Artist: Leonard Kirk | Colourist: Rain Beredo | Letters: Cory Petit

I am always sceptical when a villain gets their own series. Villains are there to serve one purpose and that is to provoke our hero and ultimately be defeated by them. There are very few good villain series in the history of comics and then there are a handful of series that turn a villain into an anti-hero! I was especially sceptical this time around because the story would also have to revolve around the very strict constraints set out by the rules of Jonathon Hickman! All of that being said I loved this from the outset. It was so much fun. It is going to the top of my reading pile every month until it is over. There is a lot of talk in these two issues about the Quiet Council and their inner workings. Things like what laws they have and what are the consequences of breaking such laws. As someone who has only read Wolverine and a few issues of X-Force during this iteration of X-Men, I can confirm the story was still accessible without having full knowledge of all this information. LaValle writes a good internal monolgue for Sabretooth. In fact, the first issue opens with him dropping some dark humour, with some scathing attacks on the member of the Quiet Council. In my head I just heard the voice of Sabretooth from the X-Men Animated Series. LaValle lays a lot of groundwork early on so that in the remaining issues the story will have space to breathe. There are a lot of very cool elements that I am looking forward to seeing how they develop. In particular is the three Sabretooths from different eras having a conversation. My early take on the series is that it is going to be a psychological analysis of Sabretooth rather than a story about the inner workings of Krakoan law. There are a few little moments throughout both issues that are played as a trick of the mind stuff, leaving the reader questioning what is real. I feel this is part of the story, rather than bad storytelling. One moment that did go completely over my head was the Starjammers reference. There are cool continuity moments, both recent and older. The first touching on events in Wolverine and the second is a flashback to Sabretooth’s first appearance in Iron Fist. I did enjoy the addition of some Z-list mutants to the story. I was only familiar with Maddison Jeffries formerly of Alpha Flight and Weapon X. So I would have prefered more backstory on each of them. Maybe that will come with each issue as each of their roles is developed. The whole story has a whole heavy metal vibe to it and this is backed up by the fire and brimstone energy of the artwork. Kirk is no stranger to the world of Wolverine, having most recently worked on All-New Wolverine. He is a very reliable artist and this story will give him space to go wild. Right away it was amazing seeing Sabretooth back in his classic look, the look we all grew up with from the animated series. It is and will always be his best look in my opinion and the fact they led with it on the cover had me excited straight away. The two covers are provided by Ryan Stegman, again an artist who is no stranger to Wolverine. If he had drawn his Wolverine run like these two covers I would have liked it a whole lot more! Kirk is able to balance the right amount of violence for a villain story with lighter moments. The stand out of which was Doug Ramsey having a Warlock looking briefcase. What these two issues done is remind me and hopefully the wider audience is that comics should be fun. No matter how much continuity they have to tie to, they still have to entertain and have writers who aren’t taking everything too seriously. Sabretooth #1 certainly did this!