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Yes, that's right, not only is there a lovely convention report by yours truly, but there's also the regularly scheduled installment of Great X-Pectations! This is either a blessing or a curse, depending on one's point of view. For me, it means I have to try and be clever twice in one month. I'm lucky if I can manage once.
So, what's on the platter for this month? How about a steaming pile of Wolverine? Er, that doesn't sound so good, actually. Unlike Marvel's current Wolverine series. Hey, that segue almost works!
After 180 some odd issues, Marvel finally decided to restart Wolverine with a new #1, and a new creative team: Greg Rucka and Darrick Robertson. A high quality creative team, on a high profile book in need of an injection of creative talent. Wolverine had remained an ok seller for most of it's run, but most fans will agree the last 50 or so issues, if not more, were somewhat less than stellar.
In what may be considered a surprise for Marvel, they actually hit upon something that works. This is the best Wolverine has been in ages. He's back to being his caring, yet bad-ass self. Logan has almost always been protrayed as a smart, if gruff, loyal, if violent character, especially during the Claremont run on Uncanny, and much of that has at long last returned to the character, as well as the classic visual interpretation, with Darrick's rendition of Logan being a short, almost dwarfish, hairy, not drop-dead-gorgeous, pissed off little runt, this is the closest to the 'real' Logan we've seen in forever.
The opening arc, which is only about midway through right now, involves Logan meeting up with a lonely waitress, on the run from some bad stuff, but never comes out and tells Logan, until it's literally too late. He only puts the pieces together after her death, via her journal, and goes on a quest to find the people who killed this innocent, harmless woman who touched him in such a short time, highlighting his violent, yet loving nature very clearly, very quickly, in the first issue.
This arc's villains are, so far, firmly rooted in the real world of gun-toting militias and cults. It could easily slide into parody and goofyness though, but I do hold out some hope from this creative team that it won't.
The issues that have been released so far have sold very briskly, so Marvel has put out a reprint collection of issues 1-3, and I urge folks to check out this somehow fresh, yet classic, take on one of Marvel's icons.
So, what does Marvel do when they have what could possibly be the definitive version of Wolverine? Why, tinker with it, of course!
Greg Rucka was pulled away by DC for an exclusive contract, and Marvel has at least about 18 issues worth of Wolverine scripts from him, so there's a fair amount of Rucka's writing to play with, if rather truncated. As for the art, Darrick appears to be on the book for awhile, but Marvel decided that all Wolverines have to now look like Hugh Jackman.
Now, this is well within Marvel's rights, but a large appeal of this book was that Logan was back to being his 5'2" pug-ugly self, and that visual has been as much a part of his character over the years as the claws Once we finally have it back in full force, Marvel wants him pushed back up over six feet, and prettified. This is, at least in my opinion, a case of leaving well enough alone. The comic was the #1 seller it's debut month, so Marvel decides it's time to tinker? This controlling stranglehold over the books is just going to far with this, I say.
It's my understanding that a compromise has at least been reached, and I'll withhold judgement until I see the finished products, but just knowing that Marvel is doing things like this (And the whole FF fiasco I mentioned last month) paints a rather sad picture of creators not being allowed to create.
For now though, at least on Wolverine, Marvel gets a wait and see on the controls, but I definitely give this title one of my highest recommendations. A dark, gritty read, with a superhero in a mostly real-world setting, and having it work. Thumbs up all around.
I'm cutting this month's a little shorter than usual, since you're getting inundated with Jasoness all over the site this month, folks. There's only so much of me anyone can take.
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