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This week's All the Rage has a particularly juicy tidbit for fans of the Claremont\Byrne X-Men. A fan discovered that a sketch pad he bought from Byrne contained plot notes for several issues of Uncanny X-Men. Future issues that extended way beyond the point when Byrne left the series! No matter what people think of Byrne today, I still think his contributions and collaboration with Claremont on X-Men, Iron Fist, Starlord, Marvel Team-Up, etc., produced some of the best superhero material ever made. Here's one event that never happened, involving Mariko, Wolverine's Japanese girlfriend:

Sabretooth attacks Mariko as a way of getting to Wolverine. He brutalizes her beyond imagining. (Nothing sexual. This is sheer animal violence.) He leaves her for dead, torn and bleeding in an alley.

Click on over to Labour Day Rage to see the what Wolverine would have done next. Nuff said.

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After reading Wolverine: Origins #1, I was pretty down on Marvel's most popular mutant. I didn't know what to expect from Wolverine #41, other than it was a 1-issue tale by Stuart Moore that gives some breathing room to the new creative team. But this is a winner, and I think if there's any awards given for Best Single Issue Story, it would surely be nominated. The plot is very simple: in an African nation overrun by crime-lords, Logan is dispatched by the Black Panther to rescue the baby girl of the President. Wolverine straps the baby into a chest harness and runs for the border on foot, but it's many miles away. He's hunted by General Lago's army, who want to eliminate the possibility of the girl growing up to be a future leader. You have to accept one story element on faith--that someone like Iron Man or the Sentry didn't rescue the girl instantly by flying in and flying out. It's even questionable why the Black Panther didn't use one of his fantastic flying machines to quickly pickup Logan after he gets the girl. The excuse is that T'Challa's not going to start an international incident, and neither are the Avengers.

It's easy for me to accept it, because I like seeing Logan rise to the challenge of fighting and carrying the baby. It's a riff that Moore admits he cribbed from Lone Wolf and Cub. Logan can't go into berserker mode without damaging the kid. He tries to talk his way out of various situations, but it doesn't always work. The artwork in this story by C.P. Smith is just astounding. The heavy use of black ink and shadows reminds me very much of Frank Miller's take on Wolverine. There's a scene involving arrows that's very reminiscent of the Miller\Claremont mini. It looks like Smith did the pencils, inks, and colors--and the color really meshes beautifully with the story. I've never heard of C.P. Smith until this story, but I'm going to watch out for him now.

Congratulations to Stuart Moore and C.P. Smith. These guys are now major leaguers in my book. You guys have to get this, even if you are burned out or jaded on Wolverine. My only regret is that Stuart Moore won't be the regular Wolverine writer. Nuff said.

External Link:
CBR article on Stuart Moore's idea for this story.

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Despite Wolverine's massive over-exposure, I was tantalized by the hype for the new Wolverine: Origins series. Wolverine exploring his past, drawn by superstar artist Steve Dillon? How could that go wrong? A writer working on that series could explore all kinds of subjects. Logan in World War 2. Logan as a cold war op. Logan in post-war Japan. Logan before and after the Weapon-X storyline by Barry Smith. All kinds of shit. Wolverine: Origins #1 is nothing like that.

Call me crazy, but the first issue of a new series needs to set the tone for the later issues. Marvel doesn't really follow my way of thinking-they launched Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in the middle of The Other crossover. If you haven't been reading House of M, New Avengers, and Wolverine's main series, you will be completely lost picking up this first issue. There's no recap covering Wolverine's known origin to date, which I find puzzling as hell, given the series title. Marvel just assumes all the fanboys out there already know it, but what about the kid who picks this up because they dig Wolverine from the X-Men movie? I think they should have stated the major moments of Logan's past (World War 2, Weapon X, Alpha Flight, maybe some moments from Origin) and then explained what he's seeking now. I'm even a bit baffled and I've read all this crap.

Daniel Way's lost me on many titles. I didn't think the Squadron Supreme Nighthawk mini was all the great, and Punisher vs Bullseye seems like a Road Runner cartoon with bullets. I listened to an interview with Way on a Word Balloon podcast and he's got tons of ideas for Wolverine, but I think his execution is a bit off. One thing I did like was hooking up Logan's missing past with Bucky's. However, this whole thing about Wolverine using the Muramasa samurai blade to enact vengeance just makes me think that Way misses the whole point about Wolverine. Logan is supercool because he takes on much bigger enemies with just his claws; he takes an incredible amount of damage in the process, but survives due to his healing factor. A prime example is Uncanny X-Men 173 when Wolverine fought Silver Samurai. Logan got sliced and stabbed but he took apart Samurai's armor like it was made out of tin foil. Wolverine needs a sword? It just seems dumb to me. What the fuck do I know, this debut issue has probably sold enough copies for both Way and Dillon to buy new houses. Nuff said.

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After his 12 issue storyline concluded, I wouldn’t have expected Millar to have any juice left for Wolverine 32. This is last issue, a self contained story that didn’t really to do much after his tour de force ended. But it’s a gem of a tale. Drawn by Kaare Andrews, it takes place in a World War II concentration camp. Logan is a prisoner there, but he must have lost his memory or the will to fight, because he does nothing against his Nazi oppressors. The tale is told from the POV of the Nazi commandant, as he is slowly driven mad by Wolverine’s inability to die. The art and the writing here are superb. Andrews draws Wolverine almost 100% of the time in silhouette. It reminds me of some Spirit stories where the Spirit was wounded/unconscious and the story was about the characters surrounding him. I think Millar intended this—you’ll see when you read the dedication on the last page.

Why oh why couldn’t we have Millar do Wolverine forever? I’d hate to be following him as the writer. Nuff said.

I wrote earlier about what a great read the Wolverine: Enemy of the State collection was (even with the missing word balloons). I was unable to contain my enthusiasm to see how this played out in Wolverine: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I’ve read all the issues that concludes this story. This is simply, one of the greatest Marvel comics ever made by two of the top superhero creators at the height of their form. You have Mark Millar taking Wolverine to a dark place he hasn’t been to since the Frank Miller storyline, with quotes like: “Just go limp. Let the claws do all your thinking. Forget everything that Charlie preached and let your instincts handle this.” Throw in Nick Fury, Hydra, the Hand, Elektra, and a villain who seems unstoppable—The Gorgon—and you’ve got a powder keg that explodes in each chapter. Only John Romita Jr. could keep up with Millar, channeling his inner Kirby to depict scenes like the attack on the Shield helicarrier (see inset) by Elektra and Northstar. Other impressive scenes are when Wolverine hitches a ride on a Sentinel; a showdown with the Hand in their hidden fortress; and the final fight with the Gorgon that culminates with a full page snikt! you’re never going to forget. Not since Jack Kirby has anyone knocked me out this consistently. This is Marvel comics at its purest: big, loud, unbelievable action and impossible to duplicate in any other medium. Nuff said.

I usually get my comics a few weeks behind everyone else, since I order mine from M&M Comics. This service saves me quite a few bucks--and in this case, I was looking forward to receiving the hardcover collection Wolverine: Enemy Of The State Volume 1 HC (Wolverine). I knew the minute this series appeared that it would be collected and I prefer to read things this way. This is the second best Wolverine story ever created (the first being the classic Chris Claremont and Frank Miller original mini-series Wolverine TPB). Wolverine is captured by the combined forces of Hydra (the old anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. organization) and the Hand (from Daredevil and Elektra). Wolvy gets brainwashed and turned into a living weapon, pointed at all the big guns in the Marvel Universe. Millar's plot is raw and brutal. You see Wolverine killing innocent people, which made me remember Jim Shooter's old policy "Marvel Heroes do not kill" when Byrne/Claremont wanted him to dispatch a guard in the Savage Land. That policy is no longer in effect--Wolverine's on a rampage and he's going to have a lot of guilt when this is over. There's a Wolverine vs Elektra fight which is savage, as the red ninja nearly slices his head off in an effort to incapacitate him. A fight with the Fantastic Four shows their various powers in ways you've never seen. I particularly like how effective Sue Storm is here--I've always thought she's the most powerful member. Lots of good old Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. here as well. I think this story is perfectly suited to John Romita Jr's talents as an artist--it's some of the best work that he has done since Daredevil Legends Vol. 3: The Man Without Fear where his storytelling techniques expanded working will Frank Miller. This is big, bold Marvel comics auction that combines a Kirby and Miller feel within Romita's pencils. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is a great, fast read and you'll be glad to have it collected in one place. The only thing bad about the hardcover version is that one page is missing dialog and captions (Marvel's proofreading department must be non-comics readers)--I've included it here, click on it to view it at a larger size. You may want to wait for the softcover edition which we presume will have this fixed: Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Vol. 1.