Wolverine #6 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Daniel Acuna (art), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Faced with a rampaging Wolverine with Logan locked in a battle for his own mind, the X-Men are forced to choose whether or not to take their old friend down permanently.

The Review: Wolverine #6 is one of those comics that reminds you of how, in this medium, the artist is not only as important as the writer, but often moreso.  Put simply, Daniel Acuna makes this a hell of a comic, really working to right the ship on the whole Wolverine Goes to Hell story which, while not bad, wasn’t quite up to Aaron’s Weapon X standard.

Acuna completely reshapes the tone of the comic, which becomes instantly filled with atmosphere thanks to his unique, painted style.  There’s a constant sense of dark foreboding to his work, which suits this storyline perfectly.  It’s all shadows and dreamy desperation.  Suddenly, the comic has become rife with feeling, a mix of grit and mystery with cool little old school touches (characters have little waves coming out of their heads during psychic attacks).  Acuna also does great work on the interior of Logan’s mind; it takes that dreamy feeling of Acuna’s to a whole new level, with Acuna’s depiction of the demon(s) possessing Logan being not only scary, but quite creative.

The bottom-line is that Acuna’s work was such moody brilliance, that I can only wish that he was on the previous arc.  While I liked Renato Guedes’ work, seeing Acuna’s demon only made me realize how nightmarish and surreal he could’ve made the prior arc, which I think would’ve changed a lot of people’s opinions about it.  Oh well.

For what it’s worth, Jason Aaron seems to know when to take a backseat to his artist.  There are frequent moments where his script is quieter, letting Acuna’s art resonate and take on the brunt of the story-telling.  That said, what’s here is certainly sound.  Cyclops’ unique friendship with Logan is focused on, as it should be, given that it’s one of the most interesting dynamics among the X-Men.  Aaron does it elegantly and in minimalist fashion.  Meanwhile, Melita Garner continues to add a unique voice to the series, being a common-man voice of humanity and reason amidst all the super-powered spandex.   Shockingly, for such a dark issue, Aaron actually even manages to work in a couple of quick little jokes that made me laugh without jarring against the tone of the issue.

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #2 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Jefte Palo & Gabriel Hardman (artists), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)

The Story: Doom has abandoned Jericho Drumm in a dimension where his magic does not work. Worse yet, half of his Staff of Legba is stolen. He barely makes it back to Earth, only to find out that whatever foe he has been fearing is already way ahead of him. Luckily, Daimon Hellstorm is there to help.

What’s Good: I confess that I’m a fan of Marvel’s “sorcerous” worlds, all the way back to the spooky Lee/Kirby Dr. Strange stories, so seeing a new monthly with the new sorcerer supreme is awesome. Jericho Drumm is a great character. He obviously doubts himself, but is also obviously compensating and this is a situation that goes way back. He’s been someone filling shoes all his life and the shoes don’t get much bigger than holder of the Eye of Agamotto. Drumm is what takes a cosmic sorcerer supreme invasion story and makes it personal. And it’s not just Remender’s handling of Drumm’s personality that makes this work. There is also the whole different angle on magic: the new stuff, the new spells, all of which fit into Haitian mysticism. I listened to Marvel’s podcast interview with Remender on this new series and I was heartened to find out he’s as much a sorcerer supreme fanboy as I am and it shows in his approach to Drumm.

Palo, Hardman and Beaulieu deliver on the art chores. This is not realistic draftsmanship. Between the three of them, they produce one of the grittiest magic stories I can remember in Marvel. The textured environment, the stylized shadows on cyclopean frogs, the falling stones – the story is told through pictures and a brevity of text that really makes the bookwork. The surreal settings come alive because of the imagination that Palo and Hardman bring to the table. And Beaulieu adds a lot to the mood with the use of earthy browns, grays and dirty greens to set moods that are only interrupted by the red of Drumm’s cloak, or in the case of the flashback to his childhood, blood. Overall, the artistic effect is excellent.

What’s Not So Good: Nothing to complain about, other than having to wait until next issue to see what happens next.

Conclusion: Whether you’re a sorcerer supreme fanboy or not, go out and buy this book. It is original, tense, spooky, surreal and moody.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault