Wolverine: Weapon X #9 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Yanick Paquette (pencils), Michel Lacombe (inks), Nathan Fairbairn (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: All hell breaks loose in Dunwich as “Insane in the Brain” hits its appropriately messy conclusion.

What’s Good: This issue breaks a lot of the rules that made this arc such a rousing success, as the arc loses the insularity and isolation that really marked it out.  What saves the book is that Aaron still seemed bent on making it as chaotic and over-the-top.  Make no mistake, this is still a very readable comic, but the constant mayhem pushes much of this issue beyond certain limits, giving it a bloody carefree feel.  There’s so much going on, so much violence in particular, that the pages can’t quite contain or portray it all.

Case in point was probably my favourite scene in the book, which sees a character attempt to use his own disemboweled intestines to choke out Logan.  If that isn’t mayhem personified, I’m not sure what is.  Furthermore, kudos to Aaron for getting Marvel to publish material so graphic in a non-MAX title.

Surprisingly, Nightcrawler and Psylocke don’t harm the book.  If the book’s completely cut loose, why not add more characters and make it even more frantic?  Both characters are handled well, and their comparative rationality and outsider position really draw attention to how nuts Wolverine’s current predicament really is.  It also brings a bit of comedy.

I’m also really, really happy that at the end of this arc, we appear to be far from done with Dr. Rot.  Given how experimental this arc was, I was certain this’d be the end of him.  Aaron instead positions Rotwell as a new, lurking nemesis for Logan.  Dr. Rotwell’s discovered some rather nifty things in Logan’s brain related to Weapon X, and it’s given the character legs beyond “Insane in the Brain.”

It also bears being mentioned that this is a truly fantastic outing by Paquette.  The action is savage and Paquette’s creative paneling mirrors this.  He also does some rather interesting things with lighting when entering Rotwell’s darker “backstage” areas.  Furthermore, I absolutely loved his depictions of Nightcrawler and Psylocke.  Psylocke even looked completely and realistically Asian.  There’s also a really hilarious “brain bomb” that Paquette obviously had a lot of fun with.

Wolverine: Weapon X #6 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Yanick Paquette (pencils), Michel Lacombe (inks), Nathan Fairbairn (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Wolverine finds himself a patient in a very strange mental asylum, unsure of who or where he is.

What’s Good: This is an amazing book and is not only the best issue of Aaron’s new series thus far, but it’s also one of the best Wolverine books I’ve read in quite a while. Were it not for Old Man Logan, it’d be the best of the year.

Like with Old Man Logan, why this issue succeeds is that it gives us a Logan who isn’t at all like the Logan we’ve grown accustomed to. As a result, we get a story unlike the usual Wolverine fare in tone and even genre. Make no mistake, this is a straight up horror comic that borders on IDW territory. It’s unique, different, and very creative.

Having forgotten who he is and without any healing, claws, or “bubs,” Logan sounds naïve, lost, and oddly well-spoken. Seeing him in such a state of innocence is in itself unsettling. The fact that Aaron makes Logan a mental patient also provides a bit of wry fun. It leads to a pointed joke over how ridiculous and convoluted Logan’s history really is; any man who believes himself to have had such a life is surely crazy.

But where this book most succeeds as a horror comic is its use of mystery and obfuscation. Take new villain Dr. Rot, for example. We never actually see his face. His masks get smaller as the issue goes on, but this facelessness is unsettling, giving him that air of dominance. His masquerade costume is bound to make you uncomfortable. Of a similar nature is the counter, where a strange, bandaged hand delivers “medicine” that blends horror with the surreal. Then there’s the fact that Logan, and the comic, are restricted to a very small area, with the other corners of the building cloaked in darkness. Aaron gives the sense that we and Logan truly have no idea what’s going on, but that whatever it is, it’s all truly horrible. Dreadful, grisly evil lurks just out of sight in every direction.

Paquette’s art is both brightly lit and clinical and full of the nasty, dirty browns and beiges of a sanitarium. As such, this fashions an atmosphere of disgust and insanity. His depictions of the other mental patients are horrifying, while her neutered Logan is a sad sight indeed.

What’s Not So Good: If you’re walking into this expecting your average Wolverine comic, especially given Aaron’s previous arc, forget it. While it makes sense given what Aaron is doing, I can see some readers being particularly upset with a Logan who doesn’t at all sound like Logan. The gruff, burly rhetoric is completely gone. Aaron has shown himself very, very capable of writing in this voice, so it’s clear that Logan’s change of vernacular is intentional, but it may off-put some veteran Wolverine readers. Then again, this entire comic is likely to do that, what with there being no action and no claws.

Conclusion: Aaron does the impossible: he has written a Wolverine comic that has me gasping at its creativity. A truly unsettling horror comic with Logan as you’ve never seen him before.

Grade: A

-Alex Evans