Wolverine #11 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Renato Guedes (pencils), Jose Wilson Magalhaes (inks), Matthew Wilson (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Logan fights for his life against Shadow Stalker and just who is that sad looking, veiled old lady, anyway?

What’s Good:  Much as was the case last month, I’m really digging the flashback scenes.  The writing is really intimate, emphasizing the trauma the Logan leaves in his wake and Aaron manages to paint as both a childhood boogeyman and the conflicted killer that he is, all in one fell swoop.  Aaron also does a good job of making the most of the perspective of the old lady’s memory; there’s a sense of grief throughout to go with the wrongness.  It’s solid work insofar as in just a few pages, I feel like I’ve really gotten to know a character that we only just met.  We understand her motivations, her personality, and her history in a narrative that felt both sincere and visceral.  It’s hard not to empathize with her, as through no real fault of her own, her loved ones all end up being enemies or targets of Logan’s and the consequent heartbreak feels real and developed.

In the present-day, the action scenes are fun as Aaron yet again cooks up another twisted concept of a bad guy for Logan to get his ass kicked by.  Shadow Stalker is all grindhouse chic, which is something that is definitely a strong point of Aaron’s.  Her banter is also about a demented as you’d expect, what with her appearance and all, which provides a more personal battle that’s a nice shift from the Cannonfoot fight last month.

Overall, I enjoyed the artwork as well.  While I sort of have a more ambivalent relationship with Guedes’ work, I enjoyed Matthew Wilson’s colors a great deal during the flashbacks, as once again he manages to give the scenes a nice, old-timey, American feel.  Also, I do really like Guedes’ character design for Shadow Stalker.

Wolverine #10 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Renato Guedes (pencils), Jose Wilson Magalhaes (inks), Matthew Wilson (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: “I know you’re the bastards who sent me to hell!  I’m here to return the favor!”

The Review:  With Wolverine on the warpath, Jason Aaron continues to right the ship on this title.  While this issue isn’t mind-blowing, “best of the year” type stuff, it’s the kind of comic where if I can get this level of quality month in and month out, the series will wind up being among the best that Marvel has to offer.

Fans of Jason Aaron’s run on Ghost Rider will enjoy this issue.  That’s not so much due to any ties in continuity or what have you, but rather because, in this issue’s major action scene, Aaron displays the gruesome, twisted imagination that made his work with the Spirit of Vengeance so memorable.  It’s that over-the-top, wince-inducing, yet oddly comical and ridiculous grindhouse frame of mind that Aaron has.   I’m mostly referencing the baddie Wolverine squares off with this month, a furry guy named Cannonfoot whose power or ability is both simple and ludicrous.  Honestly, only Aaron could have come with a character like this.  It’s just bonkers, but it also leads to a fight’s a lot of fun, particularly with how it ends.