Wolverine #4 – Second Review

By Jason Aaron (writer), Renato Guedes (artist), Jose Wilson Magalhaes & Oclair Albert (inkers), Matthew Wilson (colorist)

The Story: Wolverine’s still in Hell. Still fighting the Devil. Still crying about all the pain and suffering he’s inflicted over the years. Meanwhile, his body is still on Earth. Still possessed by a demon. Still running around killing all of Logan’s friends and loved ones. But hey, at least Puck’s to fuck shit up.

The Good: After last month’s issue, I knew this month would ultimately define my appreciation of Aaron’s inaugural storyline. There were some good moments this month, such as Logan’s homage to “300“ during his climatic fight with the Devil, Puck leading his army of the damned in revolt, or the revelation of Puck’s mysterious accomplice. I’m glad that, after four months, all Hell is, literally, breaking loose, even if it seems to have come a tad bit late since next month’s issue will (mercifully) end this story. I continue to enjoy Guedes’s art and the surreal style he brings to Logan’s jaunt through Hell, but I question how well his style will carry over to more traditional superhero stories.

The Not So Good: What started out as an incredibly promising story has since devolved into an exercise in mediocrity by an incredibly talented writer. Seriously, we’ve been at this story for four months now, and beyond this endless, uninteresting battle between Logan and the Devil, what’s actually happened!? Practically nothing, in my opinion. Every issue has followed this formula of Wolverine melodramatically crying about how he deserves damnation for the atrocities he committed in Life, the Devil torturing Logan and trying to break his spirit, and his demon-possessed body walking the Earth killing Logan’s friends.

I have no doubt Aaron’s original pitch for this story was probably an entertaining read, but the final product is leaving much to be desired. Here we have a story that takes place in Hell, a setting that should have given Aaron and Guedes that rare, creative opportunity to build and define their vision of the Underworld from the ground up, but for some inexplicable reason they instead chose to keep Logan and the Devil locked in this non-descript, poorly colored cave. To me, that’s about as interesting as reading a copy of Dante’s Inferno that never got out of the first circle of Hell. I’ve been disappointed with this story’s lack of ambition and vision; every time I wanted Aaron to push the envelope and truly disturb me with visions of Marvel’s most fearsome killer being tortured in the heart of Hell, he simply gave me more of the same melodrama and blandness that turned me off the character and the book years ago.

With this issue, I realized that Guedes’s art is only as good as the quality of his inkers. Personally, I believe his art looks best when the inks are light, allowing the linework and colors to take center stage. To appreciate this stark contrast, take a look at that beautiful, double-page of Wolverine’s “I believe in Hell” fight with the Devil and then compare that to the final pages of Sabretooth defying the Devil and Puck leading his revolt before conferring with Logan’s acquaintance and you’ll see the difference. Which style of inks you prefer is, of course, at your discretion, but to see both within the same comic was a disappointing and distracting experience for me

Conclusion: This storyline hasn’t quite entertained me and it hasn’t quite given me new insight into Wolverine’s character and measure as a man. So far, it’s been a very routine and unspectacular story, and that’s incredibly disappointing to say about an otherwise solid creative team. Frankly, I’m not sure I’ll be buying this comic for much longer. Something needs to change, and soon.

Grade: D

-Tony Rakittke

For our  first review, click here.

 

Wolverine #4 – Review

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

The Story: The possessed Wolverine tries to take out Colossus while Logan attempts to start a revolution in Hell by taking on the Devil.

What’s Good: You like great action?  Then this is your comic.   It’s largely composed of two action scenes and they both are really, really good, while also being completely different from one another.  Wolverine’s fight with Colossus, and later, the X-Men, is brutal, close quarters stuff.  It makes the possessed Wolverine come across like a real monster, while also highlighting Logan’s friendship with Colossus and Colossus’ emotional vulnerabilities.  There’s even a great little pisstake on Colossus’ tradition of tossing Wolverine.  It’s gritty, thrilling stuff that’s made all the better by the possessed Wolverine, who Aaron makes sound as evil and demonic as possible.

Then you’ve got Logan’s fight with the Devil.  It’s about as “omg wtf” as it sounds and it comes across as both over the top and epic.  There’s even a scene that reminded me of the movie 300…in hell.  It’s completely ludicrous, particularly in scale, but that’s what makes it so much fun.  Logan’s running narration only serves to enhance, making the fight seem all the more important, while adding emotional touches thanks to his self-loathing.

It’s clear that in writing the scenes in hell, Jason Aaron is clearly in his element.  It’s big stuff, but there’s always a hint of cheesy fantasy/horror and grindhouse to it that should please fans of his run on Ghost Rider.

Aaron also throws in a cliffhanger that’s guaranteed to excite.  He introduces a new/old character that not only comes totally out of left field, but also leaves Aaron with a great deal of significant creative freedom.  With so much having been done with the character, it’s a surprise that so little has been done in the area Aaron is about to approach.  If getting Logan to hell was done solely so Logan could have this encounter, I’m totally fine with that.  That should hint at how big this.

Guedes’ art is really good this month as well.  After all, action scenes are only as good as the artist drawing them and their success is Guedes’ as well.  His demons look great, his hell looks dense and well-imagined, and everything works well while also having a look of its own.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: 27 #1 – This was really unexpected.  The solicitations made it sound like more of a band book, but I was hooked as soon as we saw the protagonist try to get his powers back by going to an eerie  dungeon/lab for a bizarre ritual involving a “scientist” who was disturbing, tattooed and naked.  How desperate would you have to be to let that dude do anything to you?  Runner-up: Lady Mechanika #1

Most Anticipated: Velocity #3 – It’s a shame this isn’t coming out more regularly, but it isn’t to be missed when it does show up.  The story is pretty good, but Ken Rocafort’s art is the main attraction for me.  He’s on my “buy whatever he draws” list.  Dude is really, really good.

Other picks: Amazing Spider-Man #650, Chaos War #4, Atomic Robo: The Deadly Art of Science #2, Strange Tales #3, Uncanny X-Force #3

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Fables #100 – A landmark collection packed with content, this was more graphic novel than single issue.  Best of all, it paid a lot of attention to building up for the future.  Here’s to another hundred issues!

Most Anticipated: Amazing Spider-Man #650 – I’m loving Big Time.  The sheer amount of comic book that you get for $3.99 is awesome, the art is awesome, and the story is all kinds of fun.  Hell, it’s not even a story anymore: each issue is just a giant chunk of Peter Parker’s madcap life.  That’s more than enough reason to get pumped every two weeks.

Other Picks: Batman & Robin #18, Brightest Day #16, DMZ #60, Green Lantern #60, Superman #706, The Unwritten #20, Wolverine #4

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Red Robin #18 – Red Robin was really fun. I enjoyed it and recommend it. Red Robin, hunting bad guys. In Russia. Tricking people. What more do you want?

Most Anticipated: Batman and Robin #18 – This book has: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and a lady with a hole in her head. Lunatic Gotham, written by Paul Cornell. I’m going to be reading this first.

Other Picks: Green Lantern #60, Batman #705, and…despite issue #15’s sucktastic performance, I’m still buying Brightest Day #16, although my tolerance for further crapulence from this series is gone.

Joe’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: New Avengers v2 #7 – Bendis’ relaunched New Avengers title has been missing the mark a bit with me since it started earlier this year, but he and Stuart Immonen have gotten right back on track with this action-less epilogue to the first story-arc.  Lots of people complain about the writer’s wordy comics, but it’s that fact that drives this issue to great heights.  By the time I finished this, I was reminded why I love the New Avengers: because it feels less like a super-team and more a clubhouse for Marvel greats to get together and interact.  New Avengers #7 had that in spades and I loved it.

Most Anticipated: Uncanny X-Force #3 – There are a lot of contenders for the most anticipated this week.  While it was tough trying to decide which of them to pick, it came down to a knock-down, drag-out brawl between X-Force and Thunderbolts.  I have to admit, X-Force might have won based solely on my love and addiction to the X-Franchise.  Remender is writing the best X-Men title on the market right now, and Opena is making every last bit of it look beautiful.  Can’t wait for Wednesday!

Other Picks: Thunderbolts #151, Avengers Academy #7, Amazing Spider-Man #650, Brightest Day #16, Green Lantern #60, Wolverine #4, X-Factor #212, Supergirl #59, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5