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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batgirl #18 – Dustin Nguyen is soooo good.  I love the way he’s mashed up the style he was using on Batman: Street’s of Gotham with his kinda Tiny Titans-esque style to make something that fits the softer and more fun tone of Batgirl.  This series hasn’t had a bad issue and this fun one-shot might be the best issue yet.  Runner-up: Incognito: Bad Influences #3

Most Anticipated: 28 Days Later #20 – This is another heavy week for comics, but the story I’m most excited about is seeing how Selina deals with a British Army colonel out for vengeance.  You should all be reading this great series.

Other picks: Marineman #3, Memoir #2, Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Hulk #30, Spider-Girl #4

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Hotwire: Deep Cut #3 – Another fantastic outing for Steve Pugh’s awesome series and an explosive, gripping conclusion.  Alice Hotwire has fast found her place among my favourite characters in comics.  I hope we see more of her sooner rather than later.

Most Anticipated: SHIELD #6 – Honestly, there’s not a whole lot that gets me truly excited this week.  Don’t get me wrong, there are good books and more than enough reasons to head to the comic shop, but I’m just not seeing that one book this week that really gets me super pumped.  So I guess I’ll go with SHIELD, if only because it’s book that consistently surprises insofar as I never know what to expect from a new issue.  Well, other than ridiculously awesome art, anyway.

Other Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Wolverine #6, Fables #102, DMZ #62, Wonder Woman #607, Doom Patrol #19, Brightest Day #20, Green Lantern #62

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: I’m going to call a tie between Batman and Robin #20 and Warlord of Mars #4. It’s a real apples and oranges sort of tie because I liked them for different reasons. Dynamite’s Warlord of Mars is pure fantasy adventure escapism with heroes, monsters and princesses on a strange world. DC’s Batman and Robin is a family tale set in the psychologically unhinged city of Gotham. Both quality books. Both got an ‘A’ grade, something I rarely give.

Most Anticipated: Brightest Day #20 is topping my pull list as the last 6-8 weeks have been so consistently fun, with such high quality. We’re into the home stretch and I want to see what the heck is up with Deadman, Aquaman, the Hawks, and Firestorm.

Other Picks: Batman #707, Green Lantern #62, Green Lantern Corps #57, Legion of Super-Heroes #10, Marvel Girl #1, Loki #3, Thunderbolts #153.