Wolverine #73 – Review

By Jason Aaron and Daniel Way (writing), Adam Kubert (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Tommy Lee Edwards (art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I totally understand Marvel’s intention with this issue of Wolverine. Coming off the movie launch, Marvel expects there to be new readers looking for a Wolverine title. Since it’s obvious that Millar’s Old Man Logan arc might not be the easiest for these newbies to consume, this is a wise decision by  Marvel. Look what happened with the Dark Night when new readers flocked to get the current Batman title and ended up reading Morrison’s R.I.P.

That being said, and Marvel’s reasons being sound, it is still a let down to not be reading Old Man Logan this month. O.M.L. is a classic in the making and this is a forgettable tale that reads mostly like a movie trailer. Anyways, let’s get to…

What’s Good: This issue is broken down into two parts, and Adam Kubert drew the heck out of the first one! (Disclaimer: I don’t know what that means but I’ve read people using that phrase so I ‘m giving it  a try). Seriously, every scene of the “day in the life of Wolverine” montage was great; full of detail, and in some cases, nostalgia (who can forget the classic Punisher, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider JRJR drawn tale? Oh, wait- You did, didn’t you? Just admit it).

The second part is drawn by Tommy Lee Edwards which I really enjoyed mostly because it reminded me of Marvel 1985.

What’s Not So Good: If you’ve noticed, I haven’t mentioned much about the story because in the first part, there is actually no story, and in the second part, it isn’t all that captivating. The story centers around Wolverine and some old biker friends who have some of the worst nick names I’ve ever heard of: Ram, Level, and Horror-Show, for example. Horror-Show’s son is in some kind of trouble. See, he and his mom and dad used to use drugs and now the father is clean but the son isn’t and after all this exposition that borders on sleep-induction, Wolverine decides to have an intervention with the son.

Besides the boring story, the characters are really off. Horror-Show is supposed to be some reformer or socially-conscious activist bike gang leader. Kinda hard to believe. Wolverine also has some weird lines. For example, when a guy is about to pull a gun during a bar fight, Wolverine says, “I wouldn’t! An’ you shouldn’t.” WTF?!

Conclusion: Great art and bland story delivered cold for this excursion into the Wolverine mythos. That being said, I do think new readers will enjoy this story enough to keep them plugged in. And new readership is a good thing for all.

Grade: C

-Rob G