X-Force (Vol. 2) #6
‘Angels & Demons, Part 6’
Writer: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Artist: Clayton Clay
When ‘X-Force’ launched on the heels of “Messiah CompleX” in April 2008, it seemed a perfect fit for the bloody, desperate world of the X-Men.
But since then, ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #500 moved the mutant community to the happy shininess of San Francisco, and now ‘X-Force’ seems jarringly at odds with the rest of the X-Men universe, especially with Wolverine, Angel and Cyclops appearing in both series.
And if the final page is any indication, these conflicting and contradictory visions are going to be with us for some time to come.
That said, Wolverine is given the best line of the issue, “Sixteen apiece. Kill’em all.”
From Marvel (preview): “The shocking finale to the first arc! Wolverine versus Bastion. Archangel versus the Choir. Wolfsbane versus her father. X-23 versus Matthew Risman. Warpath versus…? This is how a species dies.” On sale August 27, 2008.
Wolverine: First Class #6
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Salva Espin
Another terrific issue from Fred Van Lente.
Wolverine is hysterical, decked out in Calgary Flames gear and waiting for game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to begin as is his unrivaled joy at the prospect of an evening drinking beer, watching hockey and eating donuts.
Even better are his reactions to all the obstacles that attempt to get in his way.
“I’m the best there is at what I do. And what I do is WATCH HOCKEY!”
Absolutely priceless.
And the comedy dissolves to a very sweet ending, even for a curmudgeon like me.
From Marvel (preview): “TONIGHT! On a brand-new ‘When Teenage Mutant Girl Sleepovers Turn Deadly’: SIRYN and KITTY PRYDE get into a no-holds-barred throwdown of a catfight over COLOSSUS’s love, with WOLVERINE caught in the middle!” On sale August 27, 2008.
Ultimate X-Men #97
‘Absolute Power, Part 4’
Writer: Aron E. Coleite
Penciler: Mark Brooks; Jaime Mendoza
Now this is an outstanding finale.
A startling revelation, a balls-to-the-wall clash between X-Men (the Wolverine-Colossus fight is ‘epic’) and a final sequence that will blow you away (quite literally).
And a very clever, very funny tip of the hat to the unfinished ‘Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk’ series.
The best single issue of Ultimate X-Men in a very long time, perhaps ever.
Bravo, Aron Coleite, bravo.
From Marvel (preview): “The battle lines of Ultimatum are drawn! Who is the true power behind Banshee? What is their connection to Wolverine and the X-Men? The answers will make the X-Men reconsider everything they’ve ever believed in! How can one ever be human again after being a god? It’s the shocking finale by Aron E. Coleite (TV’s Heroes) and Mark Brooks!” On sale August 27, 2008.
Wolverine #68
‘Old Man Logan, Part 3’
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciler: Steve McNiven; Inker: Dexter Vines
Having reread all three issues so far of this 8-issue epic story, I get the sense (even stronger than before) that Mark Millar is writing more about his vision of a dark and depressing future in the Marvel Universe than he is about Wolverine.
Wolverine is a passenger, quite literally, on this journey.
That’s not to say it hasn’t been an enjoyable journey. It has.
And certainly this latest issue has raised the stakes quite considerably.
But this is not a Wolverine story. At least not yet.
And due to the intermittent publishing schedule, we will have to wait until November to find out if it will be.
From Marvel (preview): “’50 years after the super heroes died, WOLVERINE and the blind archer, HAWKEYE, continue their journey across a ruined America. Next stop: Cedar City, Utah—home of the man who killed Magneto: the all-new, all-different KINGPIN! And he isn’t about to let Logan and Hawkeye pass without paying the toll… Plus: the secret of Hawkeye’s daughter is revealed! The biggest WOLVERINE story of the century by the best-selling creative team of the millennium continues! PART 3 (of 8).” On sale August 27, 2008.
From 2008 to 2009, Wolverine Files highlighted, in chronological order, iconic Wolverine covers and their homages. Want to start at the beginning? Click here…
Perhaps the most iconic cover in X-Men history, Giant-Size X-Men #1 depicts the new X-Men bursting onto the scene, quite literally. Penciled by Gil Kane, the cover also debuted Wolverine’s new mask, an inadvertent penciling error that was deemed better than his previous mask. In fact, Dave Cockrum, who inked the cover and drew the issue itself, redrew Wolverine throughout to reflect the new look.
These early pencils by Gil Kane are the very first appearance of Wolverine’s present-day mask…
The first homage is a terrific cover by John Cassaday introducing the Astonishing X-Men to the cover of Wizard Magazine #159 from January 2005. This is followed by Dave Cockrum and John Cassaday on Giant-Size X-Men #3 from later in 2005. The cover is seemingly in response to the first (the characters are reversed) with Cockrum penciling the foreground while Cassaday penciled the backgrounds and inked the entire piece…
Next up is the rare variant cover painted by John Watson for the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus hardcover book from 2006. In the same year, Marc Silvestri created his own zombie version for the X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1 miniseries…
Finally, Steve McNiven offered up his own variation for Powerless #6 from 2005, the final issue of a miniseries focusing on what truly makes the hero, and last, but not least the Futurama Comics #8 parody from 2002…
Go Bender!
Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Incredible Hulk #181 | Next: Classic X-Men #1
Wolverine Files features every Wolverine’s TV appearances in order, continuing with #2…
Pryde of the X-Men was the pilot episode for a proposed X-Men Saturday morning cartoon series, one that was never picked up. Nonetheless, the pilot did debut in 1989 to mixed reviews.
On the one hand, Wolverine still has his atrocious Scottish-Australian accent (and the same voice actor, Neil Ross), Stan Lee narrates in his usual overly bombastic style and the theme song is simply awful (“Magneto’s hoards are on the way to village, burn and plunder. But there’s one team that will not yield, the team that strikes like thunder. X-Men, X-Men!”).
On the other hand, for the late 1980s, the animation and character designs are really quite good, the cast of heroes and villains is pretty strong, and Wolverine is about as cranky as one can get on Saturday morning cartoons (“The X-Men don’t have room for whiny brats!”).
And be sure not to miss the storyboards from ‘Pryde of the X-Men’ at StoryboardPro.com.
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Lots of Wolverine news from the Fan Expo in Toronto this weekend as well as the nearly 20 Wolverine appearances in ‘Marvel Previews’ for November…
Wolverine News from Fan Expo in Toronto
–Weapon X: First Class (ComicBookResources.com)
–More on Weapon X:-First Class (Newsarama.com)
–Spider-Man/X-Men (ComicBookResources.com)
–More on Spider-Man/X-Men (Newsarama.com)
–X-Men’s Destiny (ComicBookResources.com)
Wolverine Invades Marvel Preview (IGN.com)
–X-Men Titles (at least nine appearances!)
–Secret Invasion (up to four more?)
–Avengers/Invaders, Wolverine and M.A. (another three!!)
–Ultimate Ultimatum (Probably two to three more appearances!!!)
I hope to be able to provide everyone with a weekly update on the Wolverine Files every Sunday night. So without any further ado, I present…
New This Week
-Wolverine Files Search: A new site search is now available from all pages on the right rail. Check it out… it’s very cool.
-Add This: Also added is a new widget on every post and every page that allows you to bookmark and share anything from the Wolverine Files. Go crazy!
–Readers Comments and Web Awards Page: All the reader comments I’ve received over the years have been consolidated onto one page as well as all the details on the Project Fanboy Award that the site won recently.
Weekly Updates
–Wolverine Files Update: Every Sunday night.
–Wolverine News: Weekly Wolverine News every Monday morning.
–Wolverine TV: Highlighting Wolverine’s cartoon and movie appearances every Tuesday.
–Classic Wolverine Covers: A weekly roll out of classic Wolverine covers on Wednesdays.
–Wolverine Files Reviews: Weekly reviews of the latest Wolverine appearances debut on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
More to Come
-Wolverine Chronology Updates: 006 Lost Years should finally get update for next weekend.
-And finally a sneak peak of Wolverine 1974
Uncanny X-Men #501
“All Tomorrow’s Parties”
Writer: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten
“Beer me up, will ya?”
That line uttered by Wolverine is the single best part of this issue.
The rest of the issue either dwells on the blinding smiles of Scott Summers and Warren Worthington, the naked Victoria’s Secret body of Emma Frost or the B&D of the Hellfire Cult.
And don’t get me started on the leather bondage mask of the Red Queen.
Is this soft porn or the X-Men?
Give me the good old days when muscular men in tight outfits would beat on each other until their bodies glistened in sweat.
Uh… never mind.
From Marvel (preview): “Things start out grim for the newest X-Girl as the team gets settled into its new secret headquarters. Scott and Emma do what Scott and Emma do best– but what’s the secret project Scott’s been building? And is anyone prepared for the menace of the Hellfire Cult? Mysteries, riddles, enigmas, and pain freaks all converge in the brave new world of San Francisco” On sale August 20, 2008.
From 2008 to 2009, Wolverine Files highlighted, in chronological order, iconic Wolverine covers and their homages. This is the very first installment…
Though Wolverine debuted on the final page of Incredible Hulk #180, his first cover appearance wasn’t until the following month, cover dated November 1974.
Herb Trimpe provided the art, based on designs by John Romita, Sr., and the rest, as we say, is history…
First up is the greatest tattoo ever! And here I thought I was a fan!
Our first cover is an homage from Wild Thing #0 by Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema from 1999. Wild Thing is (will be?) the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra in the futuristic Marvel Universe of Spider-Girl (among others). The second is a stunning cover recreation by Arthur Adams from the collection of J. Michael Jackson. Wow!
Next up is the double-size cover for The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 by John Byrne from 1986, the first reprint of Wolverine’s initial appearance. Too bad Wolverine looks like Batroc…
Finally, the cover of Wolverine Battles the Incredible Hulk from 1989 reprints the above reprint, though I have no idea who the cover artist was. And last but not least, the cover to Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #80 by Lee Weeks from 2005 recreating Wolverine’s first battle with the Hulk…
Next Classic Wolverine Cover: Giant-Size X-Men #1
