Above left is the special promotional art for Marvel Comics 70th Anniversary and note how prominent Wolverine’s placement is. He has made the Mount Rushmore of Marvel Comics and at least seven of his covers grace the background. What greater honor could our favorite mutant hope for? How about plans for a comic based on the Marvel Superhero Squad toys. <sigh>

Now down to previews…

-X-Men: Legacy #217 (preview): Original Sin, Part 2…
-Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1 (preview): Jason Aaron, writer of ‘Get Mystique’, returns…
-Secret Invasion #7 (no preview): Little is known of this penultimate chapter. Expect some big surprises…

Aside from Astonishing X-Men #27 (see my review), Wolverine appeared in five other issues this week (October 15, 2008)…

Uncanny X-Men #503 (preview)
Writer: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Greg Land’s glamorous artwork just does not work for the X-Men. And frankly the dialogue isn’t working for me either. The speech patterns just seem off for most of the cast, girly-girl. And since when does Nightcrawler call Wolverine “Liebchen”?

Ultimate Origins #5 (preview)
“Flaw”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Butch Guice

Wolverine barely cameos in a montage piece (see Where’s Logan, Waldo-style), but in any event, this issue is a big letdown. Let Ultimatum being already!

Marvel Adventures the Avengers #29 (preview)
Writer: Paul Tobin & Jeff Parker
Penciler: Ig Guara; Inker: Sandro Ribiero

More sitcom hijinks, this time with Thor, Storm and Odin. And Wolverine mistaken for a troll. <sigh>

Secret Invasion: Front Line #4 (preview)
Writer: Brian Reed
Penciler: Marco Castiello

Wolverine cameos on the final page and that’s it.

March on Ultimatum Saga (preview)
Writer: Stuart Vandal
Cover Art: David Finch

Everything you need to know about the Ultimate Universe but were afraid to ask.

Oh and it’s free.

Astonishing X-Men #27
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Simone Bianchi

The revelation of the Ghost Box results in easily the best Astonishing X-Men issue penned by Warren Ellis so far.

Agent Brand absolutely steals the show. Scott Summer is ****ing hysterical. And Wolverine gets perhaps the best line of the Ellis run, “It’s like catching a rerun of ‘Happy Days’ and seeing Ron Howard picking up hookers.”

I must admit though that I’m still on the fence about Bianchi’s art. It’s beautiful — much like Alfonse Mucha’s stunning visuals. But it doesn’t necessarily work in a graphic storytelling sense — again much like Mucha’s disappointing Wonder Woman miniseries.

All in all, a vast improvement over last issue and very encouraging as Warren Ellis starts to hit his stride with the book.

Thoughts? Share them in the comments below!

From Marvel (preview): “Big action. Big Science. And a big mystery to solve! The superstar team of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi take the X-Men to the ‘Second Stage’! ‘Messiah CompleX’ pulled the X-Men team together, ‘Divided We Stand’ tore them apart. Now the X-Men are back to business—with a new look, a new base of operations, and a mission that will take them into mind-bending and previously uncharted territory—one that will test them—and their leader Cyclops—to their very core. You won’t believe your eyes.” On sale October 15, 2008.

Wolverine Files features every Wolverine’s TV appearances in order, continuing with #9…

Slave Island, the seventh episode of the X-Men animated series, aired on February 13, 1993, continuing the season-long storyline. This episode focuses on Storm, Gambit and Jubilee in Genosha, and includes a series of fun mutant cameos and a special guest star.

No classic Wolverine lines this time around, but he does appear, albeit briefly.

<<< X-Men 06: Cold Vengeance | Next: X-Men 08: The Unstoppable Juggernaut

From 2008 to 2009, Wolverine Files highlighted, in chronological order, iconic Wolverine covers and their homages. Want to start at the beginning? Click here…

X-Men #115, November 1978. Welcome to the golden age of X-Men comics.

Wolverine squares off against his teammates in a stunning cover by John Byrne and Terry Austin at the absolute top of their games. I can still remember my excitement when I saw this cover for the first time at Fat Jack’s Comicrypt in Philadelphia.

The brilliant two-page spread from the issue itself (also by John Byrne and Terry Austin) is below, with Wolverine cutting lose against Sauron…

While X-Men #115 was reprinted in Classic X-Men #21 (with Ka-Zar dominating the reprint cover), it was the cover to Classic X-Men #20 by Arthur Adams and Terry Austin that provides the better bonus feature for our purposes. And it is from the collection of George Kesidis that we get to see what Arthur Adams’ early preliminary sketch for this cover is like…

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: X-Men #112 | Next: Classic X-Men #26

Want to see the Classic Wolverine Covers from the beginning? Start here…

Above is the special promotional ad for Ultimatum, kicking off November 5. We also have an interview with Mike Carey and Daniel Way on Original Sin and as always, online previews of the probable Wolverine appearances this week…

-Astonishing X-Men #27 (preview): Ghost Box, Part 3…
-Uncanny X-Men #503 (preview): More models and white teeth courtesy of Greg Land…
-Ultimate Origins #5 (preview): Series finale builds towards Ultimatum…
-Marvel Adventures the Avengers #29 (preview): The Avengers must keep Thor’s date with Storm a secret from Odin. Oh, the hilarity…

I’m trying something new this week. Because I hate writing reviews of Wolverine cameos and the like, I decided to only write full-length reviews of major Wolverine appearances and dump the rest of his myriad appearances into a Week-in-Review post, hopefully every Friday. Let me know what you think in the comments section!

Aside from X-Men: Original Sin #1 (see review), Wolverine appeared in two other issues this week (October 8, 2008). And while he does NOT appear in Marvel Zombies 3 #1, it is definitely worth the read (see preview)…

Avengers/Invaders #5 (preview)
Plot: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Script: Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski & Patrick Berkenkotter

A very odd issue with Spider-Man obviously on drugs, Wolverine not far behind (making an X mask with his claws!) and EVERYONE forgetting that the original Human Torch was an android.

X-Men: Manifest Destiny #2 (preview)
“Flaw”
Writer: Chris Yost
Artist: Paco Diaz

This Astonishing X-Men tale nicely delves into the guilt that Emma Frost carries around with her. Wolverine has a strong appearance, capturing the essence of forgiveness quite effectively. Unfortunately, X-Men: Original Sin #1 completely destroys this story, so be warned…

X-Men: Original Sin #1

Chapter 1
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Mike Deodato

Chapter 2
Writer: Mike Carey
Pencils Scot Eaton
Inks: Andrew Hennessy

Daniel Way and Mike Deodato do an impressive job setting up the Original Sin story in Chapter 1. Deodato’s art is especially strong, and Daniel Way effectively builds up the suspense.

Unfortunately Chapter 2 by Mike Carey and Scot Eaton is a big letdown.

Eaton’s art is uninspiring especially in comparison to Deodato’s gritty style, the introduction to Daken’s handler is ridiculous, and the “stunning” surprise is rather dragged out and a shockingly bad ripoff of Ultimate X-Men.

And considering the next part of this story shifts to X-Men Legacy, one can expect more of the same from Carey and Eaton.

The only saving grace? We get treated to the Classic X-Men #1 story by Chris Claremont and John Bolton. And frankly, it’s never looked better.

Disagree? Speak out in the comments below…

From Marvel (preview): “WHAT IS THE SECRET REASON WOLVERINE JOINED THE X-MEN?
The X-Men event of the fall begins in this one-shot! For years, Logan has been a man without a past, whose memories existed only as conflicting fragments. And Charles Xavier has been a master of his own mind and others. Now the tables are turned, and as WOLVERINE struggles to rescue his son, DAKEN, from the evil and darkness that have consumed him, PROFESSOR X comes face-to-face with the most terrifying secret of all! Beginning here and continuing in the pages of X-MEN LEGACY and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS this month and next, ORIGINAL SIN is sure to turn your expectations on their head!” On sale October 8, 2008.

Wolverine Files features every Wolverine’s TV appearances in order, continuing with #8…

Cold Vengeance, the sixth episode of the X-Men animated series, aired on February 6, 1993 and continues as part of a season-long storyline. This time around, Wolverine is the focus as he returns the Great North, followed by Sabretooth…

And while the story is a little trite (especially with Wolverine screaming in agony after getting snow in his eyes) we do get treated to Wolverine’s classic line to Sabretooth, “I can still handle punks like you.”

<<< X-Men 05: Captive Hearts | Next: X-Men 07: Slave Island >>>

From 2008 to 2009, Wolverine Files highlighted, in chronological order, iconic Wolverine covers and their homages. Want to start at the beginning? Click here…

X-Men #112, from August 1978, features one of the earliest of the truly classic Wolverine covers. For years, I assumed it was by John Byrne, but recently I realized it was, in fact, by George Perez (pencils) and Bob Layton (inks). D’oh!

Next up is my favorite panel from the issue by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin, wherein the entire X-Men team holds Wolverine back, trying desperately to stop him from eviscerating Magneto…

I always thought they should have let Wolverine go…

Since there aren’t a lot of extras this time around, I thought we should show a little love to the previous month’s cover, X-Men #111 by Dave Cockrum and Terry Austin depicting “Wolverine: Killer beast in human form!” Jon Bogdanove and Terry Austin did the honors for the reprint in Classic X-Men #17…

Last but not least is the humorous frontispiece by Jon Bogdanove and Terry Austin from the same issue…

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Alpha Flight #17 | Next: X-Men #115

Want to see the Classic Wolverine Covers from the beginning? Start here…