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

Five years before the legendary ‘Weapon X’, Barry Windsor-Smith gave Wolverine fans a treat with this brilliant cover to Uncanny X-Men #205.

Look at it long enough and you can actually see Wolverine in three dimensions…

Wow.

Jae Lee provided a terrific cover for the reprint appearing in X-Men Classic #109, the second to last issue of this exemplary reprint series and the last to feature Wolverine on the cover…

‘X-Men Classic’, nee ‘Classic X-Men’ (1986-1995).

Requiescat in pace, that’s all she wrote.

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Captain America Annual #8 | Next: Uncanny X-Men #207

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

The Wolverine Files Forum has really picked up in traffic and discussions over the past week with some very interesting debates and Wolverine news updates.

Brian Knippenberg has been so prodigious in posting Wolverine news on the Forum that I have recruited him to help out with the Wolverine News Updates on the main site. So as of this update, I will link to the forum thread with each news story and the ensuing discussion. Please welcome Brian aboard and let us know what you think of this new style of Wolverine news reporting…

Up first is news that ‘Wolverine: Origins’ Action Figures are in stores NOW (scroll down thread for story).

In Wolverine Comic Book News…
–WF Forums: From ‘Wolverine: Prodigal Son’ Manga (Amazon)…
–WF Forums: Wolverine vs. Red Hulk in Hulk #13 (MySpace)…
–WF Forums: Wolverine Offerings on Free Comic Book Day (CBR)…
–WF Forums: Scroll down thread for All ‘Wolverine: Weapon X Variant Covers & Podcast (CBR)…

In Other Wolverine News…
–WF Forums: Scroll down thread for Wolverine Video Game Full of Severed Limbs, Exposed Organs (Network World)…
–WF Forums: Scroll down thread for Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon (Amazon)…

In Breaking Wolverine News…
-Marvel.com: Wolverine Noir Sneak Preview…

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 3/18/09…
–Wolverine #71 (preview): ‘Old Man Logan’ continues…
–Wolverine: Origins #34 (preview): Weapon XI, Part 2 of 5…
–X-Force #13 (details): The lead-in to ‘Messiah War’…
–Ultimate X-Men #100 (details): Final issue…
–Ultimatum #3 (details): The travesty continues…
–Uncanny X-Men #507 (details): Not sure if Wolverine appears in this one…
–Marvel Adventures the Avengers #34 (details): Or this one…
–X-Men Legacy #222 (details): Pretty sure Wolverine doesn’t appear…
–Dark Avengers #3 (details): No Wolverine, just Daken, but you gotta read the preview…

Wolverine appeared in only two titles this past week (March 11, 2009).

But he was the centerpiece and editorial subject of Marvel Spotlight: Wolverine that begins with an absolute must-read interview with Daniel Way.

Early on, Way admits, “[Wolverine] is almost a war criminal. And if we had lost WWII, he would have been a war criminal.”

And here is where Daniel Way and I differ.

Morally, Wolverine is a war criminal, period.

I understand his legal distinction, but for me it is all about what one does when no one is looking. Not merely what one can prove.

And for me, it is for exactly that reason that I do not like ‘Wolverine: Origins’.

I, for one, do not believe it was necessary to take Wolverine to these evil depths in order to show off his redemption.

As he notes at the end of the interview, “…Sometimes I’ve done things that have pissed off fans to the extreme, but I’ve gotten their heart pumpin’ again. ‘I made ya look.’ And, that was the point.”

And here I thought it was to make fans say, “Wow.”

Jason Aaron and Christopher Yost are also interviewed and there are some excellent pieces on Barry Windor-Smith’s ‘Weapon X’, ‘First Class’ and ‘Origin’.

Moving onto the reviews themselves…

X-Men Noir #4 (preview)
“The Mutant Hunter”
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Dennis Calero

I strongly recommend a thorough reread of the first three issues before embarking on this series finale.

Wolverine does appear, but merely plays a supporting role this time around…

Astonishing Tales #2 (preview)
“The Hard Way”
Writer: C.B. Cebulski
Penciler: Kenneth Rocafort

More over-the-top posturing for Wolverine and the Punisher, and the introduction of “Kimora: Agent of the Mysterious Organization Known as The Facility” whose enormous breasts threaten to burst through the fabric of her low-cut uniform.

So depending on your viewpoint, this is either an incredible waste of your money or the greatest comic book of all time…

What do you think? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

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

1986 was a very good year for Wolverine covers.

We begin with the unforgettable Captain America Annual #8, where we finally witnessed Wolverine’s unbreakable claws go up against Captain America’s indestructible shield.

And the fiery visuals by Mike Zeck did not disappoint…

I still get a grin looking at that cover!

Next up are two classic Alpha Flight covers from the same year costarring Wolverine…

Mike Mignola provided two terrific covers for Alpha Flight #33 and #34. Unfortunately, Wolverine doesn’t quite own the covers enough for me to classify them as classic Wolverine covers, but I share them because they are still pretty awesome…

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Heroes for Hope #1 | Next: Uncanny X-Men #205

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

As you have undoubtedly noticed, chronology updates have slowed down quite a bit as I’ve  spent more time on some personal writing projects, but I did want to share a few updates on the site…

-Wolverine Files on  MySpace: Please add us as a friend if you use MySpace. I would really like to connect with the readers here!
-Wolverine Files on  Twitter: Not sure I’m sold on Twitter, but if you use it, please follow us while we bang the tires…
– Wolverine Files Forums: Check out the fun. We have some interesting discussions ongoing and have cracked the 50 member mark. Not much I know, but we do have over 1200 posts!

As for the chronology, I have added ‘New Avengers: Illuminati #1’ to 021: Department H and Weapon X and am rewriting chapter 024 (The Wolverine) as well as adding recent comics to the existing chapters (‘X-Men Origins: Sabretooth’ and ‘Manifest Destiny: Wolverine’)…

A new trailer for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, new photos from Marvel.com and a nice upgrade to the official website…

In Wolverine Comic Book News…
–MySpace: Daniel Way talks ‘Wolverine: Origins’…
–CBR: From Jason Aaron on ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’…
–Marvel: Peter David on ‘Wolverine: First Class’…
–Marvel: Exclusive Wolverine/Punisher Digicomic…

Probable Wolverine Appearances in stores on 3/11/09…
–Astonishing Tales #2 (preview): Wolverine, the Punisher and Predator X, Part II…
–X-Men Noir #4 (preview): Miniseries finale…
–Marvel Spotlight: Wolverine (details): The overexposure of Wolverine continues here…
–Official Marvel Index to Marvel Universe #3 (details): More X-Men chronology…

Wolverine appeared in two titles this past week (March 4, 2009) and I include one other appearance I missed from the previous week…

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3 (preview)
Writer: Damon Lindelof
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

February 2006.

That’s when this series began, meaning  issue #1 arrived in stores in 2005.

Think about that.

2005.

Makes you nostalgic for the days of ‘Big Numbers’!

I reread the first two issues (of ‘Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk’, not ‘Big Numbers’) having forgotten what transpired and was absolutely blown away by how good they were.

Wow.

From the ripping apart of Wolverine in the first issue to the classic Hulk lines of the second issue (“HULK NO IMPOTENT! HULK NO ANGRY!!” or “TOFURKEY NOT FUNNY!”).

Wow.

So I was excited to get to #3, only to find 22 pages of flippant self-referential humor, and a needlessly intrusive tendency by Lindelof to break the fourth wall.

Maybe it’s a good thing we’ll never see the third issue of ‘Big Numbers’…

X-Men/Spider-Man #4 (preview)
“The Mutant Hunter”
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Mario Alberti

When characters within a story make fun of the writing, you know you’re in trouble.

Which is a shame, for this has been a fun series.

But this final issue simply dwells too much on reminiscings of past team-ups and this misplaced, gag-inducing sentiment that throughout the years, Spider-Man and the X-Men have each others’ backs.

Vomit bag, please…

Marvels: Eye of the Camera #4 (preview)
“Deep Wounds”
Writer: Kurt Busiek & Roger Stern
Artist: Jan Anacleto

I missed this Wolverine appearance from last week.

Not a shock considering Wolverine’s cameo consists of a part of his mask from a montage on the front page of the Daily Bugle.

Thanks, once again, to the eagle eye of Comusiv…

Last but not least (for comics), the Wolverine Poster Book also hit the stands with a collection of mostly recent Wolverine cover. Not nearly as good, in my opinion, as the last one that boasted covers from throughout Wolverine’s career…

And don’t forget the excellent ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ animated series, debuting a new episode tonight, “Time Bomb”.

What do you think? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

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

There was one other great cover in 1985

But it wasn’t your average comic book.

Think ‘We Are the World’ for the comic book industry, or more accurately, Heroes for Hope starring the X-Men.

And the cover by Arthur Adams was about as tremendous a start for such an ambitious project as could have been hoped for…

The project included such luminaries as Stan Lee, Stephen King, Berni Wrightson and Alan Moore, plus a special Wolverine section of the story.

What do you get when you team up Harlan Ellison, Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz on a three-page Wolverine vignette?

Absolute ecstasy as evidenced below…

Other notable teams of contributors included…

–Stan Lee, John Romita, Jr. and Al Gordon
–Stan Lee, John Buscema and Klaus Janson
–Ed Bryant, Brent Anderson and Joe Sinnott
–Louise Simonson, John Byrne and Terry Austin
–Ed Bryant, Brent Anderson and Dan Green
–Stephen King, Berni Wrightson and Jeff Jones
–Bill Mantlo, Charlie Vess and Jay Muth
–Ed Bryant, Brent Anderson and Tom Palmer
–Alan Moore and Richard Corben
–Ann Nocenti, Mike Kaluta and Al Milgrom
–Chris Claremont, Brian Bolland and Craig Russell
–Jo Duffy and John Bolton
–Mike Baron, Steve Rude and Carl Potts
–Denny O’Neil, Bret Blevins and Al Williamson
–George Martin, Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema
–Bruce Jones and Gray Morrow
–Steve Englehart, Paul Gulacy and Bob Layton
–Jim Shooter, Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein
–Mike Grell, Jackson Guice and Steve Leialoha
–Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin and Walt Simonson

Phew!

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Uncanny X-Men #196 | Next: Captain America Annual #8

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

Lots of X-Men (and Wolverine) News broke over the weekend from WonderCon ’09 …

-‘Uncanny-Men: First Class’: Stories from Newsarama, CBR and Marvel.com…
-Uncanny-Men/Dark Avengers Crossover: From Newsarama, CBR, IGN and Marvel.com…
–From Earlier in the Week: Ron Garney on Drawing ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ (Newsarama)…

In ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ Movie and Video Game News…
–Marvel.,com: All Three ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ trailers…
–Wired.com: Enter for a Chance to Win a Trip to the Premiere (but you have to take me!)…
–Newsarama: Video Game Interview…
–Marvel.com: New Video Game Screenshots…

Probable Wolverine Appearances in stores on 3/4/09…
–Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3 (preview): Finally! Next up, Big Numbers #3…
–X-Men/Spider-Man #4 (preview): Miniseries finale…
–Wolverine Poster Book (no preview): The overexposure of Wolverine starts here…