The summer doldrums for Wolverine continues….

So let’s have a big round of applause for the Houston Chronicle, where Wolverine continues his guest starring role in the Spider-Man Strip

• Start with Wolverine fighting Dr. Octopus from 6/22 (details)
• Continue with this week’s strips from 7/13 (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 7/15/09…
–Dark Avengers #7 (preview): Utopia Chapter 3, Beast gets declawed…
–Timestorm 2009/2099 #3 (details): Wolverine makes the cover…
–Marvel Adventures The Avengers #38 (preview): More juvenile hijinx…

Wolverine appeared in FIVE TITLES this past week (July 8, 2009) and once again, our very own jrpbsp provides an impressive series of write-ups for…

• Uncanny X-Men: First Class #1
• X-Men Forever #3
• X-Men: Legacy #226

As usual, I will share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine (and Dark Wolverine) docket…

Ms. Marvel #41 (preview)
Writer: Brian Reed
Art: Sergio Arino

Wolverine gets some good one-liners, but his appearance is strictly that of supporting actor…

Skrull Kill Krew #3 (details)
Writer: Adam Felber
Pencils: Mark Robinson, Rob DiSalvo
Inks: Mike Getty, Rob DiSalvo

Two Wolverines appear, but both seem to be Skrulls, so the trauma of seeing Wolverine wearing a cow harness last issue can be allowed to slowly fade away…

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1 (preview)
“Mimic”
Writer: James Asmus
Penciler: Jesse Delperdang
Inkers: Andy Lanning with Jesse Delperdang

Wolverine cameos in a brief flashback of the Mimic short story,  a single panel recap of their confrontation in ‘Marvel Comics Presents’…

Wolverine Noir #3 (preview)
“Original Sin”
Writer: Stuart Moore
Art: C.P. Smith

I missed this issue when it came out a few weeks ago.

Can’t say I missed much.

But it does illustrate why I am slowly warming to the concept of dropping these masturbatory, non-canonical stories. They have no bearing on the character and will disappear from our consciousness mere months after the last issue hits the stands.

And it’s a shame because long ago, I decided I had to collect every appearance of Wolverine. And when you start to lose me, well you know the comic book industry is in trouble.

Now I know I come across, many times, as someone who doesn’t like or enjoy comics.

Well, let me disprove that with a hearty recommendation of DC Comics’ ‘Wednesday Comics’. It is a wonderful throwback to the oversized Sunday comics of old and will be coming out weekly for 12 weeks.

So do yourself a big favor and pick up the first issue.  It is a terrific change of pace, and DC Comics deserves praise for coming up with something so innovatively retro.

Share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Here’s my third and final review for the week. Last but not least is ‘X-Men: Legacy’.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men: Legacy #226 (preview)
Writer: Mike Carey
Penciler: Dustin Weaver
Inkers: Ed Tadeo

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: This issue opens with Rogue, Gambit and Danger rushing to San Francisco to help the X-Men with the riots. Cyclops decides they are not going to arrive fast enough and sends Pixie to teleport them directly to his location.

Scott is justifiably skeptical about the group but he needs all the help he can get and he sends them off to locate a couple of the missing kids from the team, namely Indra and Trance.

On the way Danger saves a child and blasts a H.A.M.M.E.R. vehicle that his causing the people to panic.

Trance is with the Dragoness and Toad and they are being chased by H.A.M.M.E.R. goons. Toad is already hurt and the Dragoness runs out of charge and is taken down. Trance tries to use her power but is hit with a taser and is stuck half in and half out of her body.

Gambit arrives and takes down the soldiers and goes to call for help to save Trance but before he even makes contact, Ariel teleports in and takes the girl with her, supposedly on Cyclops’ orders.

Rogue is on Indra’s trail and finds an unconscious H.A.M.M.E.R. agent. Using her powers, she sees that he was knocked out by Paras but she can not find out where he went after that.

She is interrupted by Moonstone, the new Ms. Marvel. Without her old powers, Moonstone is beating her badly. Rogue grabs a gun and shoots out the skylight and then runs through Ms. Marvel when she phases out. Rogue then jumps out a window and makes her rather bloody and painful escape.

Gambit runs into Avalanche and a few other mutants in a mob facing off against H.A.M.M.E.R. forces. Gambit tries to stop them from attacking but before he can make much of an impact, Ares shows up and attacks the mob.

Avalanche fights back but is quickly defeated. Gambit steps and and drops a building on the god but it has little effect. Seeing the explosion, Danger and Rogue rush to the rescue. Rogue manages to grab hold of Ares and drain some of his power but it is too much for her. To break the connection, Danger pulls up a manhole cover and has Gambit charge it. The explosion is enough to hurt the weakened god and separate the two.

Rogue uses her borrowed power to brush away the remaining H.A.M.M.E.R. agents and steal one of their vehicles just as they receive word that Trance never made it back to base and might be near their location. Rogue vows to find her no matter what.

MY TAKE: This was a good if somewhat superfluous issue. The writing is done well and the characterizations are top notch but the plot seems pretty pointless. Just another unneeded tie-in to a big event that will probably either forgotten or never mentioned once it is over.

Still there is plenty to like about the issue. Rogue is really coming into her own and becoming a very enjoyable character now that her powers are under control. I also like how she is having to use her brains now that she is no longer super strong and almost invulnerable. Gambit is portrayed pretty much as he always is and even though he is not my favorite character, he is used well here. I am still on the fence about Danger, but I think she will end up being very interesting and unique as things progress. She just does not really have a personality so far.

The plot is a simple rescue mission which is really just an excuse for a couple of well-done fight sequences. I still think the Avengers are being given way too much power and respect and it was nice to see them being taken down a notch. Still nothing else really happens which makes the whole thing feel like a throwaway issue.

Carey continues to impress me with his knowledge of little-known characters and their inclusion. We have not seen Ariel in so long I could barely remember who she was. I am very glad he takes a least a few panels each issue to address either a dangling plot thread or a long in Limbo character, though it would be nice if he gave a little explanation for those we have not seen in twenty years.

In the end this is a well-written but mostly forgettable comic. The tie-in to the Utopia event seemed forced and mostly unneeded. And yet it was still an enjoyable read I just would have preferred to see an original story and a better plot for the characters.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Here’s my second review for the week. I’m tackling ‘X-Men Legacy #226’ next.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever#3 (details)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Tom Grummett
Inkers: C. Hamscher

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP:The issue opens with a shadowy group of men discussing the events of the past couple of issues and the status of their agent. They decide to leave her to be dealt with by the X-Men.

Those mutants are still in the Danger Room dealing with a blinded Sabretooth and an unpredictable Storm. Storm wants Creed to be dealt with but Scott orders a medkit so he can be helped.

We then join Beast and Xavier who are looking after the unconscious Jean in the MedLab. Xavier decides to probe her mind to find out what happened to her. He immediately discovers the depths of her bond with Logan, one that they were hiding from everyone else.

He then replays the events of the evening from Wolverine’s perspective, seeing him break into an apartment and search the place. Only moments later he is confronted by the owner and blasted to bones. His killer is Storm. The effect of the memory throws Xavier out of Jean’s head and wakes her up.

The rest of the X-Men have Sabretooth restrained and he tells them that Storm killed Logan, his son. Storm denies this and tries again to get the rest to agree to kill Creed. Xavier interrupts and tells them to make sure both Storm and Creed are held. Sabretooth points out that Storm was the only one missing from the mansion when Wolverine died.

Jean chooses then to attack Storm with a powerful telepathic attack, screaming that she killed Logan, the man she loved. But her strength has not recovered enough to follow through and the attack peters out. The X-Men try to stop Storm but her elemental powers prove stronger and she escapes sealing the door behind her. She activated a dampener so they can not follow but Kitty is able to go through the door anyway.

She confronts Storm and her intangibility counters Storm’s attack. She pops out Logan’s missing claw and slashes across Storm’s face and costing her an eye.

MY TAKE: This is a good issue and we are finally starting to get into the heart of what is going on and find out some of the important answers. Of course we are getting more questions piled on top of those but that least we are getting a much better picture overall. The plot is good and it is definitely keeping me interested from issue to issue and characterizations remain strong. The next couple of issues should provide a strong opening arc for the series.

The story is well done and engaging in a way that is both new and still has a retro feel. It is good to see these characters interacting again in more comfortable and relaxed setting. So much is being done in the present of Marvel that it seems like every comic is all about gloom and doom with little brightness or color to be found. Not that death and betrayal are easy subjects but the setting still feels more hopeful.

That said their are still several problems that continue to plague the book. The biggest one right now is that he is telegraphing his surprises far too much. We knew it was Storm that was behind the death pretty much from the first time we saw it, so there was no need to wait to reveal it. Same with Wolverine missing a claw only to have it turn up with Kitty. It would have been better to not make the lost claw such a big plot point prior to showing her having it.

Another issue is the redundancy. While it is definitely a huge event, we have now seen Wolverine die in each issue from different perspectives. While we are given a little bit more information each time it seems like they could save some page space by not reshowing the events. I also hope that he addresses how Kitty can go through a door and phase when an inhibitor has Kurt’s power negated in the same location.

Finally while the characterizations feel real, some of the relationships are off. Creed has never shown an ounce of concern for Wolverine before his death and we never saw anything close to the Logan and Jean bond that is being shown here. Since Logan is dead, for awhile at least, it seems pointless to make these changes now.

In the end the series is still going strong and most of my doubts about Claremont’s ability to tell a story are gone. I just hope he at least explains the sudden attitude changes and tightens up the pacing and foreshadowing a little bit. Still, I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this arc.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…I only have a few reviews for the week so I am going to get started.  First up we have ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men First Class #1 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Penciler: Roger Cruz

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Nightcrawler running around New York City in a great mood, but that does not last. He saves two young girls from a construction accident and his reward is anger and hatred. He uses his image inducer and flees back to the mansion.

At Xavier’s the rest of the team is having a Danger Room session. They successfully defeat the challenge but their performance is not good enough for Cyclops.

Noticing Kurt is missing, Piotr goes to search for him. Colossus finds him on the grounds brooding over the earlier incident. Kurt is contemplating the future and his place in it.

We get a brief interlude with Scott talking to Jean on the phone. He tries to convince her to return to the school but she says that part of her life is over. She has a job interview and is ready to move on.

Professor X then calls the whole team together to introduce some visitors, namely the royal family of the Inhumans; Karnak, Gorgon, Black Bolt, Medusa, Triton, and Lockjaw. They were in New York meeting with the U.N. and came to visit along with Lilandra and Moira.

The teams get along fine until Gorgon and Karnak are given a tour of the Danger Room by Wolverine and Banshee. The Inhumans’ derision of the training facility leads Gorgon to get a hosing by Wolverine. He kicks Logan through the roof in retaliation.

The rest of the Inhumans apologize for the incident and agree to take Kurt and Piotr back to Attilan with them to visit their city. The pair are given the grand tour and Kurt is impressed by the love for the royal family and the ease with which he is accepted by the people. He ponders staying although Colossus tries to talk him out of it.

That thought ends when they are shown the ritual in which the Inhumans are changed by the Terrigen mists. Kurt sees the mutation of the Inhuman children as an abomination and tries to stop the ceremony. In the ensuing fight one of the mist chambers is destroyed and thus breaks one of their most sacred laws. In response, Kurt is blasted through the chest by the Inhuman high priest.

MY TAKE: I had some initial concerns about this series but this issue was very well done. The characterizations feel much more natural then the giant-size issue and the plot is nicely relevant. You can really feel for Kurt’s dilemma and understand both his frustration and his need to finally find a place where he can fit in.

The plot is still very simplistic, however, and it does suffer slightly from a lack of focus. The scene between Scott and Jean, while nice, did not really need to be included. The same goes for having Lilandra and Moira in the issue.

I also felt that a couple of Kurt’s reactions were exaggerated. He has been judged on his appearance before and had never allowed it to bother him to this level. The biggest overreaction was his response to the mutation of the Inhuman children. Considering he had been willing to leave the world due to them judging him on his looks, it did not seem right that he condemned their whole civilization without even asking for an explanation.

I would have preferred to see Wolverine be the one that accompanied Kurt on his journey. While I like Piotr, the Wolverine and Nightcrawler bond will become one of the strongest on the team. It would have been very nice to see its beginnings shown here. But so far they are using Logan as a comic relief and the role does not really suit him.

Still, in the end the issue works fine. It is a nice little story about Kurt exploring his place in the world and trying to make sense of both his past and his future. I would like to see both the plot and the characterization be tightened up a little bit but it was a strong start to the series. Hopefully we will see another limited or even an ongoing come out once this series is completed.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Not much in the way of Wolverine news this week.

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ has petered out at the box office, and the glut of Wolverine titles in support of the movie are no longer making news. So we return to the Wolverine 100 Project from the Hero Initiative and take another peek at Wolverine’s appearance in the Spider-Man comic strip…

• The Hero Initiative: Wolverine 100 Project expands with Mike Deodato (details)
• Houston Chronicle: Wolverine guest stars in the Spider-Man Strip (6/29 on)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 7/08/09…
–Ms. Marvel #41 (preview): Wolverine and Spider-Man guest star…
–Skull Kill Krew #3 (details): Two Wolverines? Oh the agony…
–Uncanny X-Men: First Class #1 (preview): Wolverine vs. Gorgon…

Wolverine appeared in only ONE TITLE (two if you count Daken as Dark Wolverine) this week (July 01, 2009), with our very own jrpbsp providing a write-up for the Daken appearance and the second chapter of ‘Utopia’ in Uncanny X-Men #513…

For my part, I will share my curmudgeonly impression of…

Astonishing Tales #6 (preview | thread)
“Bloodletting”
Writers: C.B. Cebulski and Jim McCann
Art: Kenneth Rocafort

This being the finale, I reread the first five chapters to see if I was missing some overarching theme that would change my opinion on this run.

Alas, I seem to have missed nothing.

This really is nothing more than a melodramatic pose-fest. And the dialogue is so corny and cliched as to defy belief.

That said, anyone out there enjoy this six-parter?

NOTE: I still have not been able to track down a copy of Wolverine Noir #3 from last week, so my review will have to wait until I can locate a copy.

Share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…I only have one review for the week so I can get some much needed rest. But first we have the second part of ‘Utopia’. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #513 (preview)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Terry Dodson
Inkers: Rachel Dodson

Note: Wolverine does not appear in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: This issue picks up right where the ‘Utopia’ one-shot left off. Norman and ‘Xavier’ are having a press conference, Cyclops is running from the authorities and Colossus is fighting Venom.

Scott makes his escape while the Avengers confront the crowd. Colossus batters Venom and then gets picked up by Iceman, fleeing to the base.

We shift to the Beast and Xavier in prison. Hank is obviously suspicious of the Professor but Xavier warns him about the Omega Machine just before he is taken to it. The device is being run by the Dark Beast and is apparently what is removing their powers.

We flash to Norman showing Emma Frost her new team of X-Men consisting of Mimic, Cloak and Dagger, Daken and Michael Pointer. He gives a little history on each of their motivations when Dark Beast enters and takes Michael to work on upgrading his powers.

Emma confronts Norman and ‘Xavier’ about the ‘Professor’s’ identity and it turns out to be Mystique. She is being controlled by nanites and her purpose is merely to pretend to be Xavier. Emma then introduces her addition to the team, Namor.

We then flash to the hospital where Trask is being treated. It turns out he is an Omega Sentinel and he has been infecting and controlling those around him.

There is another press conference where Emma and her team are introduced. Scott and the X-Men are watching it although they are not sure what to do. A curfew is being imposed and if they follow it, the streets are given to Trask, but if they do not, then they are the bad guys. Scott wants time to plan and look at his options.

Across town, Hellion is gathering a group of mutants to make a statement and defy the curfew and the new team. He has Match, Lorelei, Avalanche, Adam X, Sunspot and Meld. Although several members are not sure about it, they decide to hit Union Square Park and call out Emma’s team.

The ploy is a success. With the world watching, they make a mess and force the untried team into the field. Emma herself declares Hellion to be under arrest. Cyclops is watching on TV and decides he needs to talk to Osborn before things get worse.

MY TAKE: This issue continues the rather interesting story line setup from the last issue. In fact it adds several new wrinkles that could lead to some great story potential and even long term impact to the characters. Unfortunately, there is still very little here that is new. The series was simply too widely publicized. But we are starting to get to the meat of the story.

I was impressed at the setup last issue and the story continues to be well written and even thought provoking. We are starting to see the characters come through and so far they have all been well done and the overall framework is believable and nicely set up. It has capability to be truly epic as well.

Most of this issue was given to the formation of the new team. I am not sure if this group will continue after the arc but it certainly has potential. Most of the characters are interesting and very underused. I am not sure if they are worth their own series but the dynamics are already complex and noteworthy.

The biggest problem I have with this issue is it feels too short. Already there is so much going on and so many characters to try and balance, we are getting a lot thrown at us. So pretty big events are given no more then a mention or a panel or two. I would prefer they had added comics or removed some pieces of the story to make it fit better, but this is still the beginning. It may find its balance.

Scott and Emma continue to be the key players in the story so you have to wonder what the fall out between them will be. Scott is being publicly branded as the villain and Emma the hero in a fascinating turnabout. In fact there are several surprising dynamics set up here from Trask and his Sentinels to having Mystique back in the X realm.

In the end this is a fast paced but well-written and interesting story. There is a lot happening so I hope there is enough time and space to give all the characters and plots the chance to shine. But so far the story has been very well done.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

It all started innocuously enough on the Byrne Robotics forums whilst discussing ‘X-Men Forever’. But before you know it, fans have John Byrne plotting his own X-Men future in ‘X-Men Evermore’…

• Byrne Robotics: The X-Men Evermore Discussion…
• ComixFan Forums: Chris Claremont Responds…

This is probably the last movie update as ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is really winding down at the box office, its domestic gross barely creeping up to $177.9 million over the weekend. Having been passed by ‘Transformers 2’ and ‘Up’, the film actually fell back to being #126th domestic grossing film of all time, but still inched past ‘Hitch’ in the process. With international box office added in, ‘Wolverine’ has accrued $361.1 million worldwide, remaining the #126th grossing film of all time worldwide.

In other Wolverine News…
–Newsarama: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu on ‘Dark Wolverine’ #75 (details)
–Newsarama: X-Men Animated Series Vol. 3 & 4 Coming in September (details)
-Houston Chronicle: Wolverine continues his guest star in the Spider-Man Strip (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 7/01/09…
–Uncanny X-Men #513 (preview): Dark Wolverine, at the very least, confirmed..
–Astonishing Tales #6 (preview): Wolverine/Punisher continues…

Wolverine appeared in ELEVEN TITLES (13 if you count Daken as Dark Wolverine) this past week (June 24, 2009) and once again, our very own jrpbsp provides an impressive series of write-ups for…

• Wolverine: Weapon X #3
• X-Force #16
• Wolverine: First Class #16
• Astonishing X-Men #30
• X-Men Forever #2
• Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

As usual, I will share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine (and Dark Wolverine) docket…

Dark Wolverine #75 (preview | thread)
“The Prince, Part 1”
Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu
Penciler: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inker: Onofrio Catacchio

This is, quite frankly, the best Daken story I have ever read.

It returns to some intriguing themes from early issues of ‘Wolverine: Origins’ and goes into greater details about his powers and perhaps, most importantly, into how his mind works…

Dark Avengers #6 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato & Will Conrad

Brilliant artwork as always by Mike Deodato, but the story is starting to fall apart for me a little.

I find myself getting bored with the continuing in-depth portrayal of  Norman Osborn, and for the life of me I don’t understand how he is able to hold so much sway over everyone, especially when it is becoming clear that he is about to crack.

I think it’s time for the final act…

Elektra #4 (preview | thread)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: Clay Mann
Inks: Mark Pennington

Cool Wolverine cameo in the final two pages…

Ms. Marvel #40 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Reed
Artists: Sana Takeda and Luke Ross

Very funny Wolverine cameo in the final three pages with an even briefer Dark Wolverine cameo…

The New Avengers #54 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Billy Tan
Inks: Batt and Billy Tan

Not much of a Wolverine issue as Brother Voodoo takes center stage.

Is it just me or has Bendis worn out the “10 minutes ago’ story device?

Avengers/Invaders #12 (preview)
“The Last Full Measure”
Plot: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Script: Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski & Jack Herbert

I’d love for fans of Captain America and Bucky to weigh in on this series because Wolverine could have skipped this entire series without anyone noticing…

Timestorm 2009/2009: X-Men #1 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Reed
Artist: Frazer Irving

A surprisingly fun little diversion that matches Wolverine present and future…

UPDATE: I failed to review Wolverine Noir #3 in this (last) week’s wrap up. I will add that to the next week-in-review if  I can track down a copy (my store was shorted on the title).

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…