‘World War Hulks’ kicks off with ‘Hulk’ #22 and ‘Incredible Hulk’ #609, so I am combining both titles into one convenient open thread…

Hulk #22 (preview)
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Penciler: Ed McGuinness
Inkers: Dario Brizuela and Mark Farmer

From Marvel: “WORLD WAR HULKS BEGINS! The FALL is over. Long wage the WAR. Red Hulk and Banner have failed, and their worst nightmares have come to kill them. Will they die fighting M.O.D.O.K. and his army of Hulks, or die by the hands of the Hulked-Out Heroes? Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness begin the end in this first chapter of WORLD WAR HULKS.”

In stores May 12, 2010.

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Incredible Hulk #609 (preview)
Writers: Greg Pak
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Danny Miki

From Marvel: “WORLD WAR HULKS CONTINUES! ‘Planet Hulk’ was big. ‘World War Hulk’ was bigger. Now with ‘World War Hulks’, the Marvel Universe explodes with the biggest emotional story ever to hit Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk! Following the mindbending twist ending of “Fall of the Hulks,” everything Bruce Banner knows has been turned upside-down — and everything he’s ever desired may be just a heartbeat away. Written by Greg Pak (PLANET HULK, WORLD WAR HULK) and drawn by Paul Pelletier (WAR OF KINGS, FALL OF THE HULKS: ALPHA), don’t miss the insane action and non-stop revelations as Skaar, Son of Hulk, enters his most brutal battle, Bruce Banner faces his greatest temptation, and the secret identity of a certain scarlet smasher is finally revealed!”

In stores May 12, 2010.

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Share your thoughts on ‘World War Hulks’ in the comments below. Awesome concept? Piss-poor execution?

It seems ‘Dark Reign’ is finally coming to a close this week with ‘Siege’ #4, ‘Dark Avengers’ #16 and ‘New Avengers Finale’, so I am combining all three titles into one convenient open thread…

Siege #4 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Oliver Coipel
Inker: Mark Morales

From Marvel: “THE MARVEL BLOCKBUSTER OF THE YEAR!! This double-sized finale brings the Dark Reign to a shattering conclusion and brings with it the bombastic new HEROIC AGE. Every single page of this book is a shocker: Lives are changed. Heroes fall. Deaths. Revenge. Villain comeuppance. And when the dust settles, who will be in charge of the Marvel Universe?? You will find out here and only here. This is the one they will be talking about.”

In stores May 12, 2010.

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Dark Avengers #16 (preview)
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato

From Marvel: “SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!! Series Finale!! What?! Marvel’s number one ongoing series is coming to an end?! What could possibly happen in the last chapter of SIEGE that is so intense as to bring this crazy chapter in Marvel history to a close??!! Well, clearly we can’t tell you here but there will be a funeral and the fate of Norman Osborn Will. Be. Decided!!”

In stores May 12, 2010.

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New Avengers Finale (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Bryan Hitch

From Marvel: “In the wake of SIEGE, an ALL NEW shocking conclusion to the landmark NEW AVENGERS series. NEW AVENGERS is coming to an end… but not without a bang. For the first time ever, series regular Brian Bendis teams up with the superstar artist that reinvented team books for this generation… Bryan Hitch. The entirety of the Marvel landscape has changed and many Avengers do not know their place in it. But before they can move on, some very important loose ends need to be tied up. A.K.A. it’s payback time!! All this and a bevy of super star artists stop by to pay tribute to the work they made famous over the course of this top-selling book.”

In stores May 12, 2010.

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As always, share your thoughts on the wrap up of ‘Siege’. Was it satisfying? Worth the wait? Or a letdown after all this time?

New Mutants #13 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Ibraim Roberson with Lans Medina

From Marvel: “SECOND COMING, CHAPTER SEVEN: Nothing is going right for Cyclops, as he tries to prepare his army for war. The X-Men are falling apart at the seams. Schisms are forming regarding Hope and her importance while Bastion’s spy continues to terrorize them from inside their own home.”

On sale May 12, 2010.

Share your thoughts on Chapter Seven of the ‘Second Coming’ storyline in the comments below.

And if you haven’t picked up the issue, make sure to read the preview, linked next the series title above.
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Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… I am on vacation so I might not get to do a review for the coming week. So for now, here is the first part of the ‘Astonishing Wolverine/Spider-Man’ series.  Hope you enjoy it.

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Inks: Mark Morales w/Dexter Vine

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with a bearded and dirty Peter Parker studying the primitive sky and declaring that this is the end. He returns to his hand-built house where he had been studying the prehistoric flora and fauna. His biggest regret is never knowing who a mysterious woman is.  Someone whose face he keeps seeing in his dreams.

Peter does not want to die alone, so he travels to a valley where the only other person he knows lives. He has avoided the area because the person frightens him and promised to kill Peter if he ever saw him again.  That person is Wolverine.

Logan is in the midst of a fight between tribes. He has adopted a group of smaller ape-like men called Small Folk and they are killing a bunch of larger Neanderthals. After the battle, Peter appears and chastises Logan for messing with the time stream. Logan orders him out but Parker says that they are about to be killed by the same asteroid that ended the dinosaurs’ reign. Peter then leaves and each man prepares for his fate staring at the stars and wishing they had found out what had happened to transport then to the past and why.

A flashback shows Spider-Man swinging through the city while Wolverine is stalking a killer in an alleyway. They are both led to the same bank after the murderer kills himself.  The bank is being robbed by a villain called the Orb. His henchmen are going through the safety deposit boxes when they find a strange glowing item. Spider-Man and Wolverine arrive at the same time to foil the heist and the glowing item falls to the ground. The next moment the heroes are stuck in the past.

Back in his hut, Peter releases all his specimens and and destroys his work except for the statues he made of the woman from his dreams. He questions his sanity as the space rock nears. Wolverine releases the prisoners from the fight and sits in quiet contemplation as he waits for the end. Neither remains stoic for long, Parker tries to figure a way out and Logan gives into his inner rage

Wolverine finds a hidden person in the moments before impact. The odd stranger begs for his life but does not have time to explain who he works for before the meteor strikes and everything goes white. But Peter and Logan are not dead. They wake up in an alternate present where a cybernetic Devil Dinosaur and a group calling themselves Small Folk rule.

MY TAKE: I really wanted this to be an enjoyable issue and there are parts that are very good, but overall I thought the bad outweighed the good. Very little happens, pretty much the entire issue is taken up by Peter and Logan waiting to die. There is some good drama to this but, for me at least, it got old after a while. I did not see anything really new or revealing in their characters and I am not sure I agree with the ultimate breakdown of their personalities. I do not read Spider-Man so I do not know how much science and intelligence plays in his life, but I do not think Wolverine’s ultimate core is the raging berserker.

Also, I am not sure why Logan and Peter’s relationship is being portrayed with such disdain between them. While they are certainly not best friends, they are a lot closer than showed here. They have been teammates for years and had some intimate heart-to-heart discussions but here they seem more like enemies. I could understand if they had a falling out during the issue but they seem to dislike each other even before they had been sent to the past. I am sure this is to add tension and make a story plot out of working together, but it just does not fit.

On the other hand, my favorite part was actually the brief bank heist in the present. The Orb and his henchmen were pretty amusing and added a much needed note of levity to the proceedings. The underlying mystery is interesting as well. I like how the two heroes are being manipulated on multiple levels for the amusement of another party.

The biggest problem was that this was simply too heavy and dense to really suck you in the way a first issue needs to. It is hard to really care about the loneliness and desperation before the plot is even set up. It seems to be an ambitious story and there is definite potential here, but it not realized so far. The next issue, however, looks to be pretty fun. Devil Dinosaur is very cheesy but I like the idea of a robot dinosaur. Hopefully there will be more action and clues to the mystery next time.

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.

X-Men: Second Coming – Revelations: Hellbound #1 (preview)
Writers: Chris Yost
Pencils: Harvey Tolibao
Inks: Sandu Florea

From Marvel: “Fighting for the future of mutantkind, the X-Men are locked in battle with Bastion, staving off his forces even by sacrificing themselves. When Magik is gravely injured in battle, she instinctively flees to the sanctuary of Limbo…only to fall into the clutches of a longtime adversary hoping to wrest the powerful Soulsword—and control of Limbo—from her grasp. Now, a small team of X-Men venture in after her, but they are met only by unexpected peril: a horde of demons out for blood, Magik nowhere in sight, and a concealed evil walking amongst them. ”

Sold out at my local shop, but Wolverine does cameo briefly in first panel of the preview as noted by Comusiv…

In stores May 5, 2010.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2 (preview)
Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Art: Ariel Olivetti

From Marvel: “Hercules, the Lion of Olympus has fallen. And now his best friend Amadeus Cho must fight to prevent the takeover of the Olympian pantheon by the most terrifying god on the planet! With Banner, Skaar, Thor, and Namor swept into the conflict, immortals choose champions and the destiny of Marvel’s mighty world of mythology plunges towards irrevocable change! The next and most shocking era in the saga of ‘Incredible Hercules’ begins here!”

Cover only appearance that I previously missed, again as kindly observed by Comusiv…

In stores April 21, 2010.

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Don’t forget to add your thoughts in the comments below on any other Wolverine appearances from the week that we may have missed…

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Finally, I am experimenting with the return of previews for probable/possible Wolverine appearances of the upcoming week (5/12/10)…

–Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1 (preview): Warren Ellis and Kaare Andrews present the lumpy butt of Emma Frost (seriously, check out the cover in the preview!)…
–Black Widow #2 (preview): Black Widow and Wolverine by Marjorie Liu…
–Hulk #22 (preview): Hulked-Out Wolverine…
–Incredible Hulk #609 (preview): More Hulked-Out Heroes…
–New Avengers Finale (preview): Wolverine makes the cover at the very least…
–New Mutants #14 (preview): Second Coming, Chapter Seven…
–Siege #4 (preview): Siege finale…
–Super Hero Squad #5 (preview): Hulked-Out Super Hero Squad…
–Wolverine #900 (preview): Five new Wolverine stories…

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Inks: Mark Morales w/Dexter Vine

From Marvel: “THE HEROIC AGE IS HERE! Spider-Man and Wolverine! Everyone’s favorite wise-cracking web-spinner and ferocious furball come together in their first major series ever! The super-star creative team of Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X, PUNISHERMAX) and Adam Kubert (ULT. FANTASTIC FOUR, X-MEN) send Spidey and Wolvie to the edges of the Marvel Universe as they face such awful beings as The Czar, Big Murder and Doom the Living Planet! But who is the major Marvel villain pulling the strings? And can Spidey & Wolvie refrain from killing one another long enough to find out?”

On sale May 5, 2010.

Share your thoughts on this all-new series by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert in the comments below.

And if you haven’t picked up the issue, make sure to read the preview, linked next the series title above.

Uncanny X-Men #524 (preview)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Terry Dodson
Inks: Rachel Dodson

From Marvel: “SECOND COMING, CHAPTER SIX: A beloved X-Man died defending Hope, the returned mutant ‘messiah.’ As they lay their comrade to rest, the remaining X-Men are left to question: Is she worth it?”

On sale May 5, 2010.

Share your thoughts on the stunning events revealed in Chapter Six of the ‘Second Coming’ storyline in the comments below.

And if you haven’t picked up the issue, make sure to read the preview, linked next the series title above.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Here is the second part of the Origins tale, ‘Wolverine: Origins’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine Origins #47 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Will Conrad

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Wolverine stabbing Daken with a sword apparently killing him. A man on site reports this to Romulus who orders him to follow the ambulance. The man refuses and Romulus has him killed immediately in a car accident. The ambulance turns around to help those victims since it appears that Daken is already gone.

From a nearby roof Wolverine is watching and has Skaar attack Romulus as soon as he shows up. Romulus had believed that he had already gotten into Skaar’s head days earlier and convinced him to abandon Wolverine’s plan by offering to return Banner to the Hulk form. Romulus believed that Skaar wanted to go fist to fist with his father to prove his worth but in reality Skaar was more interested in matching brain power with Banner.

But Romulus had prepared for this and had a group of Kurds waiting to attack. They are not able to hurt Skaar but they do distract his attention and call upon his rage. Cloak is forced to intervene in order to keep the fight from being a slaughter but once both men are present, one of the Kurds detonates a bomb and blows up the whole building.

Romulus finds Logan and gives him a choice of helping his friends or finishing his rivalry. Logan chooses his friends.  Romulus is interrupted by Daken who was stabbed by a fake Muramasa blade. He says that Wolverine is really playing Romulus.

Wolverine enters the burning building trying to save people but Skaar has it under control. Meanwhile Daken explains that Wolverine has no intention of fighting Romulus. Instead he wants to expose the old villain and bring him into the light where all his power and control will evaporate. Daken does not want this because then he will have nothing to inherit. So he joins forces with Romulus to face Wolverine and Skaar.

MY TAKE: Although this issue is a little bit more eventful then the last one, still not much happens. The entire issue takes place over the course of maybe twenty minutes and the longest scene was a flashback that had little bearing on the current story. Everything between Romulus and Skaar felt like filler that could have easily been shown in a single page or even a few panels.

The cliffhanger of Daken’s death was completely wasted since there has already been confirmation of his survival and Wolverine would never kill him anyway. I am not really sure why the Kurds were present either or how Wolverine, who had enough time to change clothes but not scout the area apparently, would have missed them. If it was merely to show Romulus’ power and influence there are several better examples of that in this issue alone.

Still, this was a better issue in that at least it did feel like the plot was being advanced, if slowly. Wolverine’s plan to not fight Romulus but rather to expose him is smart even if the whole scenario feels overdone these days. The same basic thing happened in a one shot a couple months ago with Mr. X. But at least this seems like it is heading for the final confrontation and that can only be a good thing. Although if his complete plan was to expose Romulus, the whole idea was so convoluted as to make no sense. Where are the reporters and news crews to give the revelation some weight?

As much as I have gone on about disliking the story and much of the series in general, this could have been a pretty good plot. Wolverine building a strike force of heroes to take down an old and powerful foe is something I can get behind. Which is partly why I am very hard on the story, because it really should have been good. As it is, right now I just want to get through the last couple of issues so we can get to the series finale. As slow and bogged down as this story has been, the last two issues can only end on a high note for the overall title.

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.

Due to my new work schedule (three days a week in NYC and four days at home in DC/MD), I am finding it harder and harder to update the site on a consistent basis. So instead of banging my head against the wall and expecting a different result, I am going to make some changes to Wolverine Files…

1. The weekly Wolverine News & Previews is no more. While I will still post Wolverine news, I will run the stories as they happen (instead of waiting for Mondays) and only feature genuine Wolverine stories instead of digging up tangentially related stories to fill up slots every Monday…
2. What of the weekly previews, you ask? Well, I will be adding Open Threads for every significant Wolverine appearance on Wednesday nights and Thursdays that includes the preview links. And the Rest will be added on Friday/Saturday to cover the rest of the Wolverine appearances as necessary. The hope is that between myself and other equally obsessive fans, we will catch all of the Wolverine appearance’s for the week and round them up, with previews, by the weekend…
3. Wolverine Reviews by jrpbsp will remain the same, to be published as soon as he finishes them and I find time to edit them…

If all goes according to plan, this will allow me to focus time on the long-neglected Wolverine Chronology (the reason I started this site in the first place), as well as my impending web comic (more details to come), getting my book published (see vitothecat.com) and finishing my quirky and bizarre “great American novel”.

DiG…

X-Force #26 (preview)
Writer: Craig Kyle and Chris Yost
Pencils: Mike Choi

From Marvel: “SECOND COMING, CHAPTER FIVE: As the X-Men make their desperate attempt to get Hope to Utopia, the battle will cost them one of their own. Nothing will ever be the same.”

On sale April 28, 2010.

Share your thoughts on the stunning death revealed in Chapter Five of the ‘Second Coming’ storyline in the comments below.

And if you haven’t picked up the issue, make sure to read the preview, linked next the series title above.