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.

<<< Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends | Next: X-Men 01: Night of the Sentinels, Part I >>>

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

Wolverine Files features every single Wolverine’s TV appearances in order, starting with…

Wolverine’s very first appearance on television came on September 25, 1982 in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. The second season episode, A Firestar Is Born, featured the X-Men with Neil Ross providing the voice of Wolverine. It was a decidedly different voice than fans had been expecting.

Take a look (and a listen) below…
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This being 1980s Saturday Morning cartoons, Wolverine couldn’t be expected to do much with his razor-sharp claws, but enjoy (if you can), the fight to close the episode.

Or as Cyclops states, “Ju-u-ugge-ernaaaut!!”
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For the completist, Wolverine did cameo ever so briefly at the end of a third season episode, “Education of a Superhero,” but failed to make the cut in the final X-Men appearance of the series in “The X-Men Adventure,” being replaced by a surprisingly spry (and presumably resurrected) Thunderbird.

Next on Wolverine TV: Pryde of the (Australian) X-Men

Astonishing X-Men #26
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Simone Bianchi

This issue certainly is an improvement over last month, but it’s still taking me some time to get used to the new creative team.

While Joss Whedon and John Cassaday expertly depicted the X-Men as a veteran team of superheroes who are the best there is at what they do, Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi seem to portray them as the best there is at talking about what they do, and what they do isn’t very impressive.

And while Ellis did warn us that he would be using Wolverine as a comedic foil, it is wearing a little thin already. Though Ellis did produce this wonderful gem after Wolverine received a rather serious injury, “Just let me regrow some organs and I’m all set.”

From Marvel (preview): “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 mystery to solve that will take them into previously uncharted territory and test them to their core. It all starts on a spaceship hovering 300 hundred feet above the twisted wreckage of Chaparanga Beach. Its sole inhabitant: the mysterious Subject X. Five minutes — just five minutes is all he needs, all he’s asking for. Can the X-Men afford to give it to him?” On sale August 13, 2008.

Secret Invasion #5
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Leinil Yu; Inker: Mark Morales

This is easily the best issue of ‘Secret Invasion’ yet.

Things happen. Lots of things.

All of which build nicely to a rousing counteroffensive by the Earth heroes.

Very well done.

Unfortunately, the strength of this issue also serves to reinforce just how overly long and bloated this event has become.

‘Secret Invasion’ should have been four issues in duration, maybe five at the most. But eight issues — eight months! — has resulted in interminable flashbacks and pointless padding that have not only sucked the life out of this series, but also out of the Marvel universe as a whole.

As for Wolverine, he cameos in the Savage Land in a subplot that is as brazenly vacuous as we feared.

Oh, and don’t waste your time on ‘Secret Invasion: X-Men’ #1. Despite the pronouncements that this issue stars “ALL THE X-MEN. YUP. ALL OF THEM,” Wolverine fails to appear.

From Marvel: “Embrace change. With these two words the Skrull Empire declares their intentions to the entire Marvel Universe. Embrace change. With these two words thousands and thousands of comic fans who have declared Secret Invasion the comic book blockbuster of the summer brace themselves for the shocking changes that are about to happen to their favorite characters and institutions. Embrace change, True Believer, because change is coming!” On sale August 13, 2008.

Wolverine: Killing Made Simple
‘Killing Wolverine Made Simple’
Writer: Christopher Yost
Penciler: Koi Turnbull; Inker: Sal Regla

‘Disturbing Consequences’
Writer: Todd Dezago
Pencils: Steve Kurth; Inks: Serge LaPointe

‘Killing Wolverine Made Simple’ isn’t a bad story. It just fails to live up to the inherent hype of the title.

The first way to kill our favorite mutant? Take away his healing ability and let him die of metal poisoning.

Metal poisoning.

Is that really how we kick off something like this?

Let’s be honest, every time Wolverine has lost his healing ability, he hasn’t exactly keeled over instantaneously.

What’s next, death by high cholesterol?

The second story, ‘Disturbing Consequences,’ isn’t bad, either. Wolverine meets John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ with a dash of zombies.

One hopes, though, that we are near the end of these interminable Wolverine one-shots for while this isn’t a dreadful collection of stories, it’s nothing spectacular either.

From Marvel (preview): “Wolverine’s hard to kill, sure—but if one guy knows how to do it…it’s WOLVERINE himself! X-FORCE co-writer Christopher Yost and superstar Koi Turnbull have all the answers as Wolverine faces down NANNY and ORPHAN-MAKER and lets former NEW X-MEN member TRANCE in on all his secrets… And in a special bonus tale, TELLOS writer Todd Dezago and NEWUNIVERSAL’s Steve Kurth send Logan to the Arctic Circle, and show us that there’s always one more way to die…” On sale August 6, 2008.