Wolverine appeared in THREE TITLES this past week (September 10, 2009), but unfortunately our local store didn’t receive Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus, so that review will have to wait until we can track down a copy (for those of you keeping score, jrpbsp and I frequent the same comic book store).

What we do have is the X-Men Forever #7 review by jrpbsp…

Now before I get to my usual curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket, let me point out a minor change in Wolverine Week-in-Review. You will notice this week that I have added a number to the Week-in-Review. Why? Well, it differentiates each week more clearly, at least for me, and adds a little pizazz to an otherwise boring post title.

Fun, fun, I know.

Oh, and before I forget, I am reviewing two Wolverine appearances that I missed from last week, pointed out most kindly by Comusiv…

Marvel Super Hero Squad #1 (preview)
Script: Mark Hoffmeier
Story: Cort Land and Hoffmeier
Drawings: Christopher Jones

Juvenile kids comic in support of a juvenile kids cartoon debuting on Cartoon Network this Saturday, September 19.

Dark Reign: The List – Avengers #1 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Djurdjevic
Inks: Mark Morales

No Wolverine, but Dark Wolverine does appear (and gets schooled) in this shockingly solid New Avengers story by Brian Bendis.

.

Strange Tales #1 (details)
Creators: Various

I missed this very offbeat, bizarre comedy book from last week.

Wolverine does appear on the cover and in a one pager by the Perry Bible Fellowship.

Really.

Deadpool #15 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco

Another appearance from last week, but this one is in a Deadpool hallucination, never a good thing.

Shifting gears to animation, we had another new episode of ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ this past Friday, Breakdown, lovingly detailing the early days of the X-Men as well as Logan’s relationship with Jean Grey. For full details, see the Marvel.com preview…

As always, share your opinion in the comments below OR or simply join in on the fun at the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Unfortunately my store did not have ‘Dark Avengers/ Uncanny X-Men: Exodus’ so I can only do one review this week, ‘X-Men Forever’.  Hope you enjoy.

X-Men Forever #7 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Steve Scott
Inker: Al Vey

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP (see X-Men Forever #6 Review for last issue recap): The issue opens with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents deep in the Andes Mountains investigating the destruction of several tanks. They find a giant footprint but that is the only evidence, as none of their equipment works in the area.

Jean and Xavier try to use their telepathic powers to look around but as they make contact something big hits the agents taking down their helicopter and killing the ground troops. Something that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Hank immediately suspects Sentinels but no one else seems to believe him. Fury wants to handle the problem but Xavier insists on sending the X-Men and calls in the troops. Scott, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Gambit and Kitty respond to the call.

Scott taps Rogue, Jean, Kitty and Nightcrawler to go and investigate, making Kurt the field leader. Fury invites himself along and Hank adds himself to the group so there will be someone on the ground to do analysis. Gambit stays behind to watch Ororo, and Scott remains at the mansion to keep an eye on Sabretooth.

On the flight to the Andes, Fury reflects on a mission from WWII when he served with one of the dead agents’ father’s uncle. The mission included the first meeting with a Canadian Captain by the name of Logan leading a group of soldiers. Fury’s Howling Commandos and Logan’s troops parachute out and attack a massive Nazi fortress housing a secret project.

Logan is the first one through and kills all the men inside ending with the scientist in charge. As Fury’s men prepare to blow the place up we see the scientist’s name is Dietrich Trask.

When the X-Men land at the site in the mountains they find no evidence except for the bodies. There are no footprints or technology of any kind. Kurt goes out to scout but comes back quickly screaming a warning. That comes only a few seconds before the group is hit by a huge energy blast. As they pick themselves up they are confronted by Master Mold who is preparing to terminate the mutants.

MY TAKE: This issue was a noticeable step up from the last one. I am not sure that it was as good as the first few but it was definitely a solid start to the new story arc. I have always been a fan of the Sentinels as villains and I am excited to see what Claremont is going to do with them this time.

My favorite part was the flashback to the war. I am partial to seeing some of the old conflicts especially when they involve Logan. I wish it had been a bit longer and more detailed but it was an entertaining and fun read. I am not completely sure how it pertains to the current story but I assume that will get explained in the next few issues.

The characters were done well enough although things still seem a bit off. I believe it has to do with the attempt at making the comic retro, but some of the dialogue reads very stilted. Still the little we see feels pretty accurate and it is nice to get even a glimpse of the old times.

Very little else happens in the comic, it is just a setup issue. Still the scenes with S.H.I.E.L.D. were pretty well done and you actually feel for them a bit when they are killed. I appreciated making them a bit more then just nameless and faceless victims. Their deaths were just to establish the threat but it is still nice to get to know the agents a little first.

That does not mean there are no problems with the comic. The focus is all over the place so a lot happens but the story does not progress much. While I can appreciate some of the aspects of the story it does make the whole comic feel kind of rushed. Not to mention that Fury has way too big of a role for a X-Men comic. I do not mind Nick but he really does not belong in this title, especially with such a large focus on him.

The art was still a problem for me as well. I did not even recognize Gambit or Kitty when they appeared. I honestly believed that Shadowcat was Betsy Braddock by the artwork. Most of the rest was fine but I do not understand suddenly redesigning character’s looks for no real reason.

In the end this was a good issue but it felt a bit rushed and scattered. Still it was a good beginning for the story and I am eager to see where it is going from here. I have not seen a decent Sentinel story in years and this one looks to have great potential. Hopefully, the next issue with get to the meat of the action.

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.

New comics hit store on Thursday this week due to Labor Day, but first a few pieces of Wolverine News…

• CBR: ‘Wolverine vs. Thor’ Digital Comic Preview (details)
• Houston Chronicle: Wolverine Wrapping Up in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Strip (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 9/10/09…
–Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 (preview): Utopia wraps up…
–Dark Reign: The List – Avengers (details): Dark Reign ratchets up the trouble…
–Marvel Super Hero Squad #1 (preview): Oh the agony…
–Marvel Zombies Return #2 (details): Zombie-Wolverine may cameo…
–X-Men Forever #7 (preview): Nick Fury flashes back to WWII and Logan…

Wolverine appeared in only TWO TITLES this past week (Sep 2, 2009), and neither of those were from the primary 616 Marvel Universe…

But before we get to those, let’s get to two non-Wolverine (but X-Men-orientated) reviews from last week by our very own jrpbsp…

• X-Men Forever #6: Dangerous Games…
• New Mutants #4: A Real Head Job…

As for the two ‘Wolverine’ titles from this week, I will share my curmudgeonly impressions as usual…

House of M: Masters of Evil #2 (preview)
Writer: Christos N. Gage
Penciler: Manuel Garcia
Inkers: Jesse Delperdang and Nelson Pereira

Awesome cover.

Wolverine guest stars as the elite Red Guard leader before he retained “all of his memories,” and his battle with the Absorbing Man is intriguing to say the least.

But I, for one, am done with House of M.

I just wish Marvel would be, too…

Marvel Zombies Return #1 (details)
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Nick Dragotta

Longtime readers know that I really enjoyed Fred Van Lente’s run on ‘Wolverine: First Class’ and the first two Marvel Zombies series.

Unfortunately, the Marvel Zombies franchise has become so tainted since then that there isn’t much gas left in the tank.

So Van Lente decides to take the ‘Marvel Apes’ comedic route and that is not a good thing.

It’s over-the-top, gratuitous violence with campy, unfunny attempts at humor.

A shame, really, but it’s time to put this franchise out of its misery.

As for Wolverine, he cameos in flashback form, but will take center zombie stage, probably in the next issue…

Shifting gears to animation, we had another new episode of ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ this past Friday, Guardian Angel, detailing the origin of Archangel courtesy of Mister Sinister! For full details, see the Marvel.com preview…

As always, share your opinion in the comments below OR or simply join in on the fun at the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Continuing from last week here is the second and final review, ‘New Mutants’.  Hope you enjoy it.

New Mutants #4 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: Diogenes Neves
Inker: Cam Smith, Ed Tadeo & Craig Yeung

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Sam sending Dani away in a car, much to her disgust and anger. But Sam will not be swayed, he is convinced it is the only way to save her.

Meanwhile Legion is gearing up for another assault.  Inside his head, Illyana takes down yet another aggressive personality, scaring the others into cooperation.

Legion sends in a speedster persona that knocks the team around and severely injured Sunspot with a piece of sharp metal. Amara steps up turning the ground to lava and attacks Legion directly.

Meanwhile, Magik has found the mental prison and frees Shan and Marci, the little girl from the first issue. The child points the way to the real David Haller.

Legion switches to an alien persona and drains all the heat and fire from Magma and knocks her through a wall. Sam intercedes and blasts into the multi-minded mutant.

Magik, Karma and Shan break into the prison Haller has created from himself. Marci is able to get him to pull himself together. Illyana finds out about the doll, ‘Moira’, that represents control of the body and demands it be handed over.

Legion changes to a power drainer and he and Sam crash into a car. He then switches to a wolf form to heal. The wolf is just about to bite Sam’s throat when Dani hits him with the car then plows them both into a wall.

Unfortunately, that does little to affect Legion’s new form and he tears off the car door to get to Dani. She stabs him through the arm but that only buys her a second. She is just about to he eaten when Illyana gains control of the body ending the fight.

Cyclops arrives a bit later and the injured are tended to. Emma uses her telepathy to convince the residents that they have been sick with the stomach flu for the past few days. The Science Team puts a helmet on Legion to control his brainwaves for the trip. Sam tries to talk to Dani afterward but she refuses to even acknowledge him.

He finds Scott to apologize for the mess but Cyclops is proud of the team. They took down an Omega level threat without preparation. Sam expresses doubt about his ability to lead the team but Scott has confidence in him.

MY TAKE: This was another great issue that manages to balance both action and character moments with ease. While the plot is pretty simple, it is told so well that it does not need to be complicated. This was a story that had to define the team and their roles while still telling a good tale and it was amazingly successful at that. The dynamics are now in place so all the future arcs will be able to build on that.

There are so many great moments in here that I could not possibly mention them all, but I want to talk about my favorite part. The conversation at the end between Sam and Scott was amazing. Sam has never been a sole leader before and it was nice to see him reacting to how things went. I am not much of a fan of Cyclops but in just a few panels I liked and respected him more then years of appearances in other titles.

I was also impressed by the darker and more realistic tone in the issue and the series in general. We see actual injuries that require medical treatment when people get knocked into cars or sliced by metal. What’s more,  the bad guys are actually evil. We have had mention of rape, mutilation, murder and even cannibalism. It is nice that the comic does not shy away from that and sugar coat everything.

It was also fitting that Illyana was the one that saves the day. She has always been the toughest and most bad ass member of the team and I am glad she is finally getting the recognition for it. I just hope they do not try to turn her into a Wolverine clone.

I only have a couple of complaints about the comic, mostly about the pacing. The issue feels a bit rushed especially with the scenes of Illyana in his head. I do not know if there would have been enough to make a fifth issue without making it drag but I did want to see more of her journey on page. I also found Sam to be a bit unlikeable at the beginning. While he does redeem himself nicely by the end, I never like having a comic start on a bad note.

In the end this was another great issue in the series. It did a spectacular job of setting up the team and the dynamics while delivering an entertaining story and incredible character moments. It is just too bad I have to wait to the end of the month to read the next issue.

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…Continuing from last week here are a couple more reviews starting with ‘X-Men: Forever’.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever #6 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Paul Smith
Inker: Terry Austin

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with young Ororo and Lockheed in the Danger Room control center watching Kitty, Gambit and Kurt playing baseball with the trash from the wreckage of the training center. Cyclops arrives and is not happy. While he is lecturing the others, ‘Ro tries to fly and ends up summoning a mini tornado. Nightcrawler and Kitty try to save her but she ends up flying into Scott which serves to end the wind.

Meanwhile Sabretooth and Xavier have a talk about Kitty and his presence in the mansion. Creed confronts the Professor about his lies and obviously makes an impact. Beast and Jean also have a little heart to heart about Wolverine and Beast’s discovery of mutants dying young.

Scott pitches in to help clean up the wreckage but the room activates on its own. Kurt teleports young Storm out and Kitty phases with Lockheed but none of them can get back in. Scott and Remy manage to fight the room and get the main door to open before they are hurt.

Remy and Ororo are thinking about leaving the mansion but Cyclops convinces them to stay. Kurt and Kitty have a talk about Logan’s death and the changes in Kitty’s body and she tries to accept them. The issue ends with Fury coming to Xavier to show him a new threat, something that has smashed tanks flat in South America

MY TAKE: While not a bad issue, this was the weakest of the series so far. It is pretty much a completely forgettable transition issue where the characters attempt to make sense of the new status quo. In fact even though I had read it only a week ago I had to reread it from scratch to fresh my memory on what had occurred in the issue.

A little bit of action in the Danger Room is put in to try and keep it interesting but it is sandwiched among constant two-party discussions that do very little to keep your interest. Most of these conversations offer little real insight into the characters and are put in to bridge the gap between the 616 universe and the new team Claremont is forming.

My biggest issue is with the personalities. Although none of them is blatantly off, most of the characters seem to be skewed enough to be noticeable. In fact several times, most noticeably with Scott and Gambit, they seem to be bipolar changing their minds and personalities from one moment to the next. In the worst instance in a few panels Gambit goes from wanting to leave the mansion to convincing Ororo to stay.

Beyond that very little happens. Dialogue is one of Claremont’s strong points but it was rushed and overdone here. I am all for having the characters reflect and absorb massive changes and in fact it was greatly needed. But it seemed very rushed with characters accepting, on the surface at least, body alternations and death in just a few panels. I think it would have been best to leave out the bits of action and make this purely a reflection issue so the characters could interact on a deeper level.

Normally I do not mention the art but I was really not a fan of the way the characters were drawn here. The faces looked like a nightmare sequence in a cheesy cartoon, way over done with huge eyes and noses. Storm, Xavier and the Beast were the worst. In one panel Xavier looks like Caliban the Morlock crossed with an evil lawn gnome. It is strange since pretty much everything else is drawn well which only makes these characters stand out in a really bad way.

In the end this is a mediocre issue. But I am still enjoying the series and I think we have a very strong foundation and I am looking forward to the next issue and story arc. This story was pretty much a necessity to bridge the series but was rushed and borderline schizophrenic. Yet it is still not a bad comic, just pretty forgettable. Still if it leads to a strong and united team with the type of stories highlighted in the first five issues then I am all for it.

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.

September is here and it’s time to crank things up on the Wolverine Files.

To that end, I could use your help on a few things…

1. We really need a few more reviewers. Jrpbsp has been doing a herculean job so far, but I fear for the safety of his brain if he continues on such a torrid pace. Cranial explosions are never a good thing, so if you have an interest in reviewing a few of the Wolverine titles on a regular basis, please drop me a line at dig@wolverinefiles.com. I do need to see a sample of your writing, so feel free to write up a review of any issue currently on the stands as your audition.
2. You may have noticed that we have lost several of the moderators on the Wolverine Files Forum over the summer. Not sure why exactly, but if you are interested in helping out there by creating new threads (especially for upcoming issues), fostering fun conversations and encouraging a friendly environment, email me at dig@wolverinefiles.com.
3. Because I would love to get back to updating the Wolverine chronology, I could also use help dealing with Wolverine News. Ideally, I would like to transition Wolverine News from Mondays to posting news as the news cycle warrants. Again, if interested drop me a line at, well, you can probably figure that one out.

Finally, if you are interested in helping out in general or you have ideas and the time to improve the site (such as a cover and synopsis database for back issues of Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine), well, don’t keep such thoughts to yourself.

Cheers, DiG…

Disney acquiring Marvel is the big news this week, so we start with the best stories I have found so far. Feel free to add more in the comments below…

• Bloomberg News: Disney-Marvel Deal Overview
• Comic Book Resources: Details from the Disney-Marvel Conference Call
• Comic Book Resources: Industry Reactions Including from Jason Aaron
• Newsarama: 10 Questions Raised by the Deal
• Deadline Hollywood Daily: Analysis of the Disney-Marvel Deal
• Deadline Hollywood Daily: Why Disney Has to Wait for Marvel Synergy
• Deadline Hollywood Daily: Universal vs. Disney Over Marvel Characters
• Deadline Hollywood Daily: Stan Lee on the Disney-Marvel Deal

In Wolverine news…

• IGN: Old Man Logan Giant-Size Preview (details)
• Houston Chronicle: Wolverine in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Strip (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 9/2/09…
–House of M: Masters of Evil #2 (preview): Awesome cover…
–Marvel Zombies Return #1 (Spider-Man) (details): Marvel Zombies 5…

Wolverine appeared in ELEVEN TITLES last week (August 26, 2009), admittedly not the eleven I predicted in Wolverine News…

So without further ado, let’s get to the reviews by our very own jrpbsp…

• Wolverine: Origins #39: A Really Hot Time…
• Wolverine: First Class #18: Multiple Choices…
• X-Force #18: Disarmed…
• Dark Avengers #8: And the Seas Shall Rise…

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

Dark Wolverine #77 (preview)
Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu
Pencils: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks: Onofrio Catacchio

Interesting story with lots of twists, double agents and even triple agents.

And next issue promises to raise the stakes even more.

I, for one, can’t wait. I don’t even like Daken…

Dark Reign: Elektra #5 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: Clay Mann
Inks: Mark Pennington

Wolverine plays a fairly substantial role in this miniseries finale, but I can’t say that I find the lead character very endearing by the end of the issue.

Has anyone been reading this from the beginning? If so, please add your thoughts in the comments…

Hulk #14 (preview)
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Pencils: Ian Churchill
Inks: Mark Farmer

Horrendously corny dialogue, one-dimensional characters, and juvenile plots that makes you wonder if the writer cares at all about these characters.

In other words, classic Jeph Loeb.

Ugh.

TimeStorm #4 (preview)
Writer: Brian Reed
Pencilers: Eric Battle & Jon Bosco
Inkers: Drew Hennessy, Alex Silva & Nelson Pereira

Another miniseries finale and I’m still not sure of the point of the story. But at least Wolverine gets two solid pages of dialogue…

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #3 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Jock

Jason Aaron gives us a fun-filled short story with “Get Mystique (Slight Return)”.

And the best part is the ending, “To be continued…”

New Avengers #56 (preview)
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Pencils: Ian Churchill
Inks: Mark Farmer

Cover appearance only Wolverine, but Dark Wolverine does cameo…

As for the final Wolverine ‘appearance’, jrpbsp will be reviewing X-Men Forever #6 later in the week. While Wolverine doesn’t appear, his presence is certainly felt.

Shifting gears to animation, we had another new episode of ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ this past Friday, Backlash dealing with Master Mold. For full details, see the Marvel.com preview…

As always, share your opinion in the comments below OR or simply join in on the fun at the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Here is my fourth and final review for the week, ‘Wolverine: Origins’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: Origins #39 (details | thread)
Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Scot Eaton
Inker: Andrew Hennessy

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Wolverine hanging over a vat of molten steel, a prisoner of Wild Child. Kyle is planning to kill Logan by lowering him into the vat feet first.

Wild Child reveals that Romulus’ plan was to give his position to the last one standing amongst the contenders and everyone that Wolverine had killed played into that role. Wolverine is not happy to learn he has been a pawn all this time.

Before Kyle can give Logan his metal bath Omega Red interrupts and attacks. The fight between Red and Wild Child buys a little time and allows Wolverine to escape by swinging himself into the molten metal wrists first.

Kyle sees Logan flee and takes his attention away from Omega Red, which proves to be a fatal mistake. Red drives his tentacles through Wild Child’s body and then tosses him into the vat.

Two weeks later Wolverine is in a warehouse in St. Petersburg where the Black Widow has left the Muramasa Blade. Wolverine calls her to tell Natasha to hide it even from him when Arkady interrupts again. Logan tells Red he is not going to fight for Romulus’ position but after Omega Red mentions Daken, Wolverine is ready to do battle.

He throws the blade into Omega Red’s chest where it immediately begins to kill the Russian. As he is dying, Red asks if the Muramasa can even kill Romulus and Wolverine says it can. Only to find out that the man is standing right behind Logan looking to put the statement to the test.

MY TAKE: This issue was pretty mediocre as per the norm for the series. Very little happened plot-wise except for the revelation that all of these different characters were competing for Romulus’ empire even if they did not know it. Yet it still contained two deaths of long established characters with very little fanfare or noticeable impact.

All that happens in the issue is that Wolverine escapes and gets hold of his blade. But somehow in that little bit of time, Romulus decides to go from being the hunted to confronting Logan, after he gets his sword. That makes no sense to me. I could understand a confrontation if Red was the last one that needed to die, but Daken is still out there.  Alternately if Romulus just wanted to confront Wolverine finally, it would have made more sense to do it when he was not holding a sword that could kill anything.

Of course my biggest problem with the issue was killing off Wild Child and Omega Red. Both have long histories in Marvel and deserved a better send off then they got. I can understand Kyle fitting into the plan more or less, but I still do not know why Red would have even been involved. He is not from North America nor does he have any feral mutations. It seems like he was brought in just to be killed off and that is a bad thing for any story.

The big reveal of Romulus’ face was not really a surprise either. Assuming he is indeed Logan’s brother, that has been predicted pretty much since his name started showing up. While it is nice to see the plot getting tied up, the ending had a certain anti-climatic feel. Especially since he looks like a more buffed version of the villain from ‘Wolverine: The End’ except for yet another configuration of claws.

Which brings me to a minor nitpick, how does a foot long claw manage to sprout from someone’s thumb? There is no way to house it in the wrist and the thing is longer then his entire hand. Of course that goes along with having Wolverine’s hands being bandaged two weeks after he burned them. Even in the old days he would have long been healed.

Even with all of those complaints, this was not too bad of an issue. I can actually see some good ideas and some nice plots in here that should have made for a decent read. But the execution of those concepts leaves a lot to be desired. There are simply too many plot holes and miscues to ignore. Which is a shame because I like the idea of someone controlling Wolverine’s life and making bad things happen to him. It just was not done well in my opinion.

In the end we have an issue that has been built up to for a long time but which ends with a shrug rather then a gasp. I was more surprised at the callous way that Omega Red and Wild Child were killed then the reveal about Romulus. Hopefully we will get some answers next issue and it will help make sense of this whole story 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.