Lots of updates this time starting with a new header for the website at the top of this page.

In addition, I’ve made some minor changes to the existing chronology, adding…
–Wolverine: Origins #31 to 006: The Lost Years
–Wolverine (vol. 2) #58 to 010: Landau, Luckman and Lake (and Jasmine Falls)
–Wolverine: Agent of Atlas #1, 2 and 3 to 013: Secret Agent Man, eh?

And finally, I’ve updated and launched new versions of…
–017: The Ultimate Warrior
–018: Escape from Weapon X
–019: The Hudsons

Oh, right.

There is one other thing I almost forgot to mention.

With the generous help of Gabriel Zero, we are launching the beta test for…

The Wolverine Files Forums

Yup… message boards all about Wolverine.

So check them out, play around with them and let us know what you think!

‘Hulk vs. Wolverine’ was released today on DVD.

And while the myriad previews are almost as long as the animated feature itself  — about 33 minutes without the credits — it really can be broken down into three equal parts.

The first 11 minutes are perhaps the best 11 minutes I have ever seen in a superhero cartoon. Wolverine is awesome, the battle with the Hulk is even better and the bloody violence is a sight to behold. And mixed in is a wonderful homage to an iconic Wolverine/Hulk cover.

Unfortunately, the next 11 minutes quickly shift into an overly confusing Weapon X/Team X mishmash with Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike and Omega Red! The only saving grace is Deadpool. And what a saving grace he is, for Deadpool absolutely steals the show with his shockingly funny one liners and non sequiturs.

Thankfully, the final 11 minutes pick the action back up, blending  jaw-dropping fight sequences, dark humor and, of course, classic Wolverine to pull off a rousing finale.

And make sure to sit through the end credits — there is a great closing clip well worth your time.

More Hulk vs. stories from around the Web…
—Newsarama ‘Hulk vs.’ DVD Review…
—Frank Paur on Directing ‘Hulk vs.’ (CBR)…
—More from Frank Paul on ‘Hulk vs.’ (Newsarama)…

The ‘Hulk vs.‘ DVD arrives in stores this Tuesday, January 27…
—Marvel.com has Exclusive Concept Art and Exclusive Images…

In Wolverine Comic Book news…
—Marvel’s April 2009 solicitations goes a little Wolverine crazy with Rampaging Wolverine #1, Wolverine #72, Wolverine: The Anniversary, Wolverine: First Class #14, Wolverine Magazine #1, Wolverine Noir #1, Wolverine: Origins #35, Wolverine: Weapon X #1, Wolverine: Weapon X Files, X-Men Origins: Wolverine #1, Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #4 and 5, and that doesn’t even touch the titles he appears in that don’t bear his name!
–From ComicBookResources, the X-Men prepare for the Messiah War…
–From Marvel.com, previews of Ultimate X-Men #100 and X-Men Origins: Sabretooth #1…
–From IGN.com, preview of Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3 …

In ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ Movie News…
–-Ain’t It Cool News: Hugh Jackman email on Wolverine reshoots…
–-ComicBookResources: Hugh Jackman video interview on ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’…

Comics Previews of probable Wolverine appearances this week…
–Marvels: Eye of the Camera #3 (preview): Wolverine cameo confirmed…
–New Avengers #49 (preview): Luke Cage stars, not sure about Wolverine…
–Wolverine: First Class#11 (preview): Werewolf Wolverine continues…
–X-Force #11 (preview): Who the Hell is Eli Bard?

As everyone undoubtedly knows, ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ premiered on Friday with the first two parts of the three-part pilot, Hindsight. And if you haven’t had a chance to see the episodes, you can watch both episodes here.

Here are my initial thoughts…

• Animation: Very ‘Batman: The Animated Series’. Really works for me…
• Music: Nice mixture of Batman music with a dash of James Bond…
• Story: Great blend of the X-Men movie universe and the X-Men comic book universe. I also liked very much that this takes place in the middle of the story and that there is lot still to be told. Hopefully, each episode will add to the total picture as we try to piece together the back story.
• Wolverine: I really like that Wolverine is portrayed as the failed samurai here. And much to my surprise, his friendship with Beast works quite well. Oh, and his voice rocks…

Make sure not to miss the review from Newsarama.com, ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ review…

Now that it’s been a few days, what do you think?

‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ premieres tonight on Nicktoons at 8pm.

And remember, two episodes, Hindsight, Part 1 and Part 2, will be airing.

UPDATE: Watch the first two episodes here!

In more news on the ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ animated series…
-The official site has gone through a major upgrade…
-Marvel has posted more video spotlights for Iceman, Nightcrawler, Emma Frost and Wolverine, in addition to Cyclops, Rogue, Beast and Storm…
-Marvel has also posted a special ‘One Word’ Video…
–Exclusive ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ images…

Wolverine “appeared” in eight titles from this week (January 21, 2009), two reviewed yesterday (Wolverine: Origins #32 and Dark Avengers #1) and six more here…

Weapon X: First Class #3 (preview)
“The Devil Inside”
Writer: Marc Sumerak
Artist: Mark Robinson

“The Job”
Writer: Marc Sumerak
Artist: Tim Seeley

As much as I’ve enjoyed this series, this issue is a bit of a letdown.

Probably would have worked perfectly as a ‘Wolverine: First Class’ Annual or ‘Weapon X: First Class’ special one-shot…

.

.

Astonishing X-Men #28 (preview)
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Simone Bianchi; Inkers: Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri

This story is getting a lot better and there are some genuinely awesome Wolverine moments…

Manifest Destiny #5 (preview)
“Nick’s”
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist: Ben Oliver

Wolverine gets to play the tough guy in the second story of the issue.

And for Frank Tieri, it’s pretty good!

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X-Men Legacy #220 (preview)
Writer: Mike Carey
Penciler: Scot Eaton
Inker: Andrew Hennessy

Though Wolverine graces the cover, he only appears on one page via an Australian Outback flashback…

Mighty Avengers #21 (preview)
“The Smartest Man in the Room”
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Khoi Pham
Inker: Allen Martinez & Danny Miki

Utterly baffling story by Dan Slott includes the death of Wolverine.

Really.

Is that a spoiler?

Marvel Adventures the Avengers #32 (preview)
“The Big Payoff”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Penciler: Matteo Lolli
Inker: Christian Vecchia

Wolverine’s on the cover, but AWOL inside (thankfully) because he doesn’t pay his taxes.

Wolverine: Origins #32
“Family Business, Conclusion”
Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Yanick Paquette
Inks: Michel Lacombe

I know everyone keeps telling me I’m crazy when I say that ‘Wolverine: Origins’ is really more about Daken than it is about Wolverine, but it certainly feels that way right now.

And as I’ve said before… I really don’t really Daken.

Just look at the title of this website. It’s Wolverine Files, not Daken Files.

And the artwork is genuinely dreadful, especially in comparison to the refreshing work from Mike Deodato…

From Marvel (preview): “Wolverine and Daken go toe-to-toe with one of the most sadistic villains in the Marvel Universe: CYBER! Looking to settle scores on many fronts, Cyber has returned to wreak havoc! How will Wolverine defeat the one man he’s ever feared…and how can he trust his son not to betray him?” On sale January 21, 2009.

Dark Avengers #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato

A direct tie-in to ‘Wolverine: Origins’ with a few pleasant surprises and twists.

And you get Mike Deodato…

I am intrigued to see where Brian Michael Henry Bendis is going to take this.

It’s certainly a lot better than the travesty that was ‘Secret Invasion’…

From Marvel (preview): “The start of an explosive new era in the Avengers mythos! Who are the Dark Avengers? Who is the Iron Patriot? The answers will shock you” On sale January 21, 2009.

We start with an awesome 3-D screenshot from the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘ video game, courtesy of uncaged.com, as well as the official press release.

Moving on to animation news, the ‘Hulk vs.‘ DVD arrives in stores on January 27 and we have a few more previews, clips and featurettes…
–Newsarama has two Hulk vs. Wolverine video previews: 1 and 2…
–CBR has lined up five movie clips and featurettes for Hulk vs. Wolverine…

‘Wolverine and the X-Men‘ debuts on NickToons on Friday, January 23 at 8pm (and yes, I will be reviewing it) and the official site offers up tons of clips.

-Marvel has also posted video spotlights for Cyclops, Rogue, Beast and Storm …

In Wolverine comic book news…
–Wolverine: Agent of Atlas (Part I, Part II and Part III): Issue 3 released as free exclusive from Marvel Comics Digital…
–Astonishing Tales: Wolverine/Punisher (Part I and Part II): Issue 2 released with free preview from Marvel Comics Digital…

Comics Previews of probable Wolverine appearances this week…
– Astonishing X-Men #28 (preview): Ghost Box, Part 4…
– Dark Avengers #1 (preview): Wolverine confirmed…
– Marvel Adventures the Avengers #32 (preview): The IRS comes looking for Wolverine…
– Mighty Avengers #21 (preview): The New Avengers and Dark Avengers guest star…
– Weapon X: First Class #3 (preview): Series finale…
– Wolverine: Origins #32 (preview): More on Daken…
– X-Men Legacy #220 (preview): Wolverine graces the cover at the very least…

Wolverine appeared in two titles from this past week (January 14, 2009) and two from last week that I missed, starting with…

X-Infernus #2 (preview)
“This Mortal Coil”
Writer: C.B. Cebulski
Penciler: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inker: Jesse Delperdang with Craig Yeung

Wolverine doesn’t get to do much, but next issue looks most promising. Though I do like his dialogue, “You okay, kiddo? An’ let’s keep those hands where I can see’em now…”

X-Men and Spider-Man #3 (preview)
“Clone Sagas”
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Mario Alberti

I am enjoying this series a lot, as we fast forward to Wolverine with bone claws. And we get to see him go up against Carnage…

Eternals #7 (preview)
Writer: Charles and Daniel Knauf
Artist: Eric Nguyen

This came out last week and I still can’t find a copy, but Wolverine does at least grace the variant cover as shown on the right…

Wolverine and Power Pack #3 (no preview)
Writer: Marc Sumerak
Artist: Gurihiru

Finally got this one from last week.

Not as bad as I feared with a cute exchange between Power Pack and young James Howlett…

Two fresh updates this time around, 015: Adamantium and 016: Memory Implants…

As always, check’em out and let me know what you think…

I’ve also had a comment about waiting for ongoing storylines to come to a close before adding them to the chronology and why that doesn’t apply to Wolverine: Origins.

Good question.

First, I should have said story arcs. I try to wait for each story arc to complete before writing it up. And since Wolverine: Origins is fairly good at five or six-issue arcs, that is how I’ve been trying to approach that series.

Second, since Wolverine: Origins is planned for about 60 issues, I don’t feel this chronology would be up to date if I waited another three years for it to wrap up.

As always, feel free to weigh in with the comments below…