Wolverine: Origins #31
“Family Business, Part 1”
Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Yanick Paquette
Inks: Serge La Pointe & Michel Lacombe

The first thing I noticed about this issue is how pedestrian the art is.

Where have you gone, Mike Deodato?

The story, unfortunately, isn’t much better.

Wolverine: Origins is becoming more and more about Daken and less and less about Wolverine.

No offense, but I don’t really care for Daken.

And if Daniel Way’s recent interviews are any indication, we should expect more of the same.

As for Mike Deodato, his farewell present seems to be the awesome cover…

Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

From Marvel (preview): “After the stunning revelations of last issue, Daken now knows that he is merely a pawn and that his hatred of his father, Wolverine, is based upon a lie. Now, Daken and Wolverine—father and son—unite to track down the most fearsome being Daken has ever known. But they’re not the only ones looking for him…” On sale December 24, 2008.

What a wonderful treat for Christmas — the Hulk beating the living tar out of Wolverine in the latest clip from Hulk vs. Wolverine…

More Wolverine News…
– From Newsarama.com, Daniel Way talks ‘Wolverine: Origins’.
– From ComicBookResources.com, Daniel Way expounds even more on ‘Origins’…

As a Christmas Eve treat, I figured I would reveal yet another Wolverine Chronology update with 011: Team X Beginnings.

I’ve also renumbered the later chapters (due to the condensing of the two Canadian Intelligence chapters into one) to avoid any further confusion.

My goal is to get the chronology updated through Days of Future Past in time for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie.

Not sure if I will make it, but that’s the goal.

In the meantime, I will have a Wolverine News update on Christmas Day, a review of Wolverine: Origins #31 up on Friday, and a Week-in-Review live over the weekend.

So to all the Wolverine fans out there, Merry Christmas!

DiG…

Don’t faint, but I just finished updating 010: Landau, Luckman and Lake (and Jasmine Falls).

With any luck, I will be able to get to the next few chapters in short order.

As always, let me know what you think!

From the ComicBookResources.com interview with the X-Editors:

“Wolverine: Weapon X” is designed to be new reader-friendly, but it’s also going to be doing a big part of defining what Wolverine is up to in San Francisco, when he’s not specifically doing X-Men things. We’ll probably be seeing some of his friends from the team showing up as the series goes on, but the supporting characters we’ll be bringing into “Weapon X” will be showing up in – and having an impact on – the other X-books.

With regards to “Wolverine: Origins,” we’ve been making a concerted effort to bring more into the X-Universe, which Daniel Way was really excited to do. You’ve seen the beginnings of that with the “Original Sin” story, which I think people really liked. As you stick around, the “Weapon XI” storyline will really prominently feature the X-Men – as in, a knock-down, drag-out fight between Daken and the X-Men. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the X-Men in ‘Origins.’

For a long time, it was important to establish a distinct identity for “Origins;” not that “Origins” didn’t tie-in before, but it really had to establish a distinct feel for itself. Now that we’ve got a solid mythology behind the book, we can play more with the other books without breaking down the core story that “Origins” exists to tell.

In X-Men Origins: Wolverine news, Hugh Jackman and the rest of the cast are returning to Vancouver for two weeks of reshoots (Aceshowbiz.com)…

And, of course, Comics Previews of probable Wolverine appearances this week…
– New Avengers #48 (preview): Bendis picks up the pieces from Secret Invasion…
– Wolverine: First Class #10 (preview): Werewolf by Night…
– Wolverine: Origins #31 (preview): Wolverine and Daken take on Cyber…
– Ultimatum #2 (preview): The end of Ultimate Universe continues…

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve made any major updates to the Wolverine chronology. I also know that some folks think I need to stop with the rewrites and move ahead with the new stuff.

And I can’t say that I disagree with the sentiment.

Unfortunately, that’s not how I’m wired. I am anally retentive in a very chronological way (hence this website).

But the good news is that I did finish 009: World War II and I increased the image sizes on all the previous updates.

So give it a once over and let me know what you think.

And don’t be surprised if the next update shows up sooner than you expect.

Wolverine had only one actual appearance this week (December 17, 2008), two pseudo appearances and one cover only appearance. All in all, a pretty weak week in the comic shops…

What If Newer Fantastic Four (preview)
“New Fantastic Four”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Penciler: Patrick Scherberger
Inker: Craig Yeung

In the old days, ‘What If’ took on stories of import. Stories that we as readers genuinely cared about. What if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four? What if Wolverine had killed the Hulk, What if Elektra had lived? More recently, the one shots have delved into alternate versions of Civil War, House of M and Fallen Son.

So forgive me if yet another New Fantastic Four story fails to spark my interest.

The story isn’t bad. Wolverine actually gets some pretty good treatment at the hands of Paul Tobin (even if the blue costumes are atrocious). But this is predictable fare that really didn’t need to be on the shelves this week or any week for that matter…

Uncanny X-Men #505 (preview)
Cover: Terry and Rachel Dodson

Wolverine graces the cover in classic Dodson-style, but fails to appear inside for the second straight issue…

Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #31 (preview)
“Good Things Come to Those Who Bait'”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Penciler: Ig Guara
Inker: Sandro Ribeiro

Another cover only appearance, but at least Wolverine gets referenced (for unpaid parking tickets?!?) inside…

X-Men: Legacy #219 (preview)
“Jagannatha'”
Writers: Mike Carey
Penciler: Phil Briones
Inker: Cam Smith

Wolverine cameos only as part of a Juggernaut memory flash…

The recent deluge of Wolverine announcements is forcing me to add Wolverine News Updates on a more frequent basis. So to start, MySpace launched the official trailer to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Check it out below…

Marvel and Lionsgate debuted the latest Hulk vs Wolverine trailer (it’s really starting to look like a movie tie-in now) with the beginnings of a new website…

And finally, Marvel Comics previews for March 2009 were released (with probable/possible Wolverine appearance listed below)…

–March 4: Astonishing Tales #2; Avengers/Invaders #9; Marvel Spotlight: Wolverine; Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine #3 (really!); Ultimatum #4; Wolverine and the X-Men Magazine #2; Wolverine Poster Book #1; X-Men Noir #4…
–March 11: Nothing? Really?
–March 18: Uncanny X-Men #507; Wolverine #71; Wolverine: Origins #34; X-Force #13
–March 25: New Avengers #51; Wolverine: First Class #13; X-Force/Cable: Messiah War Prologue #1; X-Infernus #4

The big news of the week is that a new Wolverine series, Wolverine: Weapon X, will debut in March…
– Jason Aaron and Ron Garney reunite on ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ from Newsarama.com…
– First look at ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ #1 cover from Newsarama.com…
– Wolverine returns to his roots in ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ from Marvel.com…
– Exclusive Digicomic: ‘Astonishing Tales: Wolverine/Punisher’ #1 from Marvel.com…
– Astonishing X-Men #28 First Look from Marvel.com…
– Kyle, Yost, Choi talk ‘Messiah War’ from CBR…
– ‘Messiah War’ begins in March from Marvel.com…

And let’s not forget, Comics Previews of probable Wolverine appearances this week…
– What If: Newer Fantastic Four (preview): I really hate Wolverine’s blue costume…
– X-Men #505 (preview): Wolverine makes the cover at the very least…
– Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #31 (preview): Possibly a cover only appearance…

The trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine (opening May 1, 2009) debuted this weekend with The Day the Earth Stood Still. Unfortunately, it keeps getting pulled down from YouTube. So if it’s not working, make sure to check the official site that just launched. The trailer will be available as of Monday morning there…

In other online Wolverine movie news…

– MTV’s Splash Page: A review of the trailer and Hugh Jackman dishes on Deadpool…
– Marvel.com: First Look at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Video Game…
– CinemaBlend.com: Hugh Jackman in X-Men: First Class?…
– Newsarama.com: Wolverine to host the Academy Awards…