Customer Reviews

Wolverine: Origin

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The tagline on the inside cover to "Origin" describes the book as "The greatest Marvel story never told." Many fans, for years, insisted that it never be told: the beginnings of the mysterious, likable X-Man Wolverine. When Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas took over and Marvel Comics and reversed its almost 15-year downturn, one of their first projects was "let's do a story on the origins of Wolverine." Considered sacred ground - untreadable because part of Wolvie's appeal was his unknown past - the project was reluctantly, and then vigorously, accepted, with top minds from the Marvel universe turning in treatments.

"Origin" is the gorgeous final result of that process.

Somewhere in the 19th Century, on a massive estate in Canada, a young boy called "Dog" Logan escapes his father's drunken beatings by playing with James, the sickly child of the rich landowner in the House, and Rose, James' Irish nanny. The three forge a childhood bond broken too easily when class distinctions and family squabbles get in the way of their friendship. One night, the tensions come to a head when the three, now adolescents, are involved in a life-changing tragedy that leaves one horribly scarred, another without a memory and in possession of strange new abilities, and the third frightened for all three. Two of the friends flee into the night, while the third is left to pick up the pieces.

A quote on the back of the book compares "Origin" with "Watchmen" and "Maus," and suggests it will enter the annals of comic-dom's highest-regarded works. While it doesn't measure up to those examples, or to "V for Vendetta" or "From Hell," "Origin" is certainly worthy of praise and deserves a place next to "The Killing Joke," or "Batman: Year One." Kubert's illustrations are mind-bogglingly beautiful, managing to combine the serious nature of the story with the comic origins of the players without effort. The only complaint, and it is minor, is that the book seems short compared with similar series efforts. The story is told without becoming overlong, but the reader can't help but feel it could have been deeper and more involved. Overall, "Origin" is worth its price, and the hardcover book preserves the fantastic art in a great coffee-table format. Wolvie and X-Men fans will want to read it - unless, of course, you would rather not spoil the mystery, which is perfectly understandable.

Final grade: B+

Being a huge fan of Marvel's Wolverine character, I really enjoyed this book. 'Origin' had the task of telling the beginnings of the character, and finally explaining what the up until now mysterious origins of the character were. This book tells a good story, throwing in some mildly obvious twists and tragedy to interest all readers. The art is beautiful, and gives the work an identity. The story itself seems to work better as an introduction, an feels unfinished. There is obviously so much more to tell of the characters beginnings, and anyone who picks 'Origins' up to read should understand it's not the complete origin of Wolverine, rather just the first chapter. A good read, and I can't wait for more.

Origin lived up to and exceeded the expectations of many. The story seems a bit farfetched when reading, especially compared to Wolverine in current times, but in the end it all fits nicely. The digital coloring method utilized on Andy Kubert's pencils fits very well and looks amazing. Jenkins writing is great, and the dialogue is well written. The story is at times even touching as we see the past of James Howlett and all the losses he faces at an early age. He transforms from a privileged, weak and often sick young boy to the beginnings of the feral Logan. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I won't reveal too much, but for someone who is an X-Men and Marvel fan, and not a relatively big Wolverine fan, I definitely recommend this. Even people coming off the movie who doesn't read much Marvel comics but likes Wolverine should try this out. The hardcover collects all 6 issues of this mini-series, and comes with some extras, such as some early sketches and ideas by Marvel COO Bill Jemas, EIC Joe Quesada, writer Paul Jenkins, and artist Andy Kubert. The hardcover also has larger pages than the original comics. For collectors, you can fish out the original issues from comic shops, but even then they may be more expensive than the hardcover edition. Origin explains much of Wolverine's foggy past that even he himself can't remember, but still leaves much to be revealed. Origin 2 is likely to materialize, it's only a question of when.

I have been a fan of X-Men/Wolverine for...well forever. So I was naturally thrilled when I first heard about this and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was very impressed with the artwork, but that was about it. This is a story that most X-Men fans have waited a long time for and I have written my own versions of Wolverine's back-story in my head many times. The overall story was just plain weak. It didn't elicit interest from me at all. I kept hoping that the first couple of issues were just slow starters and that it would end with a bang, this never happend.

First of all, I had always hoped that this story would explain much more than it did. It only goes up to a certain point (I personally believe they avoided his later history to protect the upcoming sequel to X-Men) and this is what irks me the most. Instead of a really well thought out story line with twists and turns we get a depressing tale of a young boy and his alcoholic father. The writers and artists for this project are among, if not the best in Comics, so the utter mediocrity of this was a bit shocking to say the least, and I only gave it two stars because of the artwork, which is the best of any comic book so far.

This collects Wolverine Origin 1-6. The art is great. The story, while revealing personal things about Wolverine (his real name, who his parents are, etc.), is crap. This story was obviously written by people who don't know what the character wolverine is like. Let me show you. Go read Hulk 181. Then go read WeaponX (AOA) #4. Read Uncanny Xmen 142. Now read Origin. Do you think that the lame-ass kid in Origin is the same guy as in the other books? No, he's not. What the kid is, is about two million dollars net profit for guys that got degrees in marketing and work for Marvel Inc...

And all of you quick-to-laud reviewers are letting them think that what they did was o.k. You know why they never told Wolverine's origin before? Because nothing can be good enough. Remember how cool Morpheus is before Matrix 2? That's called character development. You take away the mystery and are left with less than your expectations. Every time.

Read Barry Windsor Smith's Weapon X TPB, read the Fatal Attractions TPB, read Marmaduke comics if that's what it takes, but don't read this. It is trash. "Comic book literature"?? I think some reviewers are too anxious to get another "Dark Knight Returns" story so that they can be first to give it the thumbs up. Either way, no one who actually read this and has ANY familiarity with Wolverine could ever call this "Marvel Delivers!" or whatever the hell it is they're trying to put up here.

Wolverine: Origin is a take on the childhood and maturation of Wolverine. While not necessarily in direct continuity, it manages to both leave itself open to interpretation and apply to the currently-known history of Wolverine.

The basic plotline is this: a young girl by the name of Rose loses her family and is sent to live with another, much richer family to serve as a companion to the homeowner's son James. James' father John, John's wife, and John's father all tend to the business at hand while also delegating work out to poorer families, most notably Thomas and his son Logan. Rose, Logan, and James all become friends until romantic tension between Logan and Rose threaten to rip the disrupt the balance between the two prominent families.

To continue on would be to spoil some of the book's best surprises, so I will leave it there.

The art within by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove sets the mood for the book perfectly. The younger years of the main characters are represented with colorful, natural scenes with a soft, comfortable hue. They lend well to the earlier chapters of the book, though the colors and scenery change to a more dark and grim tone getting towards the end. Kubert's pencils do a fine job with facial expressions and action-filled scenes, where Isanove's colors lend both beautiful and haunting shades to the world being presented.

This is Wolverine's origin, and it is understandably pretty grim. While there may not be opulent gore, there are a few brutal killings littered throughout the story, as well as a handful of bloody scenes. The plot, while not terribly complex, does serve as a great starting point for the general mindset of Wolverine, and does a wonderful job of putting the reader into his shoes.

The only real downfall to the book is that it just isn't what you would expect, given the character. As I said, it does a fine job, but knowing the premise, one may have totally different expectations as to what happens to create this particular being.

As always, Marvel Premiere (now Classic!) hardcovers are of the utmost quality. The back of the book contains cover sketches, initial plot concepts, and miscellaneous artwork. Also, the dust jacket on this particular book seems to attract dust and fingerprints, essentially negating the intended purpose. This is probably due to its matte-like surface. I always take them off, but for those who leave them on, be forewarned.

I would recommend this book to fans of Wolverine, though I think that would be the crowd to like it the least. For someone without a rich depth of Wolverine knowledge, the book should prove to be a wonderful read.

I know that I tend to read comics a bit differently. The artwork is, of course, great (though we have seen plenty of poorly drawn, brilliant comics). The narrative and story-beats are also crucial. This story does well on both fronts.

But what I have always enjoyed about comics is how they explore complex human situations within their heightened reality, and expose a newness to these philosophies. This is why I have always enjoyed, say, Superman as much as Batman, because each explores a different part of the human psyche and soul.

Origin explores that terribly complex question of how much is a part of what makes up who we are as beings. Are we born with our intrinsic functionality, or are those aspects of our being developed through our education and experience?

The story does unfold in an rare and interesting way, not akin to other comic storylines. Yes, other reviews are correct, there are some flaws, and the end was, if anything rushed, but this is also an incredibly interesting approach to a very mysterious question. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

A word of advice: don't waltz into your local comic store or hover the arrow of your mouse over the shopping cart icon and expect the definitive Wolverine origin, but you can count on a great read nonetheless.

"Origin" makes it clear that Wolvie is in fact a true mutant, since bone claws shoot from his fists instead of steel knives, which I suppose makes more sense and hints at things to come (He winds up having to use bone claws after Magneto robs him of his adamantium in a past X-Men arc). Your interest will undoubtedly fuel you further and further into this classy attempt to unscramble a tad more of our favorite X-Man's disjointed past, but it all depends on whether you're a devoted truth-seeker or a person who just loves great storytelling and artwork.

This is a more adult and dramatic take on Wolverine, dealing with fresh surroundings and timeless situations such as love triangles, tragic consequences and inner discovery. The supporting characters are not designed to be remembered other than Cookie Malone, a man who will have you gritting your teeth in anger when you hit the last two pages of the book, but Rose, the heroine, is written extremely well and in certain aspects carries the entire story through her narrative. The book isn't so much about Wolverine himself than it is about a person's perception of him as he evolves.

Again, you won't get a definitive answer if that's all you bought the book for. It ends on a rather rushed, sour note, and you may be left confused or let down, but it's still worth your money regardless. I would strongly recommend the "Wolverine" trade paperback by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller in addition to or over "Origin" based on your standpoint.

If you have any interest in learning about Wolverine's past, this is a good place to start. According to Marvel this is the Wolverine Origin story timeline:

[*]Wolverine by Miller & Claremont TPB/HC #1-4 Uncanny X-Men #172-173
[*]Weapon X TPB/HC Marvel Comics Presents #72-84
Origin TPB/HC Wolverine: Origin #1-6
Wolverine: Origins and Endings TPB #36-40
House of M #8 preceeds Wolverine: Origins
Wolverine: Origins Vol. 1: Born in Blood TPB Wolverine: Origins #1-5
Wolverine: Origins Vol. 2: Savior TPB Wolverine: Origins #6-10
Wolverine: Origins Vol. 3: Swift and Terrible TPB Wolverine: Origins #11-15
Wolverine: Origins Vol. 4: Our War TPB Wolverine: Origins #16-20 []
Wolverine: Origins Vol. 5: Deadpool TPB Wolverine: Origins #21-27 []

*Can be collected in Wolverine Omnibus 1, except for the Uncanny X-Men issues

The first part of the book, Parts I-III, take place on the Howlett Estate in Canada, this is where you meet a young boy who would later grow up to become Wolverine. The second part of the book, Parts IV-VI take place in the Canadian Wilderness. This is where young James truly becomes a man, one who would be called the 'Wolverine'. Ingenious concept for a back-story on Marvel's most popular character. Well done and the setting of the turn of the century really makes it tick. You will also get the backstory on another famous character although his name is never mentioned but you can easily figure out who he becomes. He has a much different nickname here but it shouldn't fool anyone.

Included in this collection are thoughts and notes from everyone involved in its production. There are emails detailing early story concepts such as the original setting for the Howlett Estate. The names of characters, etc. were also different, it is very interesting to see how the story was first conceived. There are also a number of sketches for various pages included in the back, always cool to have.

For the price and importance of the story this is a no-brainer. Any comic book fan would be smart to add this piece of Wolverine history to his or her collection. Anyone should be able to afford this great book and it is well worth the money. Highest Recommendation possible and a Must-Have for all Marvel, Wolverine and comic book fans!

If you expected to learn how Wolverine got his admantium skeleton, his true relation to Sabretooth, the peculiarities of his mutated healing powers, his affinity for the Orient, and other pivotal pieces of Wolverine lore, don't look for it in this slow-paced dismal book. Wolvie's just another hero who is - gasp!! - brooding over his daddy's unfortunate demise. Hint to Marvel writers: Freud did write more than one paragraph in his life, maybe you should try doing the same. Equally disappointing was the notion that so healthy and robust an adult started life as a sickly teenager, as if his homestead or uncaring mother were to blame (none of which is made clear by the book). I quit reading X-Men titles around 1985, at number 189 of "The Uncanny X-Men" series. Friends tell me that I've missed a lot of revelations in the intervening years and titles. Nevertheless, to call this the definitive origin of Wolverine seems misleading.