Customer Reviews

Wolverine Triumphs & Tragedies

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Back when Frank Miller was at his most prolific at Marvel, and Chris Claremont was at the top of his form, this little four-issue mini-series hit the stands as something unseen. In this short volume, Miller and Claremont figure out what really makes Wolverine tick. And it's not the claws, or animalistic rage, or false-memory-implants, or whatever.

The real stroke of genius developed out of good, old-fashioned character. Boil Logan down to his essence, and you have an honourable man, prone to violence and weak to his own impulses. He is a samurai, but a failed one without a master. He is ronin, and though he has wandered in his adventures with the X-Men, it is in this solo book he really shines. We see a man with his heart laid out for all to see, that a man capable of so much violence and rage is a human who strives for the same things we all want for ourselves. Love, honour, a place in this world where we belong.

To say that he is wandering samurai is not to say that he is without direction. We also see Wolverine at some of his most calculated, that there's a reason that he's the best there is at what he does. Between Claremont's point-perfect wordsmithing and Kurasawa-esque visuals by Miller, this mini-saga gives us more insight into Wolverine than the misguided Origin mini-series ever hoped to. Claremont fires on all cylinders here; his Logan-voice is authentic without being a caricature. And Miller's love for Japanese art, culture, and history lends the story an authenticity that is lost in the majority of what's published today.

Whether you are a fan of the ol' Canuckle-head, the X-men, or samurai fiction, this is money well spent.

This book reprints the very first solo Wolverine story, from the 1982 four-issue Wolverine miniseries. A tale of love, duty, and honor. The Claremont/Miller team is superb. Highly recommended.

Back in the mid-80s Chris Claremont and Frank Miller joined creative talents to write the first 4 issure Wolverine miniseries. It had great plot, great art and excellent characterization of Wolverine. That story showed that he wasn't just a psycho killer. Now that story is collected here and is a must have for Wolverine fans.

Before he became the posterchild for everything X-Men, Wolverine was a berserker mutant with animalistic rage who made his debut as an adversary for the Incredible Hulk, and eventually gaining much notoriety in the re-vamped X-Men comics under the pen of Chris Claremont. However, it wasn't until this mini-series that Wolverine really gained the iconic status that he has as one of Marvel's heroes, and upon reading this, you'll be able to see why. Claremont presents an impromptu origin story for Wolverine, as he deepens his already mysterious past while injecting a new kind of life into the character as well. What's even better than Claremont's story is the artwork by none other than the legendary Frank Miller; who along with Claremont are kind of the guys responsible in the long run for the oversaturation of Wolverine in terms of popularity. Surprising, action packed, and above all still awesome after all these years, this Wolverine mini-series, now re-packaged in a handsome hardcover collection, is a must own for fans regardless of age.

When he first appeared in an Incredible Hulk comic book issue and then later as part of the mutant super team, the X-Men, Wolverine's character was portrayed as the berserker animal with the killer rage. He was the guy you would not want dating your daughter. Few decades later to this modern day and age, Logan's history is the richest and most complex out of all the characters in comics, including greats such as the Batman or even Spider-man. Due to being shrouded in mystery and allegedly to be more than 100 years old, Wolverine's character is beyond the scope of trying to cramp many layers of origins and histories in a short time. His experiences and life are stuff of legend and is a fertile soil for many creators to delve into.

All this is to thanks to two creators that are well known to both the comic book industry and mainstrem entertainment. Chris Claremont is the definitive writer of the X-men and though he had a short departure in the 90s from the characters he helped cultivate, his comeback has been much wanting and less than stellar to the works that he helped write in the old, including this story that helped make Wolverine who he is now and forever. His take on the character made him more complex and alluring to the readers, both young and those who were growing up and wanted to more out of him. In this story where we learn Wolverin's strong Japanese roots help shed light to that and pave the way to future stories of the same caliber.

Frank Miller has recently been hailed in the mainstream media as the creator and co-director of the Sin City movie. He was widely appraised before that on most of his works in comics, including Batman, Daredevil and Wolverine. He is the ultimate method creator of comic books when it comes in both writing style and in your face, gritty drawing. He makes the character alive with his strokes in this book.

Combining both artists to the most controversial comic book character was done just right and the work is one of the best and the greatest that will leave fans wanting for more. Only time will tell whether these two greats will ever come together in the future. All we can do is hope and see.

Wonderfull art work and story line. It ties in with some x-men comics that I have. You'll learn a bit about Logan and the one person other the X-men that he cared very much for. If you like Wolverine, and you like ninjas, get this, I doubt you'd be disappointed.

This was the first graphic novel I ever bought and I got it way back when it first came out in 1987. Of course back then it was only 7 dollars. I have reread it many times and it's still a favorite of mine, the amazing thing about it is that I'm not a very big Wolverine fan at all. So I believe this story will hold up even if you know nothing about the character at all. The story is still very cool even after all these years. A story of action and honour is what you'll experience between the covers of this book and the cover is still one of the coolest I've ever seen. It was probably the reason it caught my eye in the first place, but it was the story that's never allowed me to forget this book.

Okay, here's the deal.

Claremont's 4 issue Wolverine story is superb. Awesome, just like pretty much anyone here will tell you. It's a kickass action story that still manages to have heart. Sure, it's set in Japan, but somehow they managed to find a way to fit it into Wolverine's mythos without seeming hokey or forced.

But that's the thing. This book doesn't contain just Claremont's 4-issue run. It also contains Uncanny X-Men 172 and 173.

Now, both of these tales were also written by Claremont, but they weren't drawn by Miller and they're not technically a part of the Wolverine mini-series. The events in these two issues do follow the events of the mini-series, but I don't think they're necessary. In fact, they kinda just ruined the experience for me.

Without giving too much away, let's just say Wolverine 4 ends with a nice, definite resolution. It makes the book's experience feel like a good, solid stand-alone story. Issues before or after aren't really needed to read, understand, and enjoy.

Then, the two Uncanny X-Men issues screw that up for you. Hokey plotlines involving the other X-Men suddenly get entwined in the perfect world created by Claremont and Miller, and then you're left with more questions than answers at the end. It makes you want to go buy more issues just to find out what happens.

Sure, that's good for Marvel if they want money in their pockets. But it's not good for the reader who just wants a nice, solid story to sit back and enjoy. Be prepared to go on Wikipedia and learn why the story "ended" the way it did, and where it goes from there.

Bottom line, the cover story of this graphic novel is totally worth your money. But expect to do a little homework if you want to feel some sense of resolution.

Wolverine is taken for granted today, but back when this comic mini-series came out he wasn't guest-starring in every book and little was known of the character's history. This storyline put in place many of the elements that still survive today. Not only that, it made the character interesting to those who had no interest in him before.

Claremont and Miller are at the top of their games here. What they created is classic Wolverine, and it is something many of his current writers need to revisit. They took a character that had readers' attention and made him three-dimensional and even more interesting. And they showed their audience that this was a character that could be and is dangerous.

If you are a Wolverine fan and you don't have this, you need it right away. If you are a comic book fan who hasn't read this, you need to rectify that. Wolverine's the best at what he does, and so are Claremont and Miller.

This is one of the classic Wolverine stories. It's Chris Claremont and Frank Miller teamed together--and that alone should tell you how great this is. I remember when it came out in the original 4 part limited series (which I have). It's great. And now with this TPB I don't have to reread the original comic books and risk damaging them. And have I mentioned that this series is great?