Review: ALL-NEW WOLVERINE #35

ALL-NEW WOLVERINE #35
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Ramon Rosanas, Nolan Woodard, Cory Petit
Edited by Tom Groneman, Christina Harrington, Mark Paniccia
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 16, 2016

“The Last All-New Wolverine” is what the cover of All-New Wolverine #35 declares.

Sigh.

That means it’s ending, right? Yes, this “last” means the title is ending.

So how do writer Tom Taylor, artist Ramon Rosanas, colorist Nolan Woodard, letterer Cory Petit and the editing crew of Tom Groneman, Christina Harrington, and Mark Paniccia close this out?

With a bang, a whimper, a SNIKT, and a sunset. Exactly as it should be.

In between, there is a whole lot of what made this series so darn wonderful from start to finish: lively characters, gorgeous art, and storytelling and dialog so smooth that it takes a moment or more to register that this was actually written and drawn, rather than captured straight from life.

Taylor and crew should take a bow. Or several. Not only did they dare peek at a utopian future with “Old Woman Laura,” they kept the characters in, well, character, but had fun doing it. As I just mentioned, this comic feels more like a peek into Laura Kinney’s actual life than a comic book story. Taylor doesn’t bog down the story with narrational caption boxes, nor does he overly pack the panels with word balloons. He collaborates with Rosanas, Woodard, and Petit, letting them do their jobs and exhibiting complete faith in them to be able to work to the peak of their individual specialties.

And those visual creators bring their very best. Sometimes with final issues readers can see blatant imperfections, rushes, or results from uninvested creators. Every single panel of All-New Wolverine #35 is filled with mastery. Rosanas uses expression to convey emotion and thought processes. He uses body language to drive the story flow, and even uses figure positioning as design and additional flow. And it all looks amazing. Every character is distinct, every expression unique.

Woodard follows suit, using colors that aren’t as common- oranges and greens alternating through backgrounds, almost like the pulse of color in All-New Wolverine #35. When Rosanas leads into a lighting effect, Woodard delivers, and ratchets the quality up. And Petit finds the exact best positioning for the dialog, which (as I may have already mentioned) Taylor keeps lean and mean.

All-New Wolverine #35 does what exactly what the final issue of a beloved series should do: make me smile. Yeah, it’s the end of a series, but I’ve got well over thirty issues to go back and re-read – and I know I’ll enjoy the heck out of them! Normally when a series I love closes, I feel a bit of loss, maybe even betrayal, but Taylor, Rosanas, Woodard, Petit, Groneman, Harrington, and Paniccia simply give us the best story they can. And all I feel is gratitude. This was a fun ride. Thanks team!

The Verdict: 10/10

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