Review: WOLVERINE #1

WOLVERINE #1
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Ryan Stegman
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: February 5, 2014

WOLV2014001_DC11_LRAfter all these years and all these series, you think you know Wolverine. Paul Cornell and Ryan Stegman have got a message for you: you don’t know Wolverine at all.

Paul Cornell has put Logan through the ringer and, without his healing factor, the game has changed for the X-Man. In the last volume of Wolverine, Logan was mentally broken by Sabretooth and what we are left with is a wildly erratic and unpredictable man coming to grips with his changed life. The effect of the last volume is the most unpredictable Wolverine we’ve read in years and rather than just writing Logan in his quasi-feral form as we’ve seen so many times, Cornell is giving readers a man on the edge. A highly dangerous man on the edge. Cornell gives readers a lot of information to set up this storyline. We get a look at Wolverine’s life with respect to the Jean Grey School, and what Logan’s mental state currently is. This is a Wolverine like you have never seen before and the energy in this script is palpable. This is a dynamic, unpredictable story and Cornell’s take on Wolverine is wild and a lot of fun to read. While reading the first volume of Cornell’s run may enhance the story and flesh out the mental trauma Logan has gone through, this is a legit jumping on point for anyone interested in reading this series. This issue has all the information you need to dive into this rogue Wolverine’s tale, and Cornell must be commended for keeping the book new-reader friendly.

Ryan Stegman’s art takes this comic to the next level. His work kicked off Superior Spider-Man and hooked readers, and his first issue of Wolverine is even better. These pencils are simply fantastic, and Wolverine has never looked more dangerous than by Stegman’s hand. His pencils are crisp when they need to be, and loose at all the right times to showcase the crazy and ferocious nature of Logan right now. His style is the perfect compliment to this script and takes Paul Cornell’s story to the next level in a way Alan Davis’ pencils never did in the first volume. Stegman shows in this issue he’s ready to get down and dirty with Logan and the story is much stronger for it.

Wolverine #1 is a great example of a creative team hitting all the right beats to tell a really entertaining story. The script and art are in perfect sync to tell this story, and I haven’t been this excited to read a Wolverine book in a long time. This comic is full of great action and unexpected twists, so leave your preconceived notions about Wolverine at the door. This is gonna be a wild ride and I can’t wait to see what Cornell and Stegman are cooking up next.

The Verdict: 9.0/10

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