Friday, September 5, 2014

The Death of Wolverine #1

   You'd have a tough time finding a group more dubious of (fictional) death than comic book fans.

   (Maybe soap opera fans.)

   It's been a regular shtick for comics (and fiction in general) for a long time, but it started becoming a "thing" for comics when DC gained nationwide publicity by "killing" Superman. (He got better. They always get better.)

   Since then, everyone who's anyone in comics has "died" - Batman, Captain America, Spider-Man, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Thor, Iron Man - you get the idea.

    Some have died more than once, and it looks like Wolverine is about to join that group, as the title of this mini-series indicates.

   Thankfully, they've turned the idea over to a strong creative team - writer Chares Soule and artists Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten.

   The story finds Logan trying to find a solution to the loss of his healing factor - but time is running out as a bounty is placed on his head, and with his powers waning he must fight for his life.

   It's a strong issue - a bit heavy of the violence (and not for kids), but the art is stunning, and the story seems to be building nicely.

   But over it all hangs the air of cynicism. I have no doubt that Wolverine will "die" - for a while - but if anyone thinks this is really the end for Marvel's most popular mutant, they have a lot to learn about how comics work.

Grade: A-

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