Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Death of Wolverine #2 of 4
Marvel Comics
Soule, McNiven, Leisten & Ponsor
The Death of Wolverine rolls on with a twenty-page comic for $5. Sure, the comic contains some sketches and notes but not nearly as many as the previous issue. When you combine that with a very generic and regular Wolverine story you have an average, if not, below average comic. However, McNiven's art is among his very best and may help to keep this mini-series from being ordinary. Proceed with caution.
The price point is worth mentioning up front because what Marvel is doing is it is testing the appetite for raising the prices to $5. Sound crazy? The justification will be that if an A-list character, with A-list event is combined with a C-list writer (Soule is not Morrison, Johns, Bendis or even Dan Slott) then they may have the ability to start launching titles with A-list characters and an A-list creator, but without the event. There seems to be more riding on this than just the death of a character.
The story is standard. Wolverine infiltrates a den of his enemies and has some words. Words turn to fighting. Rather than Wolverine popping his claws, he must now use his regular fighting skills. After a century of fighting he is pretty good at it. The villains are foiled and Wolverine seems to get some help, but not the answers he's looking for. Who and why is someone targeting him?
This comic actually has a number of surprise character appearances that help to make this feel like an epic, "This is your life" comic for Wolverine. Some of the other little gimmicks in the book are cool, such as Wolverine's disguise and his little gift in the bag. However, there isn't anything in here that you'll probably remember beyond the next issue. Soule's take on the character is okay but nothing memorable either.
McNiven is fantastic. This may be the best looking comic I've read all year. The book screams realism, epic scenes and polished character expressions. There really isn't much to criticize in the presentation and the art definitely makes this book memorable. Even the cover(s) are glistening and shout out "buy this comic book!" and they don't disappoint between the covers artistically.
Death of Wolverine is a touchy subject among many of the fans. The character deaths do feel out of control. However, the individual book is a decent read with fantastic artwork. From the setup in this comic book wouldn't you think this is like every other mess Wolverine has gotten himself into and then out of? Why would you think he won't find a way out of it? We'll find out in a couple of weeks as I see the third issue is delayed until October it appears. If you love McNiven then this is a must have. As far as stories go the comic is average.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
