As Wolverine’s main line has come to an end, and all fans of Marvel are waiting for the Death of Wolverine to finish up in a few weeks, SAVAGE WOLVERINE is still churning out little glimpses into Logan’s life. This week’s issue is a stand alone, and works well with the events of his demise.
A fitting cover by Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire, it shows Wolvie at an undisclosed grave under a cherry blossom tree. Now, since the events of the comic take place in the wilderness of Canada, one can infer that this might be Silver Fox’s grave. But it might even be more symbolic than that, possibly representing the death of Logan’s humanity, or his animal side. Covers that offer a simple image but leave so much to interpretation are rare and awesome in comics.
David Morrell is at the helm of this story, with Jonathan Marks and Jose Villarrubia taking on artistic duties. We pick up the story already in progress, in a random bar in Canada. There is no mention of timeframe, so this could be construed as more current. But, judging by Wolverine’s hair, it might be a few years ago. It seems that hunters are out to get Logan, and have already wounded him with poison that will affect his healing factor. He is slightly haunted by the woods he is in, being that he spent so much time in them growing up with the wolf pack he lived with, following the events loosely of the recent ORIGIN II.
The art is reminiscent of 90’s era Wolverine, with broad brush strokes and muted colors, save for the redness of blood on the snow. Wolverine is doing his best to escape his pursuers, and befriends a lone wolf along the way, one who was about to be taken down by the rest of the pack. In true fashion of most stories in Wolverine’s life, this one has it’s fair share of tragedy, and also some excellent action sequences as the hunters finally catch up to Logan, thinking they have him cornered. But that is always the bad guys fault, believing they have the upper hand on Wolverine. That never happens, because even when it does, he gets out of it and gets his revenge.
The “Best There Is”:
I am a sucker for old school Wolverine storytelling. Throw him into the wilderness of Canada with some wolves and some snow, and I am a happy reader. This story pulls all the best bits from countless other stories that have happened like this one in Logan’s life, and does a good job telling a concise tale that lasts a single issue.
The “Isn’t Very Nice”:
I really hope this comic line doesn’t end when Wolverine finally kicks the bucket. Honestly, I see no reason they couldn’t keep this title going, therefore having a Wolverine comic that fans can still buy every month, and also the freedom to tell any type of story, not ones that are dealing with current Marvel Events.
CBH Score: 5 out of 5.
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