The good thing about a story-as-mystery-box is that you only need to set the stage to capture the audience’s attention. The only way you can fail is if you don’t give them a reason to want to stay (Man, what a downer opening). So how is Jock’s written and drawn Savage Wolverine story arc, is it good?
Savage Wolverine #9 (Marvel Comics)
Jock, otherwise known as a striking artist who’s done work on Batman and many other superhero titles, gets top billing this month in the first issue of a story that puts Wolverine on a foreign planet. Why he’s there and who he’s fighting are questions still unanswered, but it sure looks nice.
Never understood the “pok” sound effect.
Jock employs a vague narrative, with Wolverine thinking about things in an almost poetic way. They are fragments of thoughts that don’t add up to much beyond survival. This doesn’t help when the actions of the issue focus more on small encounters Wolverine faces. You’ll be wondering why he was in space at all, but before you can even get an answer he’s fighting a giant caterpillar (or is it a tick?). Either way, everything that happens in this issue is rendered pointless as there’s no telling the implications of what is happening. For all we know it’s a dream sequence.
Weren’t you in Invincible?
It’s also odd that he fights starfish aliens on this red planet. Didn’t Invincible already do this?
The art, in true Jock fashion, is atmospheric and compelling. His use of texture is particularly interesting. A panel as simple as an establishing shot might have added atmosphere in its background from the way the paint streaks.
Wolverine looks…like a hippie.
4.0
- It’s Jock, it looks good, duh
- What is this story even about?
- Where is this story going?
Is It Good?
Nope. This comic doesn’t deliver in any aspect besides art which makes the read flat and boring. A character Wolverine meets in the final pages creates a compelling set up for the next issue, but there are absolutely no answers in this book. It’s all mystery, to the point where I’m thinking Jock is figuring it out himself.
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