This week, Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert, Victor Bogdanovic, Antonio Fabela, and Matthew Wilson take Wolverine to his 350th issue. To celebrate, the issue is extra-sized at 34 pages and features two stories. As we enter Reign of X after an amazing Dawn of X run, what surprises do these creators have in store for us?
This issue opens with a story called “Prologue: War Stories” drawn by Bogdanovic with colors by Wilson, and has Logan thinking back to the time he was on Team X along with Sabretooth and Maverick. It kicks off with Wolverine visiting Jeff Bannister’s house, who has his very own Krakoan gate in his backyard. This story allows Percy to let Logan reminiscence with someone he trusts to fill us in on the not-so-heroic past he had working as a killer operative. The pain and emotions these memories bring back add context to the main story and where we go from here. Wilson’s colors add an ethereal and otherworldly feel to these scenes, as if we’re living in the emotions rather than depicting the scenes like photorealistic flashbacks.
“The Past Ain’t Dead” is the main feature, opening on some masked operatives who are breaking into a U.S. government black site. Again, more context and more buildup for what is to come. There might be too much buildup for a milestone issue like this, but what follows is highly entertaining and should satiate X-Men fans.
Omega Red is way more feral than Wolverine!
Credit: Marvel Comics
As seen in the preview, Omega Red is stomping about Krakoa like a feral beast, soon runs into Gabby and they immediately fight. This fight turns into a family reunion of sorts, which is a fun way to honor the character and his legacy. Wolverine gets to pop the claws and the final scene reminds us he’s the best there is at what he does.
Fans of X-Force will delight in more Beast awfulness as he gets his own data page here. Beast stoops to a new low even for him and this all ties into Wolverine’s latest mission to find Maverick. The final few pages are a fun throwback that’ll get folks excited. It’s quite clear Percy is starting a new adventure that’ll play into Wolverine’s past in exciting ways.
Kubert’s art is clean, measured, and expert in nailing the action-packed moments. Fine details, like Wolverine’s claws being dragged on the floor as he charges, or cool overlays of Wolverine literally standing on gutters below him, are cool touches. The ferocity of these characters is always on point and that goes for Omega Red too. The colors are a bit more earthy and capture the animalistic side of the character.
Wolverine #8 does enough to honor the character’s legacy and remind us why we love him. It also sets up a new story arc that ties into different aspects of the character’s past, which tends to be the most interesting way to use the character. This issue does have a lot more buildup than one might expect, especially for a milestone issue, which squanders the extra pages in a sense, but it should get folks excited for what is to come.
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