Chris Claremont is the X-Men writer. The 1982 Wolverine miniseries — where he was joined by penciler Frank Miller, Josef Rubinstein, colorists Glynis Wein and Lynn Varley, and letterer Tom Orzechowski — is one of the Wolverine stories. When Logan’s beloved Mariko Yashida is wed to an abusive schmuck against her will, the X-Man travels to Japan to rescue her. In the process, he runs afoul of Mariko’s evil master swordsman father Shingen, forges what will be a long-lasting and fraught relationship with the thrill-seeking ninja Yukio, and faces down his inner conflict between his human and berserker sides. Spectacular, deliberately-low-key-by-superhero-standards action (read: sword duels and ninjas and missile launchers as opposed to say, invasions from the future and Thanos and energy blasts) ensues. This newly issued deluxe edition collects the complete miniseries, as well as the two-part follow-up to it that ran in Uncanny X-Men, drawn by the great Paul Smith, inked by Bob Wiacek, colored by Wein, lettered by Orzechowski, and written by Claremont.
First things first, while there’s a lot to love about Wolverine, loving it means engaging with its failures as well as its glories. Frank Miller is, well, Frank Miller. The man’s been a very public bigot, and talking about him without talking about his actions does everyone a disservice. Likewise, its vision of Japan is deeply Orientalist. Honor and familial loyalty are of paramount importance. Shingen, a modern crime lord, employs sumo wrestlers as bodyguards and ninjas as assassins. Mariko constantly appears in traditional Japanese clothing and a key conversation between her and Logan occurs before a giant statue of the Buddha. The script emphasizes certain Japanese words, particularly gaijin (a foreigner to Japan) to play up both Logan’s affinity for the nation (he has a deep knowledge of and respect for Japanese culture) and his otherness. Come the follow-up in Uncanny X-Men, none other than the then-Emperor of Japan Hirohito attends Mariko and Logan’s wedding. In other words, stereotypes and exoticism abound. It should be borne in mind when reading.
With Wolverine‘s problematic elements in mind, at its best, it’s a book that easily earns the regard in which it is held. Its craft is impeccable—a new reader could pick up any one of its four issues and pick up on the whos, the whats, the hows, and the whys in an instant—and they’d have a great time doing it. This is thanks to Claremont’s masterful ability to balance the story told in each individual issue with the story told in Wolverine as a whole.
Each issue moves Logan from a point A to a point B within the confines of its pages, while providing exactly the information needed for someone just hopping on to know what’s going on in the series’ macro narrative—it’s extremely elegant structural work on Claremont’s part. One of the best examples of this? The progression of Wolverine‘s fight scenes. Each issue features at least one showstopping brawl: Logan and Shingen’s disastrous first duel, Logan’s berserk battle with a band of assassins, his brawl with the ninjas of the Hand, and finally his climactic rematch with Shingen. On their own, they’re thrilling setpieces. Taken together, they’re as clear and elegant a thesis statement for Wolverine as could be hoped for.
Miller choreographs the fights excellently. Consider the above page, from Logan’s first duel with Shingen. Logan, for all his strength and power, is flailing. The brief close-up on Shingen’s calm eyes emphasizes that even when Logan does land a blow, his opponent has complete control of the fight. Wolverine’s on the back foot in this fight, and it costs him.
Issue #2 sees Logan looking for a way up, a way to make things right, but not looking carefully. He’s still flailing, and that leads to a moment of weakness, a moment that arrives during his battle with a band of assassins posing as a theater troupe, where he just snaps. This is not a fight. It’s not even a brawl. It’s a rampage. Miller draws Logan not as engaging with the assassins but just plain hurling himself into their midst, claws and all. It’s a low, low moment for Logan, and it presages the freefall he spends most of Wolverine‘s third issue in.
After spending the first hunk of the third issue a drunken mess, Logan finally has a badly needed moment of clarity, one that gives him enough space to put the pieces together and figure out exactly what is going on. Naturally, at that moment, the Hand attack. And while Logan hasn’t quite made the peace with himself that he’ll need to get to a place where he can engage Shingen and win, he’s closer to it than he knows. He rolls with the punches, takes the Hand as they come, and keeps control.
Finally, when Logan and Shingen duel at the climax of issue #4 and the series as a whole, the tables turn. Shingen’s as fearsome and skillful as he was in the first fight, but this time Logan has balance—the younger man lacks the psychological edge he had in their first clash, and so it becomes a matter of skill against skill. The duel is close, very close. But with Logan’s newfound clarity—and his determination to hold onto it—the X-Man wins the day.
Miller’s action storytelling is tremendously impressive—Logan’s body language changes in each fight, even as he maintains a coherent and recognizable fighting style. Bodies have weight. Impacts have force. They’re darn good fights, in other words.
Likewise, as famous (and infamous) as Claremont can be for his wordiness, Wolverine sees him make space for silence. At rest, Logan’s a thoughtful dude. His narration is compelling, and his critical moment of realization and self-actualization is downright lovely:
Wolverine is a very fine character study, one that skillfully balances its introspection with its action and uses both in concert to delve into what makes its title character tick, what makes him, to paraphrase one of his catchphrases, “the best there is at what he does.”
The Uncanny X-Men follow-up is similarly strong, a warmer and grander superhero comic compared to its introspective predecessor. Paul Smith’s illustrations are justly beloved, and thematically there’s a neat bit with Logan gradually affording the recently-reformed Rogue the same grace he spent Wolverine learning to extend to himself. It’s good to have here.
The Wolverine deluxe edition is a fine presentation of an excellent comic, one that deserves to be engaged with at its best and its worst. Check it out.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.