Chris Claremont gets his annual crack at X-Men, and this week his Wolverine: Madripoor Knights series hits trade paperback. Harkening back to the classic Uncanny X-Men #268, Captain America and Black Widow are on the ride of their lives as they navigate one of the criminal havens of the world: Madripoor. As Claremont told AIPT exclusively, this series hinges on the question, “What brought these heroes here?”
The answer involves Avengers business, but before Claremont and artist Edgar Salazar begin to answer the question, Psylocke, Jubilee, and Black Widow have to fight ninjas in the opening of this book! Truth be told, Wolverine: Madripoor Knights is a pretty good action comic, and right out of the gate, we’ve got each hero doing their best at beating back bad guys in their particular ways. It’s fun to see Psylocke try to use her psi-blades on bodies or see Wolverine pop his claws straight into bad guys’ heads.
The book is never too graphic, although it’s getting away with more in the modern era than Claremont could back in the day. Take, for instance, a scene where Wolverine goes berserk on a bunch of ninjas. No heads are rolling or gushing blood geysers. Still, Claremont lets us know how violent it is via Captain America, Black Widow, Jubilee, and Psylocke, all weighing in as they think about what they witnessed.
This collection has a decidedly old-school feel thanks to thought balloons. Thought balloons have fallen out of favor over the years, replaced with caption boxes; it’s nice to see the old-school method back. One can see how it works a little differently, too, with a more casual and realistic thought process rather than captions, which tend to be straight to the point.
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Regarding character work, Wolverine and Jubilee read like Claremont hasn’t missed a beat with either, and it’s fun to see the kid sister vibe between them. Meanwhile, Captain America is more of a no-nonsense, serious type, right down to being as polite as possible. Fans who like deep-cut references will appreciate the inclusion of the Bacchae as well.
Salazar does a great job with the action scenes, with characters flying through windows and plenty of agility moves on display. The city of Madripoor is rendered well, particularly when the heroes are carted off by an unseen flying vehicle that ropes them in. Early on, there’s a great double-page layout of our heroes entering a swanky hotel, with a cool montage of panels at the bottom detailing Logan’s relationship with Black Widow. Generally speaking, the story is paced well, thanks to the art.
Also included in the collection is Uncanny X-Men #268, which is a nice touch. You can’t go wrong with Jim Lee’s pencils, with dynamic, highly detailed art throughout.
Fans of Wolverine as Patch should snatch up Wolverine: Madripoor Knights. It’s a fun romp in Madripoor with deep-cut references thanks to Claremont’s expert perspective on these characters. Come for the excellent fights, but stay for the intrigue of Madripoor.
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