I doubt anyone was surprised when Wolverine got a new monthly series when the Krakoan era came to an end. The X-line doesn’t seem complete unless Logan has a solo adventure at any one point. The bigger question was whether it would be forward-looking or a retread on classic themes and plot points. Like many of the other X-books that came out in the From the Ashes relaunch, this story strides into familiar territory: Logan seeks solitude in the wilderness only to be drawn into another bloody conflict. Saladin Ahmed’s script leans on time-tested Wolverine beats; while it captures Logan’s haunted psyche with its dense internal captions, it rarely surprises yet still stands as a competent and enjoyable Wolverine arc.
In the Bones collects the first five issues of the current Wolverine title, and features the return of Cyber, a major foe to Logan from the 1990s. With his close comrade Nightcrawler following Logan into the forest to live with a wolf pack, they eventually face off against this adamantium equipped villain. All the while, mysterious metal formations appear under the forest floor, and the story ends on a cliffhanger that introduces a larger threat.
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Ahmed excels at dialing into Logan’s inner turmoil, switching perspectives between a wolf pack’s primal instincts, Cyber’s menace, and Logan’s reluctant heroism. These multi-voiced captions add depth and occasional humor, but their heavy use does weigh down the pacing, making action scenes feel more narrated than felt. Thematically, the book revisits the well-trodden ground of mutant-human tensions and Logan’s struggle to balance his brutal nature with his moral code, all common territory for Wolverine.
Visually, Martín Cóccolo and Bryan Valenza deliver the goods: sweeping forest vistas, the chill of winter exhaling from every panel, and the gleam of adamantium that makes Cyber a worthy foil. Cóccolo’s layouts handle the action cleanly and are supported well by the coloring. Yet even the best art can’t fully mask the story’s familiarity; some panels echo past Wolverine sagas so closely they verge on homage rather than inspiration.
Character dynamics remain the series’ strongest asset. Wolverine’s isolation underscores his inner conflict, while Nightcrawler’s light-hearted optimism cuts through the gloom. Some of my favorite Wolverine storylines involve these two characters, so while the plot feels very similar to past Wolverine stories, at least it gives us worthwhile character moments between these two friends. Cyber’s return is welcomed, but his motivations and methods adhere to the standard “kill-Logan” playbook, leaving little room for genuine surprise. The chemistry works, but the dramatic turns rarely feel stakes-raising.
In the end, Wolverine by Saladin Ahmed Vol. 1: In The Bones delivers competent writing and striking art, promising bigger revelations on the horizon, but it plays like a classic “Wolverine in the woods” story with all the expected trappings. Fans will appreciate the craftsmanship and the promise of future twists, yet those seeking a bold reinvention of Logan’s mythos may find it comfortably predictable.
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