I set out this project to review comics as positively as I could. There are so many negative bloggers and reviewers out there and I wanted to give people an idea of what is good out there. I have decided to review this title because there was not a huge amount of worthy material last week and it is Wolverine after all. He has had so many stories, feuds, adversaries, deaths, romantic interests, children, psychological traumas, feral reductions, gruesome beatings, alcoholic beverages, conspiracy theories, brainwashings, team allegiances, period drama plots, alternate realities, space stories, father figures, and has killed a whole lot of people. There is not much this man has not done and I often think that the individual one-shot comics are the best way of bringing unique traits and flaws to the character. This comic definitely does not do that.
Jeph Loeb will enter the comic hall of fame as one of the best there is. His colour themed work with Tim Sale is brilliant and he has written some Batman classics. Over the last few years he has changed pace and has garnered criticism, especially on his work with Red Hulk and Ultimatum. I have many issues with this comic. There is no respect for continuity and character history. Characters have returned from the death or imprisonment with such poor explanations that it disrespects the body of work that placed these people there in the first place. I speak specifically about the 50-issue Wolverine Origins book by Daniel Way. The characters are then used so poorly in the non-existent plot that it defies belief that they are involved in the first place. Add in a generic personality deprived female character, a plot twist that questions Wolverine’s actual, cast in stone, weapon x development and you have a pointless comic with non-shocking shock tactics. The writing is tame, dull and has been done to death.
I have never thought Simone Bianchi is a bad artist but I find this book uncomfortable to look at. I can appreciate the pencilling and creative ability but the colouring and shading make me feel like I am reading in the dark. Facial features and action sequences are obscured and are only worsened by a background that is unclear and murky even when it is snow. Some black and white stills of his work look quite impressive but his style does not appeal to me in comic form. If you combine a pointless poorly thought out plot, wasted antagonists with art that is uneasy on the eye then you are left with an unquenchable thirst for comic gratification.
Awful 2/10
House Of Flying Scalpels 