The Best at What He Does: A review of the historic Wolverine mini-series (and two random issues of X-Men)

     Uh, Hi there, my name is Caleb. If you're reading this because you, like so many jumped on for a glance at my review for Cardboard which was graciously linked to by that graphic novel's author/illustrator, Doug TenNapel, then I suppose introductions are in order.
    I am a 21 year old Christian Male, who wants to make movies. Or, really, just tell stories. Good ones, I hope, that are dramatic, action-packed, hilarious, filled with adventure, romance, heartache, joy, grief, and at least twelve separate sword fights. I started this blog mainly to help me practice writing on a semi-regular basis. and so far it's..... kinda helped, I guess.
     This summer, since this is my busy time of the year, I have forgone my regular update schedule and instead will do almost weekly reviews of some graphic novels/trade collections. Which are really the only type of fiction I have time for June-August. This week, we cover one of the most iconic characters in Superhero stories, considered over-rated, an underdog, overexposed and and genuinely awesome all at once and over the course of his history, that's right... Batma- Wait? what? we're holding on the Batman reviews? Okay, I'll just do Wolverine for now.
 

     So, I don't know if you knew, faithful reader, but this Wolverine guy is kinda popular nowadays. But it wasn't always so. He was once just a minor Hulk villain who got promoted to X-Man, and not even a hugely popular one at first, either. But after time, Wolverine got some traction and rose to some serious fame and is now the de facto mascot for the franchise, much to some people's annoyance. What we're looking at today, is the pivotal mini-series written by then current X-Men writer Chris Claremont, and drawn by none other than Frank Miller.Yeah, the Batman guy. This famous tale, where Wolverine goes to Japan and has a troubled relationship with a girl named Mariko whilst also fighting ninjas, was most recently adapted (very loosely) into the film "The Wolverine" a film I quite enjoyed, despite it's short comings)

     This novel and "The Wolverine" are different in quite a few ways, the most obvious being Wolverine's reasons for being in Japan in the first place. In the film, Wolverine is dragged to pay his last respects to a man he rescued in WWII, who happens to be the grandfather of a young woman named Mariko, whom Wolverine meets just hours before her grandfather passes away. In this Mini-series, however, Wolverine and Mariko are already involved in a relationship when she vanishes, and Wolverine tracks her down to Japan where she's been trapped in an arranged marriage by her newly returned Father.
     Other major differences include the vastly different characterizations of Yukio, in both stories, Yukio is tough, competent woman who helps Wolverine during his adventure, but in the mini-series she is a non-mutant assassin with a bit of a death wish sent to kill Wolverine, with whom she ends up falling in love. In the film, she's a friend of Mariko's who was sent to bring Wolverine to Japan in the first place. She's also a mutant who can see how people are going to die, and she never develops feelings for Wolverine.

    While I personally enjoyed the movie more, this miniseries deserves its place in comic history. The writing flows in an almost non-stop tough guy monologue, since Logan is the toughest guy since Sam Spade. The story is structured well, and we get solid character development from Wolverine here.
      The art is fantastic, they said Frank Miller was influenced by Manga when he drew this, and I believe it. There is an elegance to the layout here. Images flow fantastically with a fight between Wolverine and Mariko's father towards the end being especially amazingly rendered. There's also a handful of splashes that are just... awesome. Not so much for the sheer business of them, but for the spare use of space. It's quite a sight to behold.

Just.... dude.

     This series isn't perfect though, I much prefer the film version of Yukio, the comic one is basically a sex-crazed maniac who basically serves as a way to keep Wolverine busy until it's final showdown time. Not that some of the stuff with her wasn't cool, but I didn't really find her as interesting as I did the red haired, punk rock swords-maiden that was movie Yukio. Besides that, there's the issue that is the resolution of the story.
      You see, in the edition I got from my library, it includes two issues of X-men, that tie in with this story. These two issues intend to wrap up the plot development introduced at the end of the Wolverine arc. The problem is that these issues feel like a step down from the mini-series. They're probably decent in their own right, (and are probably notable for their containing the introduction of the famous Mohawk look that Storm sported for awhile) but as it stands, it feels like we went from, a classic like "In the Heat of the Night" and then had the actual full resolution of the story happen in a couple episodes of Miami Vice. Adding to that, at the end of the second X-men issue, the story just ends. The plot takes one final turn, and despite the feeling you get that there is still more to do... we're just done. Like that.
      Do I still recommend you read this story? If you like Wolverine and Japan, yes, the answer is yes. I still have a few complaints, but I still wouldn't mind owning this one at some point. Heck, I'd hang some of those panels on my wall.

Content Advisory: As always, I like to give people a loose idea of what to expect, content wise, when it comes to comic books. Because comics can get away with more things, and it can be hard to find out what you're in for when you crack open those glossy pages. So here's a loose rundown of what you can expect in "Wolverine":
     This one is definitely more on the PG-13 side of things, being rough around the edges and with a small, but noticeable helping of blood showing up. I mentioned Yukio is slightly sex-crazed and has a thing for Wolverine, but anything that happens there is implied more than anything. The only nudity of any sort is during the X-men issues when Storm get caught in an explosion that shreds her clothing completely. The actual event is obscured by fire, and from then on she's either underwater, wrapped in a sheet, or in a robe before she finally gets a hair cut and a new set of threads. I don't remember the language being overwhelming, but there's probably some in there. A man beats his wife and several people are killed by knives, swords, explosions, and of course, claws.