Wolverine #1 Review: More Than Hack and Slash

The name Wolverine is synonymous with action. One expects a comic starring Logan to be full of snikts and violence. Indeed, most would be disappointed if Marvel Comics saw fit to publish such a comic without plentiful fight scenes and slashing bad guys to bits. Wolverine #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Martin Coccolo has that, in addition to some of the best character analysis in recent comics memory.

Our story opens in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Fresh off his encounter with Cyclops ‘ new team in X-Men #1 , Logan has sought to distance himself from civilization. He is once again running with the wolf pack that adopted him in a semi-feral state.

Nightcrawler comes to the forest, seeking out his old friend. While Logan may want to forget the world, Kurt Wagner feels that the world still needs the Wolverine. However, Logan’s old enemy, Cyber, is also on the hunt for him. And there is another force, an old predator, which is hunting all who live in the forest. This sets the stage for an epic battle in which Logan must once again prove himself the best there is at what he does.

Wolverine #1 a great study of multiple characters

Saladin Ahmed is a great character writer. His previous work at Marvel featured fantastic distillations of Daredevil and Miles Morales , digging into the hearts of the heroes and their supporting casts. Ahmed does the same thing here, with the narration shifting through the internal monologues of Nightcrawler, Cyber, and Wolverine. Beyond showing a deep insight into the X-Men family of characters and how they think, this also puts a thoughtful spin on what might have been a simple action story.

The action, once it comes, is anything but simple. Martin Coccolo is a fantastic fight choreographer, and the colors of Bryan Valenza are also noteworthy. There is something almost magical about Wolverine’s familiar yellow and blue costume clashing with the muted winter backgrounds and Cyber’s darker costume. It is a fitting visual symbol of how the civilized demeanor of the superhero that Logan adopts conflicts with the savage setting that birthed him.

Longtime fans of Logan will love this new volume. However, those who dismiss the Wolverine comics as simple hack-and-slash fests will be surprised by the depth of this story. This is one series to keep an eye on, for like Logan himself, it seems likely to surprise us all.

Grade: 5/5

Wolverine #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere .