Watch out you criminals!
The first volume of the Wolverine comiccan be divided into three stories, which – apart from the main character – also connect characters such as Nightcrawler and agent Cassie Lathrop. We start off with a story in which a young girl and Logan’s neighbor asks him to bring justice to the thugs who lurk at her. The protagonist takes the matter to heart and begins his own investigation, which first leads him to illegal arms dealers, then to corrupt policemen and a man detaining and abusing young women. Logan doesn’t stop there. More cases come to light, and the trail leads to the second story and the border with Mexico, where people are smuggled. Drugs are also smuggled in. Rosomak is not going to allow both of them. Finally, we also come across a case in which one of the greatest enemies is involvedWolverine , aka Victor Creed, also known as Sabertooth. At the request of a mysterious agency, he hunts a feral mutant woman hiding in the woods near Vancouver. As it turns out, it is related to the past of Rosomak and the Weapon X project.
Logan’s criminal riddles
The author of the script for the Wolverine comicis Greg Rucka, multiple Eisner Prize winner and creator of, among others adventures of Batman, Superman, Daredevil or Black Widow. At the outset, I can say that reading his work is pure pleasure. It is extremely exciting, mysterious and addictive. Including Logan in a kind of detective story is a great idea. He has the opportunity to use his senses to become an extraordinary detective. Initially, he doesn’t even have to use his claws. Character, intelligence and a superhuman sense of smell are enough. It is also worth adding that the screenwriter decided to show a world in which mutants are not very well known. People find it difficult to understand the hero’s quick regeneration, and when he shows his claws, many think that he is simply holding knives in his hands. The action of the comic also takes off quite slowly, which is why it builds up tension very well. Wolverine interrogates other witnesses, visits various places and collects evidence. Finally, however, he does what he is best at. Once he knows how terrible things are perpetrated by individual criminals, he goes berserk and slashes left and right, leaving a path strewn with corpses behind him. Because you have to admit that although the clashes are shown in a spectacular way, our hero is doing great in them and there is no problem with defeating the enemies. The only trouble for him is none other than Victor Creed. You might think it’s bad for the plot when the main character doesn’t get into any bigger trouble, but that’s not the case. First of all – Logan has to sweat a lot to even reach the villains. Second – they are presented in such a way that we just want him to “kick” them, and as soon as possible. Third – this is Wolverine, he works like that,
Logan as we know him?
The drawings that we can see in the Wolverine album are the works of the duo Darick Robertson and Leandro Fernandez. The first of these gentlemen deserves a distinction here. It is his works that introduce us to the adventure and immediately give it the right atmosphere. At times you can feel here like in a movie noir. In addition, it takes care of every detail of the background or appearance of the character. You can even see the hair on Logan’s skin, when he goes crazy, and at the same time you can see what our hero likes to read (I will reveal that his favorite authors are clearly Thoreau and Poe). The crazy dream of Wolverine is also amazing. When you see him, you will immediately think, “hey, I have these strange dreams too”. Of course, he also skillfully captures Wolverine’s internal struggles, but he also copes well with his fights with ordinary enemies. There is one more thing that needs to be emphasized here. Every fan of the famous mutant knows perfectly well that he is short (about 160 cm tall). And although we are aware of it, it is rarely shown in comics, not to mention the movies (though I still love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine). Meanwhile, Robertson doesn’t hesitate and introduces him to us as a muscular little knuckle. And it must be admitted that it works for the notebook’s benefit.
Unfortunately, the second cartoonist does not do so well. Perhaps it is his colleague’s fault. The reader will immediately notice a much smaller number of details on the frames and a significant smoothing of the characters. At times, the line he uses is also less clear. Wolverine himself also becomes a bit taller, which is the same as in many other comic bookers. Everything does not spoil the reception in any particular way, but we feel relieved when we can return to Robertson’s works after a dozen or so pages.
There is a good literature here!
Mucha Comics is responsible for the publication of the first volume of Wolverine in Poland. Originally, however, the notebooks were published by Marvel since 2003. Despite these few years of difference, they have not aged in any way and we can be glad that they finally found their way to our country. And we get a hardcover album, to which Mucha has already got us used to. Marek Starosta is responsible for the translation and we will certainly not find any errors here. It is only surprising that the two pages in which the characters speak only Spanish have not been translated into our language. Although we can guess what the characters are talking about, it is still a very unusual and inconsistent procedure. There are other phrases in this language earlier and later, and we can read these in Polish. It is worth appreciating, however, that no special efforts were made to divide the albums and there were as many as 19 of them! So it will take us a while to get to know the whole thing, and it will be a nice time for sure. In addition, the notebook includes covers from the original notebooks. Finally, we also find sketches of Wolverine by Robertson, Fernandez and Esad Rebica. It is certainly a great accessory for people who deal with drawing themselves and would like to create a portrait of a Wolverine on their own.
Keep it up!
Wolverine is a comic book worth our attention. Logan is thrown into a slightly different atmosphere than usual, and at the same time he is in his element and does what we are used to. We have intrigue, secrets and lots of action here. There are typically detective moments, as well as those full of beatings and bloodshed. So there is no time to get bored. It’s all because the author has built a great atmosphere, and the cartoonists have captured what they wanted to show us. Fans should be thrilled. We can only wait for the second volume. The first ends with a nice cliffhanger and raises our expectations for more!
