Wolverine Wednesday: Wolverine Classic Vol. 1 review
With the Wolverine film coming up, I’ve decided to kick off “Wolverine Wednesdays” leading up to the film, and possibly continuing after. I’ll discuss some Wolverine highlights for those who want to know more about the character.
Today’s book: Wolverine Classic Vol. 1, by Chris Claremont and John Buscema
Some of my favorite Wolverine stories are the Madripoor tales by Claremont and Buscema. Claremont drops Logan into the seedy nation of Madripoor, which shares more than a few similarities with Humphrey Bogart’s Casablanca. Wolverine, who is believed to be dead by the outside world, calls himself “Patch” and gets into scrapes with crimelords and pirates.
The former Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew appears, as does former X-Men foe Silver Samurai, as Wolverine seeks the Black Blade. Also, the clash between General Coy and rival crimelord Tyger Tiger draws Patch’s attention.
This collection also introduces the brawling Roughhouse and the vampiric Bloodsport, two new recurring Wolverine foes.
Buscema’s art is a high point. The former “Conan” artist knew how to draw action, and there’s plenty of excuses for that in “Wolverine Classic.”
Claremont does his best noir pastiche in these first issues of the “Wolverine” ongoing series collected here, and while it doesn’t top his miniseries with Frank Miller starring the character, it’s certainly worthwhile and enjoyable reading. It’s unlikely to change how you think about comics, but if you enjoy Wolverine, “Casablanca,” or noir stylings, this is a good “Wolverine” collection to check out.
– Matt Price
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Good post, thanks for the info.