Review of Wolverine Noir by Stuart Moore and C.P. Smith

I picked up the premier hardcover of Wolverine Noir a few weeks late as I was having a hard time finding it at a few local shops. I was expecting the compact, roughly 5 x 7 trade paperback like the other Marvel Noir books I'd purchased (i.e. Spider-Man, Daredevil, and X-Men) but for some reason Marvel decided to release this noir book in a standard (larger) comic book size hardcover. I'm not sure why.

Regardless of that bit of format discussion, the treasure is what lay inside. A tale of a lowly P.I. -- one Jim Logan. Inspired heavily by the Wolverine Origins book from 2000, this noir retelling focuses on many of the characters from that book, Dog, Rose, and James Logan of course, with a sprinkling of some of Wolverine's other regular cast: Victor Creed, a gangster in the Bowery section of New York City, and the Asian women of Logan's past: Mariko, the femme fatale, and Yuriko, training ninjas as thugs.

It is an interesting mix, and Logan slipped easily into the role of a hard drinking, down on his luck PI, who works with his half-stupefied partner, Dog, as a result of a long ago incident that takes the entire book to play out. I might have expected a fee more cameos, but this cast if characters kept the story tight and moving along.

Smith's artwork, purposefully sloppy, worked well for the series, as only in flashbacks is James presented like a clean cut kid, who is not sure if he's more human or animal -- the perpetual question of his life. Stuart Moore, recreates the noir sensibility quite well, in 1930s New York, and the build up to World War II. It's in the newspaper headlines, it's evident in the business of arms dealing on the black market...its all right there.

I'd give this a 'very good' and definite solid addition to the Marvel collection of noir books. Also of note is the inclusion of a sketchbook and sample of the issue #1 script in the back, for a detailed look into the creative process. 

All I missed were more villain cameos from Wolverine's illustrious past, as there is so much material to draw from. That, and the fact that I thought the smaller size trades that the other books were released in really lent itself to the "pulp fiction" feel of the stories.
 
Overall, a fine book by a talented creative team.

Writers Chris Claremont and Matthew K. Manning talk Wolverine

Tonight was a nice little event at the MoCCA museum – that’s the museum of comics and cartoon art in Soho – where comics legend Chris[t] Claremont and author of the new book, WOLVERINE: Inside the World of the Living Weapon, Matthew K. Manning, had a great discussion about everything Logan, James Howlett (well, not really), Patch, Wolvie, the ol’ kanuck, and whatever else you want to call him. Moderating this discussion was Marvel and DC Comics historian and author, Peter Sanderson. [1st photo is of Chris Claremont]

They had a pleasant discussion about how Wolverine has become an icon, the stand out character from the X-Men that wasn’t the intention at the onset. But there was something about the scrappy little guy as he kept getting back up when he was knocked down – and people liked it. [Note for the uninitiated: Claremont wrote the Uncanny: X-Men for something like 16 years, from 1975 - 1991, longer than any other writer. His "Dark Phoenix Saga" is the thing of legends.]

Author of DK Publishing's, WOLVERINE: Inside the World of the Living Weapon, Matthew K. Manning, chimmed in with some great points and was well versed on all thing Wolverine. When I went to get my copy signed after the panel, and mentioned how much I liked his book and how much I was surprised I didn't know about the events in the last several years of Wolverine's life in the comics, he nodded, saying he read about 400 comics to get caught up across the board. Impressive. [2nd photo is of Matthew K. Manning.]

Claremont brought up, more than once, the new book he’s writing for Marvel, X-MEN: Forever. It sounds very exciting, he explained it that he has pushed to the side many of the things about the last few years that didn’t fit into his version of the hero, and will introduce elements in Wolverine’s life the way he sees them, including a new father [and mother] that obviously differs from the Wolverine: Origin story of a few years ago, which seems mixed in to the new X-Men Origins film which releases tomorrow. This book sounds exciting, with Jim Lee on artist duties for the arc anyway, and promises to leave fans wanting more – looks to be out in about 5 weeks too.

It was interesting to hear Claremont talk about the savage/samurai connection, something that I loved about his limited series book with Frank Miller from the 1980s and the Uncanny X-Men I read growing up. Logan was a little, hairy, indestructible tough guy – and I loved him.

Peter Sanderson did a decent job steering the conversation, asking questions of the panel, making historic points, and referencing the cultural impact Wolverine has had on us all. [3rd picture is of Peter Sanderson.]

The crowd even chimed in with a few questions at the very end, but the panel ran over, there still needed to be a bit of time for a signing [which both writers happily signed my copy of the new book, sweet!] Although I'm sure he felt he went on and on, I could listen to Claremont talk about Wolverine all night, as he is clearly one of the talented few writers who understands all that is Wolverine. I think I'll be picking up that new X-Men: Forever book. And if you haven't grabbed a copy of the new DK book - I highly recommend it, and it makes a great gift for any fan.

Lots of Wolverine Buzz out there

Good morning loyal readers, I know I've been away from the blog for a few, with no excuse other than deadline madness. But the internet continues to be a buzz with talk and early reviews out regarding the one-month early leak of the new Wolverine film. Fox had to pull one of it's own blogger's reviews down (and there is some discussion whether he actually was fired or not for posting it). It'll be interesting to watch how this month early leak affects the film's actual release.

Being a big Wolverine fan, reading X-Men and Wolverine comics as far back as I can remember, I'm going to reserve judgement until I can see the film myself. I know there is a lot of confusing Wolverine history to try to blend into a two hour film, so I fully realize that it can't be done seamlessly. But I'm looking for them to get that feel right, the type of thing that lets me know they understand the character (like the first two X-Men films did).

I just wanted to quickly chime in on this topic, and say hello. I've spoken to one friend who has seen some early footage of the movie, and held him off from telling me anything significant. A few weeks from now, when I've seen it myself, let's have this conversation again.

[Note: I ask that if anyone posts a comment, please keep it spoiler free. Thank you].

Review: WOLVERINE: Prodigal Son by Antony Johnston, art by Wilson Tortosa

The Del Rey manga program has grown significantly in the years since it began. When I was an acquiring editor for SFBC, I used to buy titles from Del Rey and saw the incredible growth of their manga division.

In time for the launch of Hugh Jackman's newest movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Del Rey developed an entirely new version of everyone's favorite scrappy warrior, manga-fied.

In, Wolverine: Prodigal Son, (Vol. 1) written by Antony Johnston with art by Wilson Tortosa, we see a completely new Wolverine story, as a troubled teen left in the Canadian wilderness (ok, that sounds familiar, but it ends there - trust me), and taken into the Quiet Earth training school where he develops his martial arts prowess.

An outstanding student with some abandonment issues, Logan longs for the outside world, and when he is taken there -- carnage ensues, as does that longing to find out about his mysterious past.

It is a fine new take on the Wolverine story, obviously aimed at a young manga readership, but as a long-time Wolverine comics reader I didn't mind the spin (or any recreationas long as it is done interestingly). And if it is able to snare a bunch of new young Wolverine fans, with its black & white manga art style, then that is excellent.

Due out in April, the manga trade paperback is set to retail for $12.99.