MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Continuing with this month’s Deadpool & Wolverine theme, the focus turns to everyone’s favorite mutant Canuck.
Throughout Logan’s fifty years of stories, these are what I consider the showcases of the Best There Is at what he does, and while they’re usually not pretty, they’re riveting!
X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga
Writer: Chris Claremont │Artist: John Byrne
In an issue titled Wolverine: Alone!, the titular character and his team are defeated and captured by their enemies, The Hellfire Club. Logan finds himself hunted, and that’s the way he likes it.
Chris and John depict just how cool and badass Wolvie is as he singlehandedly takes down a cadre of heavily armed goons while still recovering from his injuries. He then emotionally disarms the last remaining goon by simply talking to him!
Wolverine
Writer: Chris Claremont │ Artist: Frank Miller
In his first standalone adventure, Wolverine goes to Japan to rescue his lady love, Mariko, only to discover betrayal, humiliation, and ninjas.
This series deconstructs our hero (literally and figuratively) and then puts him back together again. It reveals that beneath all that rage is an honorable man struggling with his base instincts.
Not Dead Yet
Writer: Warren Ellis │ Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Logan is hunted by a former friend, one of the best killers in the world.
This relentless and insightful thriller highlights that no matter how seemingly invulnerable Logan is, he has his weaknesses. Not Dead Yet makes it clear that even though Wolvie kills, he does not murder — but it’s ugly all the same.
A Mile in My Mocassins
Writer: Jason Aaron │ Artist: Adam Kubert
Welcome to a month in Wolverine’s life.
It’s a metacommentary of Logan’s ubiquitousness in Marvel Comics, where he appears in his solo comics (there were two during this period), the X-books, Avengers titles, and guest appearances. The hilarious montages contain panels that each tell a story — one of the funniest Wolvie stories ever.
The Sabretooth War
Writer: Benjamin Percy/Victor LaValle │ Artist: Geoff Shaw/Cory Smith
Arch-foe Sabretooth raises an army of Sabreteeth to destroy Wolverine and all he holds dear once and for all.
This is the bloodiest — and that’s saying a lot about this book — and the most epic Logan story so far. It’s an emotional roller coaster ride for both Logan and Sabretooth that never lets up.
About the author:
JV Tanjuatco, comic book writer/editor/publisher, founded Comic Book Lab, which publishes the comic book titles Mythopolis and War of Whispers (co-created and co-written by him). Comic Book Lab’s most recent project was the graphic novel anthology Stay: 21 Comic Stories, authored by Palanca Award winner Angelo Lacuesta and illustrated by a stellar line-up of artists, including Trese’s Kajo Baldisimo. He has also written articles/reviews for Spot.ph and Ain’t It Cool.
