Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Simone Bianchi
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Going into reading this, I heard bad things about the issue. But I had liked the first few issues of the story arc, and Jeph Loeb is the writer, so I was going to give it a fair chance.
But this issue opened horribly. Rather then begin where the last issue left off, it jumped forward then moved backward. There are plenty of cases where that’s fine, but in this case I found it weird and confusing. To be fair, weird and confusing seems to fit in with the story as a whole, right up to the line “The End For Now.” Does that mean that the arc is over and they’re going to move on to something else (for now)? Or does it mean the chapter/issue is over and will pick up again in the next issue? Thankfully, the next issue present not only a new story but a new writer. This story has dragged on longer than it should have, and though the writing wasn’t bad I think there is a higher standard for Loeb which is why he’s getting harsh criticism since moving to Marvel, and I can’t help but wonder if his attention went fully to the Fallen Son titles, costing quality in writing this title.
My biggest disappointment is that they killed off Sabretooth. Well, I should say I think they killed off Sabretooth. Aside from the continuity problem between this title and the X-Men title, this was upsetting to me as a fan since I think Mike Carey’s stories with him in X-Men have all been better than this story for Wolverine. So if Sabretooth is going to die, let it be at the hands of Carey, not Loeb. (Fan Boy note: for the timeline to work, Sabretooth would have had to been at the mansion last year where Wolverine showed up to take him away for their fight, then Sabretooth escapes Wakanda and rejoins the X-Men without it being mentioned in their book about him leaving for a significant amount of time, he then goes to India with them, then Cable’s Providence, then somehow escape there alone after falling into the open ocean, and then get back to Canada before Wolverine wakes up from being knocked out or whatever happened to him). While I support continuity anomalies for the sake of a good story, these last few issues were not good enough to get my sympathy. Hopefully, I was simply confused by the weirdness of the whole thing, and it was actually a Sabretooth look alike or some other weak loop hole to keep the character alive. If it was at least a good story, I wouldn’t mind him dying, but it wasn’t.
What carries this issue is the art. Bianchi has been fantastic throughout all of these last six issues. This one is weaker than most of those, but it still doesn’t change the fact that he has amazing abilities. Knock the writing all you want, but the art can make this worth the buy even if you don’t actually read the issue.
My feeling is that this was a story that would fit better with the Wolverine Origins title, where Wolverine explores his past, solves its mysteries, and all that stuff that doesn’t hold as strong as the original Wolverine Origin mini-series. I don’t mind that they’re doing it, but I think it’s excessive to have two titles focusing on it; the main Wolverine title should keep moving forward with his story or they should cancel Origins. Maybe I’m in the minority here. Maybe lots of people like to read about Wolverine facing the same enemies he always has and reminiscing so much that they need to have two titles with two independent stories. But not me.
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