The Good
Wolverine has another series. Despite a possible resurgence of Wolverine-overload once again, this new series does have some things going for it that separates it from the other Wolverine books.
The first thing is having Paul Cornell writing Wolverine. I have no idea what he has planned for Logan but I can't wait to find out. Based on this first issue, we have Wolverine completely separate from the X-Men and Avengers. This isn't something we have in his other books. Even in SAVAGE WOLVERINE, he's teaming up with others. Wolverine stories along side both teams can be fun but there is something about seeing him out on his own.
A huge selling point for me is Alan Davis. He has been and remains one of my all time favorite artists. He has a style you can immediately recognize. With an opening page of Wolverine having portions of his flesh melted off and the fight scenes that follow, it's just a fun time.
That being said, this isn't a book for all ages. It's not a MAX title but if you can see Wolverine's actual skeleton at times, it might not be something for younger readers to check out despite a young kid appearing in the story.
This series begins in the middle of the action. Similar to last week's AGE OF ULTRON, the story is already underway. There are pros and cons to this. What's nice is we get to hit the ground running. With Wolverine recovering from an attack, your curiosity will immediately kick in. You'll want to know what's going on. We see the story progress and Wolverine gets pulled in further into the mystery.
The Bad
As great as being thrown into the middle of the action is, there is that unknown. You want to think there's is something big coming but as part 1 of 4, you have to decide how much faith to put into the story. You have to trust that the story will have a great payout since you're not quite sure what you're getting into or where the story might go.
The story did grab me a little but just based on this issue, I could almost take or leave this story. I am curious what will happen next but it was really the art that pushed this one over the edge in a favorable direction. We need to see Wolverine do more "Wolverine" things besides just heal. This does set up the next issue but didn't really do a lot to set up the direction of this series.
The Verdict
We're used to seeing a lot of Wolverine but having Paul Cornell and Alan Davis on board sets this comic apart from the others. In what appears to be a pure solo Wolverine title, we get to see Wolverine take a beating in a way only he can. Cornell and Davis through us right in the middle of the action and we have to sit back and watch the story unfold to figure out what's going on. Not even Wolverine is fully aware of what he's up against. That sort of mystery in storytelling can be enticing but also could cause some to quickly lose interest. The greatest part was seeing Davis' detailed art and character designs and we get to see him draw Wolverine in a more violent setting. It appears that Nick Fury Jr. is appearing in the third issue but if this title can keep the focus of pure solo Wolverine stories, this could become a great Wolverine title.