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Wolverine (2003) (Collected Editions) #1-3
Wolverine by Greg Rucka: Ultimate Collection
Waitresses, arms dealers, human traffickers, pregnant crime lords, bad dreams and feral female fighters can't stop Wolverine from carving his way to victory in this razor-sharp series reboot by acclaimed novelist and comics scribe Greg Rucka (Whiteout, Queen & Country). And see Logan do what he does best against his archenemy, Sabretooth! Plus: the unsettling threats of Cry and Vapor! Guest-starring Nightcrawler!
Collecting: Wolverine 1-19
Collecting: Wolverine 1-19
260 pages, Paperback
First published December 21, 2011
142 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,500 books1,927 followersGreg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
May 9, 2018
★★½ 2.5 Stars
Wolverine's third solo re-numbered iteration kick starts with three story arcs written by Greg Rucka, stretching across 400 pages filled with murderers, human traffickers, and deadly enemies.
Was it epic?
ehhhh... Let's see the stories featured here first.
Brotherhood. ★★★
Brotherhood opens with an underwhelming narrative of a seventeen-year-old girl with an isolated, broken life. But her apartment is across a mysterious man: Leon, the professional... All right, I'm kidding. As you guessed, It's the Wolverine himself. She kinda becomes his friend, then gets killed, and Wolverine goes on a rampage to get revenge for the girl he barely knew because that's what Wolverine does in merry times like these.
Nothing special here. Rucka created a bunch of regular evil men as villains and builds up hate towards them so that when Wolverine inevitably kills them, the reader will be like 'Ya, they totally deserved it'. The only reason I'm not rating is lower is because of the spectacular epilogue issue at the end, featuring an old friend.
Coyote Crossing. ★★½
Wolvie hits the road again and finds a bunch of dead illegal immigrants, and decides to track down the killers. To add spice to the story, there is a lady FBI officer tracking Wolverine.
Again, generic. The only surprise was the Rojas, the villain, and even that was handled poorly. There are some good scenes in the first half and the dialogues are not as bad as the first story.
Return of the Native. ★★½
Rucka exploits the Weapon X program, because why not. Sabretooth is recruited by men behind Weapon X program to track down native, an escapee with abilities like Wolverine. Sabretooth gives the information to Wolverine and sets a trap to capture both Wolverine and native.
This is the only story in this collection that features mutants other than Wolvie as major characters. So I assumed it might be better than the previous stories, but again, I was sadly mistaken. There are some good Sabretooth moments, but other than that, it's again the tried and tired 'Wolverine and the women who died loving him' trope. Come on, Marvel. At least bring something new to the story.
So, back to the question. Was it epic?
Nope. It's average at its best, and tired repetition at its worst.
Wolverine's third solo re-numbered iteration kick starts with three story arcs written by Greg Rucka, stretching across 400 pages filled with murderers, human traffickers, and deadly enemies.
Was it epic?
ehhhh... Let's see the stories featured here first.
Brotherhood. ★★★
Brotherhood opens with an underwhelming narrative of a seventeen-year-old girl with an isolated, broken life. But her apartment is across a mysterious man: Leon, the professional... All right, I'm kidding. As you guessed, It's the Wolverine himself. She kinda becomes his friend, then gets killed, and Wolverine goes on a rampage to get revenge for the girl he barely knew because that's what Wolverine does in merry times like these.
Nothing special here. Rucka created a bunch of regular evil men as villains and builds up hate towards them so that when Wolverine inevitably kills them, the reader will be like 'Ya, they totally deserved it'. The only reason I'm not rating is lower is because of the spectacular epilogue issue at the end, featuring an old friend.
Coyote Crossing. ★★½
Wolvie hits the road again and finds a bunch of dead illegal immigrants, and decides to track down the killers. To add spice to the story, there is a lady FBI officer tracking Wolverine.
Again, generic. The only surprise was the Rojas, the villain, and even that was handled poorly. There are some good scenes in the first half and the dialogues are not as bad as the first story.
Return of the Native. ★★½
Rucka exploits the Weapon X program, because why not. Sabretooth is recruited by men behind Weapon X program to track down native, an escapee with abilities like Wolverine. Sabretooth gives the information to Wolverine and sets a trap to capture both Wolverine and native.
This is the only story in this collection that features mutants other than Wolvie as major characters. So I assumed it might be better than the previous stories, but again, I was sadly mistaken. There are some good Sabretooth moments, but other than that, it's again the tried and tired 'Wolverine and the women who died loving him' trope. Come on, Marvel. At least bring something new to the story.
Parting thoughts.
So, back to the question. Was it epic?
Nope. It's average at its best, and tired repetition at its worst.
January 2, 2016
Very enjoyable book about Logan not really Wolverine. A good mix of berserker rage and all too human sadness. Well done.
February 14, 2012
Greg Rucka has written a really strong Wolverine story arc here. This trade has 19 issues, and is a pretty good buy for the money.
Wolverine is like Spider-Man - a great character who deserves a story arc as iconic and important as "Batman: Year One" or an "All-Star Superman" but who instead just gets year after year of the same old crap.
This isn't his "Year One" but it is a great story, and one of the best looks at his struggle with the animal aspects of himself that I've seen. The sabertooth/Native b-story in this collection is less essential, but still quite fun.
Greg Rucka is a solid writer. For years I thought of him in the same class as Ed Brubaker, but while Brubaker is almost never short of amazing (his run on Daredevil is THE Daredevil as far as I'm concerned) - Rucka sometimes turns in more workman-like stories. This is one of them. It's strong, fun, and has a good sense of the character. But it doesn't devastate the way Rucka's Queen and Country did. It is more in line with the quality of his Batwoman Elegy story.
Robertson's art is hit and miss for me. It freaks me out a bit, but is so closely connected with Transmetropolitan for me that I find myself feeling affection toward his insanely weird looking people anyway. He draws wolvie as a weird, hairy run of a man, which I really appreciated.
Wolverine is like Spider-Man - a great character who deserves a story arc as iconic and important as "Batman: Year One" or an "All-Star Superman" but who instead just gets year after year of the same old crap.
This isn't his "Year One" but it is a great story, and one of the best looks at his struggle with the animal aspects of himself that I've seen. The sabertooth/Native b-story in this collection is less essential, but still quite fun.
Greg Rucka is a solid writer. For years I thought of him in the same class as Ed Brubaker, but while Brubaker is almost never short of amazing (his run on Daredevil is THE Daredevil as far as I'm concerned) - Rucka sometimes turns in more workman-like stories. This is one of them. It's strong, fun, and has a good sense of the character. But it doesn't devastate the way Rucka's Queen and Country did. It is more in line with the quality of his Batwoman Elegy story.
Robertson's art is hit and miss for me. It freaks me out a bit, but is so closely connected with Transmetropolitan for me that I find myself feeling affection toward his insanely weird looking people anyway. He draws wolvie as a weird, hairy run of a man, which I really appreciated.
September 25, 2016
2.5 Stars
I think this is only my 3rd time reading anything by Rucka and I'm still not impressed. This volume contains about 3 story arcs, 6 issues apiece. Each arc has it's own story and the first two are connected.
There are no real super villains and no costumes. Logan basically stumbles across trouble and his sense of honor gets him involved in crimes dealing with human traffickers and arms dealers. While the stories do a decent job of portraying Logan's sense of honor the rest seems to be a chance to talk about a political agenda.
The third arc goes back to the Weapon X program, which is a well that's been used way to many times. It's a reason to bring Logan up against Sabretooth and while there are a couple good moments, there's nothing new here and what is new is discarded predictably at the end.
Also, there are a number of artists throughout this volume, and aside from the covers, the interiors are mediocre at best.
Rucka wasn't afraid to show Wolverine doing what he does best, but if this is Rucka's best then I think I'll pass on the rest of his work.
I think this is only my 3rd time reading anything by Rucka and I'm still not impressed. This volume contains about 3 story arcs, 6 issues apiece. Each arc has it's own story and the first two are connected.
There are no real super villains and no costumes. Logan basically stumbles across trouble and his sense of honor gets him involved in crimes dealing with human traffickers and arms dealers. While the stories do a decent job of portraying Logan's sense of honor the rest seems to be a chance to talk about a political agenda.
The third arc goes back to the Weapon X program, which is a well that's been used way to many times. It's a reason to bring Logan up against Sabretooth and while there are a couple good moments, there's nothing new here and what is new is discarded predictably at the end.
Also, there are a number of artists throughout this volume, and aside from the covers, the interiors are mediocre at best.
Rucka wasn't afraid to show Wolverine doing what he does best, but if this is Rucka's best then I think I'll pass on the rest of his work.
June 21, 2017
I've read all the Wolverine Ultimate Collections -at least I think I have- and this one by far has the best stories.
I don't think the artwork was the same illustrator throughout the entire series, but I wasn't real crazy about some of it. It's not that is was bad, it was excellent really, it's just not how I care to see super-heroes portrayed -Wolverine actually looks so much like a unclean bump, that you can almost smell him. And I get that these stories, like the original Wolverine series in Madripoor, is supposed to be a take-away from Logan's yellow and blue tights and more a noir-ish look at his life. Still I think a most folks would have realized who Logan was, instead of them being all like "Who is this mysterious grumpy stranger?"
Despite all that. I still really did enjoy these tales because if nothing else, I guess I like Wolverine as in not so uber-powerful and the gritty kinda hero he was intended to be.
I don't think the artwork was the same illustrator throughout the entire series, but I wasn't real crazy about some of it. It's not that is was bad, it was excellent really, it's just not how I care to see super-heroes portrayed -Wolverine actually looks so much like a unclean bump, that you can almost smell him. And I get that these stories, like the original Wolverine series in Madripoor, is supposed to be a take-away from Logan's yellow and blue tights and more a noir-ish look at his life. Still I think a most folks would have realized who Logan was, instead of them being all like "Who is this mysterious grumpy stranger?"
Despite all that. I still really did enjoy these tales because if nothing else, I guess I like Wolverine as in not so uber-powerful and the gritty kinda hero he was intended to be.
May 7, 2013
The Art in this book is very good, the stories engaging, and I feel I actually got to know Wolverine a little better. Which is surprising for me as I have read a lot of Wolverine comics, so I loved this extra insight into him outside of the X-Men's world. I also enjoyed the addition of new characters, including Native. A very good read, and one you can easily pick up and re-read at any time - even when you've just read it. I find I can open the book anywhere, and start reading it again, I am instantly re-enthralled and get hooked straight back into it. A fantastic book!
February 19, 2018
Where do I begin?
Is this a book worth reading?
Are you a Wolverine fan?
Do you enjoy literature?
Do you enjoy stories of love, life, loss... tragedy?
It’s all here.
Rucka wrote and created this book and took it to a whole new level in this collection. I read the “Brotherhood” and enjoyed the use of language.
I was desperate to read it all!
I read it all.
I’ll never forget a page.
The book questions, for me, the struggle within Logan. Does he think of himself more of a man or a beast?
The reader knows the answer.
However, looking inside out, as Logan does... it’s a harder question.
A human question.
We rarely see ourselves as we truly are.
Logan and Wolverine are no exceptions.
They are the same.
There are so many reasons to read this.
If you’re an X-Man Fan...
A Wolverine fan...
Or like me... a Logan fan.
Heck, if you simply enjoy good writing and excellent and talented art... read it!
However, it’s a tough book.
It’s a well written book.
It’s an artistic wonder.
The final page left me...
Well, just read the book.
It won’t bore you.
Is this a book worth reading?
Are you a Wolverine fan?
Do you enjoy literature?
Do you enjoy stories of love, life, loss... tragedy?
It’s all here.
Rucka wrote and created this book and took it to a whole new level in this collection. I read the “Brotherhood” and enjoyed the use of language.
I was desperate to read it all!
I read it all.
I’ll never forget a page.
The book questions, for me, the struggle within Logan. Does he think of himself more of a man or a beast?
The reader knows the answer.
However, looking inside out, as Logan does... it’s a harder question.
A human question.
We rarely see ourselves as we truly are.
Logan and Wolverine are no exceptions.
They are the same.
There are so many reasons to read this.
If you’re an X-Man Fan...
A Wolverine fan...
Or like me... a Logan fan.
Heck, if you simply enjoy good writing and excellent and talented art... read it!
However, it’s a tough book.
It’s a well written book.
It’s an artistic wonder.
The final page left me...
Well, just read the book.
It won’t bore you.
July 16, 2018
This was a big collection, 19 issues. Several different storylines featuring Logan. Pretty much on his own just trying to get by and somehow gets involved in several different storylines. Where does he find the time between playing with X-Men and his Avengers tie-ins? Thanks to Comixology Unlimited I was able to read this. I believe they have a few more that I can borrow/read. Catching up on a lot of older Wolverine stories, just in time for his return.
September 2, 2017
I like what Rucka is trying to do here--playing on the emotional weight of Wolverine, constantly struggling with his humanity/animality. But this volume contains three stories, and only the first one is really very entertaining. It isn't particularly helped by mediocre art, but even the stories just don't really keep my attention. I found myself sort of slogging through it all.
April 25, 2017
It my first comic book,also about one of my favourite character. I enjoy reading it all the way
May 7, 2023
Greg Rucka is such a good writer of graphic novels!
November 13, 2022
Maybe it's because the X-men movies when I was growing up really centered on him, maybe it's because the character's been done to death in every X-men plot (hell, he even turned up in X-statix!) but I'm really bored of Wolverine. And I only came to this conclusion on finishing this volume.
I've been told Rucka's run on the character was a good one and I enjoyed his gritty dark Image series, Lazarus, so I decided to give it a go.
But basically, this is just: Wolverine vs shady crime with bonus Weapon plot. Look, the back describes it perfectly:
Yep, that's basically it. It's Logan & the Special Victims Unit but with none of the intrigue, just the crime and exploitation. I do wonder at where Rucka was going with this and why it is so lauded: is it the first time one of the X-men (and Logan is not an X-man here btw) goes up against syndicate crimes we can recognize in our world as opposed to a cartoonish threat/racism and/or LGBTQIA+ discrimination? Is it a way to make Logan more gritty?
Looking a little into the character development of Wolverine up to this point I don't think so. This is the same year that Marvel put out Origin, which showed his brutal childhood and time working in a quarry in the Canadian wilderness. And at this point we already know he was in several wars (Vietnam is explicitly mentioned in this volume but so too are flashbacks to his Japanese wife from WWII) so the Logan-the-soldier plot already exists. This is also post-Apocalypse where he's already had to wrestle with his beast-nature so his ruminations on animal-vs-man ring a bit hollow too. Basically, I don't get the huge appeal of this run.
It doesn't do much by the way of introducing any big character developments either. The men are all: (a) cannon fodder, (b) old pals shuffling the plot along, (c) minions, or (d) Creed/Sabretooth. Creed, as usual, is only in it for the money and the ability to potentially stick it to Wolverine. After reading Origin I was convinced that Dog and Creed were the same person but whatever the author's intent it seems that that was retconned and they are different people. From what I can find about Sabretooth without going too far down the rabbit hole, his animosity towards Logan stems from when Logan worked in a circus with his sister? And then later when they were both on the Weapon-X program? It seems like weak-sauce as a driving factor but ok. Anyway, here their relationship doesn't change monumentally one way or the other except for Sabretooth's final act with "Native". Ah Native.
All the women in this arc are either (a) evil but WOMEN - and hence challenge Logan's moral code, can he really kill a woman?? - or (b) victims - so serve as motivation for killing. Some are also trying to sleep with his raw animal magnetism and can fall into (a) or (b). The first woman in the arc is the innocent waitress who gets murdered after fleeing a cult - (b), then there is FBI agent who is o b s e s s e d with Logan and falls between (a) and (b). They sleep together and then she disappears. Then we have pregnant drug lord who is distinctly in (a) with predictable outcomes. And Native. Native is somehow related to Logan's past (his wife?) but has a lot of his powers including retractable claws and healing. She's escaped the Weapon program and is hanging out in the Canadian wilderness - more animal than human.
From what I can tell she only exists in this volume.. but since her story is basically identical to Logan's what was the point in her? The surgery performed on her allowing for potential offshoots in the future?
So that's plot. Art-wise this is ok. There are two main artists: Darick Robertson and Leandro Fernandez. Robertson pencils most of the issues but only inks about half of them. His close-ups and larger panels really showcase the detailed and textured ink-style but for smaller panels this ends up looking messy. Here's a shot from issue 1:
In the latter half of the book the artists scaled way back on the texture and really opened everything up - it gives a much cleaner effect. You can see this in the middle of the run (issues 6-11) when Fernandez takes over the art. Initially he emulates Robertson's style but then gradually this morphs into his own style, see a shot here from issue 6:
When Palmer, Palmiotti, and DeCastro take over the inking for Robertson in issues 12-19 we see Robertson's strong anatomy return but the openness Fernandez brought is carried through by the inkers. I didn't particularly like the art-style, and preferred Fernandez to Robertson, but it did work for the story and I think the end of the run ends in a much better place than it started.
So, overall not a bad arc but just very similar to all the other Wolverine stories I've seen before and yet another crime-syndicate story that felt impersonal and irrelevant. The clincher here I think is that our two continuing characters, Wolverine and Sabretooth, leave exactly as they entered. So skip this unless you are a big Logan fan.
==========
Why X-Men, why now?
I was really into X-Men during my teens.
It's such a classic story about acceptance and finding your place in the world that it feels catered to teens. Plus there's enough diversity in the cast's backgrounds and personalities to keep it interesting.
And look at the epic storylines back then: the dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, Civil War - so much great stuff!
I grew tired of them at some point and moved on to other pastures (Runaways, then mostly Image) mostly because the big Marvel collections were huge, a long time coming, and they were so expensive! I didn't have a way to get single issues (this was pre-digital comics) so I ordered them from the USA.
But recently.. someone talked about how great the Hickman run is... And I wanted to get back in. Because let's face it: when Marvel is done well it's like being a kid again.
So with the help of comicbook herald I put together a little reading list. Books so far:
New X-Men, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 2
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 3
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
X-Statix, Volume 4: X-Statix vs. the Avengers
Wolverine: Origin by Paul Jenkins
Emma Frost: Ultimate Collection by Karl Bollers
I've been told Rucka's run on the character was a good one and I enjoyed his gritty dark Image series, Lazarus, so I decided to give it a go.
But basically, this is just: Wolverine vs shady crime with bonus Weapon plot. Look, the back describes it perfectly:
Waitresses, arms dealers, human traffickers, pregnant crime lords, bad dreams, and feral female fighters!
Yep, that's basically it. It's Logan & the Special Victims Unit but with none of the intrigue, just the crime and exploitation. I do wonder at where Rucka was going with this and why it is so lauded: is it the first time one of the X-men (and Logan is not an X-man here btw) goes up against syndicate crimes we can recognize in our world as opposed to a cartoonish threat/racism and/or LGBTQIA+ discrimination? Is it a way to make Logan more gritty?
Looking a little into the character development of Wolverine up to this point I don't think so. This is the same year that Marvel put out Origin, which showed his brutal childhood and time working in a quarry in the Canadian wilderness. And at this point we already know he was in several wars (Vietnam is explicitly mentioned in this volume but so too are flashbacks to his Japanese wife from WWII) so the Logan-the-soldier plot already exists. This is also post-Apocalypse where he's already had to wrestle with his beast-nature so his ruminations on animal-vs-man ring a bit hollow too. Basically, I don't get the huge appeal of this run.
It doesn't do much by the way of introducing any big character developments either. The men are all: (a) cannon fodder, (b) old pals shuffling the plot along, (c) minions, or (d) Creed/Sabretooth. Creed, as usual, is only in it for the money and the ability to potentially stick it to Wolverine. After reading Origin I was convinced that Dog and Creed were the same person but whatever the author's intent it seems that that was retconned and they are different people. From what I can find about Sabretooth without going too far down the rabbit hole, his animosity towards Logan stems from when Logan worked in a circus with his sister? And then later when they were both on the Weapon-X program? It seems like weak-sauce as a driving factor but ok. Anyway, here their relationship doesn't change monumentally one way or the other except for Sabretooth's final act with "Native". Ah Native.
All the women in this arc are either (a) evil but WOMEN - and hence challenge Logan's moral code, can he really kill a woman?? - or (b) victims - so serve as motivation for killing. Some are also trying to sleep with his raw animal magnetism and can fall into (a) or (b). The first woman in the arc is the innocent waitress who gets murdered after fleeing a cult - (b), then there is FBI agent who is o b s e s s e d with Logan and falls between (a) and (b). They sleep together and then she disappears. Then we have pregnant drug lord who is distinctly in (a) with predictable outcomes. And Native. Native is somehow related to Logan's past (his wife?) but has a lot of his powers including retractable claws and healing. She's escaped the Weapon program and is hanging out in the Canadian wilderness - more animal than human.
From what I can tell she only exists in this volume.. but since her story is basically identical to Logan's what was the point in her? The surgery performed on her allowing for potential offshoots in the future?
So that's plot. Art-wise this is ok. There are two main artists: Darick Robertson and Leandro Fernandez. Robertson pencils most of the issues but only inks about half of them. His close-ups and larger panels really showcase the detailed and textured ink-style but for smaller panels this ends up looking messy. Here's a shot from issue 1:
In the latter half of the book the artists scaled way back on the texture and really opened everything up - it gives a much cleaner effect. You can see this in the middle of the run (issues 6-11) when Fernandez takes over the art. Initially he emulates Robertson's style but then gradually this morphs into his own style, see a shot here from issue 6:
When Palmer, Palmiotti, and DeCastro take over the inking for Robertson in issues 12-19 we see Robertson's strong anatomy return but the openness Fernandez brought is carried through by the inkers. I didn't particularly like the art-style, and preferred Fernandez to Robertson, but it did work for the story and I think the end of the run ends in a much better place than it started.
So, overall not a bad arc but just very similar to all the other Wolverine stories I've seen before and yet another crime-syndicate story that felt impersonal and irrelevant. The clincher here I think is that our two continuing characters, Wolverine and Sabretooth, leave exactly as they entered. So skip this unless you are a big Logan fan.
==========
Why X-Men, why now?
I was really into X-Men during my teens.
It's such a classic story about acceptance and finding your place in the world that it feels catered to teens. Plus there's enough diversity in the cast's backgrounds and personalities to keep it interesting.
And look at the epic storylines back then: the dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, Civil War - so much great stuff!
I grew tired of them at some point and moved on to other pastures (Runaways, then mostly Image) mostly because the big Marvel collections were huge, a long time coming, and they were so expensive! I didn't have a way to get single issues (this was pre-digital comics) so I ordered them from the USA.
But recently.. someone talked about how great the Hickman run is... And I wanted to get back in. Because let's face it: when Marvel is done well it's like being a kid again.
So with the help of comicbook herald I put together a little reading list. Books so far:
New X-Men, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 2
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 3
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
X-Statix, Volume 4: X-Statix vs. the Avengers
Wolverine: Origin by Paul Jenkins
Emma Frost: Ultimate Collection by Karl Bollers
October 25, 2023
Average adventure. Art shines
Both artists in this volume do justice to Wolverine. Robertson's backgrounds are impressive also. The story is well crafted, just Logan out to do the right thing.
Both artists in this volume do justice to Wolverine. Robertson's backgrounds are impressive also. The story is well crafted, just Logan out to do the right thing.
July 27, 2019
In my opinion, these are among the best Wolverine comics, I absolutely love them.
Very dark, very brutal, gritty and Logan is NOT a nice guy at all.
Plus the art is great.
What I love is that this is not your typical superhero comic (I am a bit in two minds about those in general), nobody is wearing any silly costumes, the (anti-) hero looks more like a beast than a man and violence is shown in quite a graphic way. There is a whole issue of just Logan and Kurt talking in a bar about how much of a monster Logan really is- since he is troubled he just had killed 30 people.
Plus, the villains are real world villains like people smugglers, corrupt cops and women abusers, no aliens or supervillains who want to conquer the world.
I prefer stories like these 100x over the 1000th plot of XY in a funny helmet threatening the planet.
Great work.
Very dark, very brutal, gritty and Logan is NOT a nice guy at all.
Plus the art is great.
What I love is that this is not your typical superhero comic (I am a bit in two minds about those in general), nobody is wearing any silly costumes, the (anti-) hero looks more like a beast than a man and violence is shown in quite a graphic way. There is a whole issue of just Logan and Kurt talking in a bar about how much of a monster Logan really is- since he is troubled he just had killed 30 people.
Plus, the villains are real world villains like people smugglers, corrupt cops and women abusers, no aliens or supervillains who want to conquer the world.
I prefer stories like these 100x over the 1000th plot of XY in a funny helmet threatening the planet.
Great work.
January 13, 2019
In my opinion, Wolverine is a character who is simultaneously overexposed yet underrated and woefully underutilized.
The character can easily shift from the hyperbolic and absurd (Enemy of the State, Old Man Logan, and Infinity Watch) to much more subtler and restrained books. With him living hundreds of years and forgotten memories, he's a perfect cypher and blank slate character. He's got such rich potential for a secret history.
He's often used for superhero excess and decadence, but as Logan showed, he can also be used for deconstruction.
Ruck's wolverine run is much quieter. There are no suits and capes, no supervillians. It reads more like a low-budget loner movies/tv show. It's almost a character study--there's no crossover event, little to know mention of the Marvel Universe and the X-Men, etc. The villains are bad people--supremacists, sex traffickers, et cetera. The people who need hurt. It's a bit like a Punisher run in a way, with a bit of "realism".
It shows the character can stand on his own two feet, without having be tethered to the X-Men. That being said, it's well-written, but not the most "exciting" run on the book. I tend to like Millar and Jason Aaron's works on the character the most.
The character can easily shift from the hyperbolic and absurd (Enemy of the State, Old Man Logan, and Infinity Watch) to much more subtler and restrained books. With him living hundreds of years and forgotten memories, he's a perfect cypher and blank slate character. He's got such rich potential for a secret history.
He's often used for superhero excess and decadence, but as Logan showed, he can also be used for deconstruction.
Ruck's wolverine run is much quieter. There are no suits and capes, no supervillians. It reads more like a low-budget loner movies/tv show. It's almost a character study--there's no crossover event, little to know mention of the Marvel Universe and the X-Men, etc. The villains are bad people--supremacists, sex traffickers, et cetera. The people who need hurt. It's a bit like a Punisher run in a way, with a bit of "realism".
It shows the character can stand on his own two feet, without having be tethered to the X-Men. That being said, it's well-written, but not the most "exciting" run on the book. I tend to like Millar and Jason Aaron's works on the character the most.
November 18, 2022
Wolverine podľa Grega Rucku nie je tímový hráč v žltej uniforme bojujúci proti mimozemským hrozbám globálneho charakteru. Rucka Wolverina uzemnil a urobil z neho samotára, ktorý mi pocitovo pripomínal Lorenza Lamasa zo seriálu Odpadlík. V prvých dvoch arcoch je konfrontovaný so sektou a mexickým gangom, ktorý sa podieľa na pašovaní ľudí. Sú to do istej miery triviálne témy, avšak Wolverine sa tu môže doslova odtrhnúť z reťaze v spravodlivom boji za životy slabších. Vidíme Loganovu animálnu podstatu či už správaním, alebo vizuálnym spracovaním. V závere Wolverina opäť doženie jeho minulosť a na scéne sa objavuje Sabretooth, ktorý je dokonalý zlosyn. Aby to ale nevyznelo tak, že Logan je iba krvilačný kombajn, tak sú tu aj civilné pasáže, kedy uvažuje nad svojim životom a skvele mu vtedy sekunduje Nightcrawler. Jediný X-Men, ktorý sa tu objaví. Ak máte teda chuť na Logana, ktorý putuje krajinou a náhodne sa zamotáva do problémov obyčajných ľudí a rieši ich so svojou povestnou vervou, Ruckova varianta obľúbeného hrdinu by vám mohla sedieť.
March 11, 2018
Wolverine!!!
It’s a good set of short stories that are somewhat connected? They just tell of Logan/James living a normal (for him) life and how he is a softhearted man who love his best friends and just wants to do right by people even though he has a feral side that he can’t always control.
You get to see some Nightcrawler!! Logan and Kurt have always been BFFs through the series and it’s nice to see him hang out with Logan and then bond over their love of beer.
He ending is what cost it a star. Also he whole Native story? Logan has had kids before, but I guess for the drama of it they had to go. Idk it was abrupt and predictable. She had a healing factor and Logana and Creed both survived worse but that killed her? Who knows.
Otherwise good art (except for he women who are drawn like stick figures with DDs/Es even though they’re supposed all fit and or malnourished).
Did I mention Nightcrawler shows up?
It’s a good set of short stories that are somewhat connected? They just tell of Logan/James living a normal (for him) life and how he is a softhearted man who love his best friends and just wants to do right by people even though he has a feral side that he can’t always control.
You get to see some Nightcrawler!! Logan and Kurt have always been BFFs through the series and it’s nice to see him hang out with Logan and then bond over their love of beer.
He ending is what cost it a star. Also he whole Native story? Logan has had kids before, but I guess for the drama of it they had to go. Idk it was abrupt and predictable. She had a healing factor and Logana and Creed both survived worse but that killed her? Who knows.
Otherwise good art (except for he women who are drawn like stick figures with DDs/Es even though they’re supposed all fit and or malnourished).
Did I mention Nightcrawler shows up?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2018
Part of this is, like, invincible Columbo.
And then there's the feeling that Rucka had not really read previous Wolverine comics because there are only bits and pieces of the old stuff. Nightcrawler is his friend! He has weird relationships with younger women!
But the premise is this FBI agent is chasing him because no one knows who Wolverine is. No one knows? Isn't he one of the most famous people in the world?
And then a female Wolverine who is stronger than Wolverine but killed by Sabertooth? OK, I guess.
And then there's the feeling that Rucka had not really read previous Wolverine comics because there are only bits and pieces of the old stuff. Nightcrawler is his friend! He has weird relationships with younger women!
But the premise is this FBI agent is chasing him because no one knows who Wolverine is. No one knows? Isn't he one of the most famous people in the world?
And then a female Wolverine who is stronger than Wolverine but killed by Sabertooth? OK, I guess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2018
Well first off, this is a Logan book not a Wolverine one (so take that into account before you read) .....but its a very good one.. it collects the first 3 story arcs of the Wolverine 2003 series. Brotherhood, Coyote Crossing and Return of the Native
While it may read like an episode of Kung Fu where Logan just wanders around and finds some trouble to fix it is enjoyable to see him slice and dice the bad guys with no remorse... two things kind of let me down to take away 1 star... (both would be spoilers but both relate to the Native story)
There is also two stand alone stories one in a bar with Nightcrawler and one a dream.....and believe it or not I enjoyed them both (yes even the dream one)
While it may read like an episode of Kung Fu where Logan just wanders around and finds some trouble to fix it is enjoyable to see him slice and dice the bad guys with no remorse... two things kind of let me down to take away 1 star... (both would be spoilers but both relate to the Native story)
There is also two stand alone stories one in a bar with Nightcrawler and one a dream.....and believe it or not I enjoyed them both (yes even the dream one)
July 9, 2019
Wolverine has always been a "beastly" character, so it should come as no real surprise that this addition to his saga shows the same internal conflict. However, this comic does take the conflict to wholly new heights, with a very intense storyline (with a shocking twist smack in the middle). The story contained everything I love about Wolverine; especially his poignancy, and how there's never really a happy ending.
October 18, 2023
Highly enjoyable, though the treatment of the character Native comes across as a bit problematic in such a way that reinforces stereotypes and flattens her narrative in service to Wolverine's overall arc. The opening story arc involving Wolverine hunting down a human trafficking ring while evading the detective tracking him makes for a powerful story that emphasizes the rich potential Wolverine can explore when he is utilized outside of the X-Men.
January 1, 2020
It was great!
Greg Rucka is the creator of Queen and Country and he has written wonderful comics about Elektra and Wonder Woman. He loves writing women and writes them well. His Wolverine series is all about women - waitresses, FBI agents, monsters and victims and everything in between. It's a lovely, lovely story!
Greg Rucka is the creator of Queen and Country and he has written wonderful comics about Elektra and Wonder Woman. He loves writing women and writes them well. His Wolverine series is all about women - waitresses, FBI agents, monsters and victims and everything in between. It's a lovely, lovely story!
January 29, 2022
This is how you write an entertaining comic. Reminded me a lot of Ennis' Punisher Max, but Rucka leaves much more room for the story to breathe.
Those are very straightforward, but this time around I didn't mind.
Recommended, if you're tired of multi-layered dumm sci-fi plots or following convoluted threads of Marvel events.
Those are very straightforward, but this time around I didn't mind.
Recommended, if you're tired of multi-layered dumm sci-fi plots or following convoluted threads of Marvel events.
March 29, 2022
I was sceptical approaching this book however attracted by drawings and it’s positive strength. Not typical superhero stupid & unnatural story but real mystery & real settings. I was also attracted by closeness of animal type hero features which enabled myself to check the real wolverine animal behaviour.
Very well done & I am looking forward for more. Finally very good entertainment.
Very well done & I am looking forward for more. Finally very good entertainment.
August 10, 2020
Hyvin vaihtelevaa oli piirrosjälki mutta suosikkejakin löytyi. Tarinoissa ei ollut sinänsä mitään uutta, se tuttu peruskaava: Wolverine kohtaa vaikeuksia, hoitaa ne pois alta ja kärsii itsesyytöksistä.
October 10, 2020
I M now absolutely heartbroken that Rucka and Robinson were not allowed a longer run on this title. They had particular voice and look for Logan that I really came to appreciate, and one of the best takes on Sabretooth I've ever read.
October 15, 2020
Wolverine
This is just a reread of what I already have. But still great to read, even though it was a quick read. Everything great about it, story and the artwork. Can't wait to read the next book.
This is just a reread of what I already have. But still great to read, even though it was a quick read. Everything great about it, story and the artwork. Can't wait to read the next book.
July 27, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. I’d not read anything by Greg Rucka before but I will certainly look into his work in the future. There is nothing really groundbreaking in the way of storylines here. It is basic revenge tales, just handled really well. Spectacularly entertaining. Loved it.
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April 29, 2022Another masterpiece from Rucka
I knew Rucka already for his wonderful work about batwoman for DC and he doesn't disappoint me! A vibrant, brutal tales about Wolverine, in conflict between the best and man. His hands my by dirty but his heart is more pure than you can think
I knew Rucka already for his wonderful work about batwoman for DC and he doesn't disappoint me! A vibrant, brutal tales about Wolverine, in conflict between the best and man. His hands my by dirty but his heart is more pure than you can think
June 23, 2024
My favorite Wolverine stories follow in the steps of Claremont & Miller’s excellent mini-series, where he’s a a kind of hard-boiled, neo-noir, wandering ronin loner and less of a superhero. This collection is one of the best I’ve read.
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