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Wolverine (2010) (Collected Editions)
Wolverine: Goodbye, Chinatown
Just when he thought he was out, Chinatown pulled him back in! Wolverine's been to Hell and back - literally - and now he's ready for a fresh start. But before he can move on, he'll need to take care of some old business - as the secret kingpin of Chinatown - when an underground drug-trafficking ring threatens to tear San Francisco apart. As the bodies pile up and Wolverine stabs his way toward the truth, he and his allies - including the crass Agent of Atlas known as Gorilla-Man and the indulgent Immortal Weapon called Fat Cobra - come face-to-face with ninja commandos, super-powered maniacs ... and fire-breathing dragons?! Just how deep underground does the war really go? And what old enemies lurk in the darkness? COLLECTING: WOLVERINE 17-20
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2012
5 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,358 books1,678 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 13, 2018
I really enjoyed the main story collected in this volume; it was just a heckuva lot of fun with its subterranean dragons and the ever-entertaining Gorilla Man guest-starring.
I wasn't as keen on the final issue collected here, though, which served as a prelude to the next story arc and would have been better collected with the story it's introducing, in my opinion.
I wasn't as keen on the final issue collected here, though, which served as a prelude to the next story arc and would have been better collected with the story it's introducing, in my opinion.
July 1, 2021
This was a weird one. It starts off with Logan having to resume his responsibilities as the Black Dragon but finding that some of their people have been kidnapped by the men of JADE CLAW whose a villain and she has her own motives and she wants to become the biggest drug dealer and she has real dragons. When Master Po, Wolverine, Gorilla Man and Fat Cobra go in to investigate it they find these things and so they have to battle them and get to the root of whats happening and will they be able to defeat them and leave? Also a prelude to something with Clan Yashida and all.
Its a weird volume and has some cool funny banter between Gorillas and also tells who the new black dragon is but it had such potential like Wolverine fighting dragons or a face off with Jade claw but that does not happen and rather we are thrown into a search and then leaving immediately. Meanwhile we know where Melita is headed to next. Its not the greatest volume but sort of a disappointment with such potential that this volume had.
Its a weird volume and has some cool funny banter between Gorillas and also tells who the new black dragon is but it had such potential like Wolverine fighting dragons or a face off with Jade claw but that does not happen and rather we are thrown into a search and then leaving immediately. Meanwhile we know where Melita is headed to next. Its not the greatest volume but sort of a disappointment with such potential that this volume had.
October 14, 2021
Boring over the top fighting with wolverine returning as the dragon to Chinatown. Best bits are with his girlfriend. The rest is boring.
November 23, 2015
Gorilla Man, Fat Cobra, lots of Kung fu, a tunnel to China, and lots of one-liners make this an unusually light-hearted Wolveribe adventure from Jason Aaron. Not earth-shaking, but very fun and a nice if too brief bright spot for a character I've felt can be a bit of a downer at times. Excellent art too.
April 9, 2012
Following the events of "Schism" where Cyclops opted to stay with his half of the X-Men on Utopia off of the coast of California, while Wolverine decided to head back to the East Coast and rebuild the Westchester school, Logan needs his money only to find Chinese gangsters have stolen it. The trail leads to an underground opium growing operation by the evil Jade Claw, a den of real dragons, and an unlikely team up with Gorilla Man and Fat Cobra.
"Goodbye, Chinatown" sees Jason Aaron taking on a less than serious story in a comical way. Wolverine's interactions between Gorilla Man and Fat Cobra have a kind of Three Stooges quality to it, along with Yuen Yee who is kind of like Short-round in "Temple of Doom" to Logan's Indy. Plus the fantasy elements continue from when Logan went to Hell to fighting real dragons in the centre of the earth.
It's a fun little romp, albeit too brief at three issues, with an extra issue thrown in featuring Kingpin and Sabretooth in a prelude to a larger storyline, but felt very middle of the road compared to Aaron's other, better efforts in the Wolverine series so far. Not bad, fun but lightweight, I'd recommend "Adamantium Men" and "Insane in the Brain" over this one.
"Goodbye, Chinatown" sees Jason Aaron taking on a less than serious story in a comical way. Wolverine's interactions between Gorilla Man and Fat Cobra have a kind of Three Stooges quality to it, along with Yuen Yee who is kind of like Short-round in "Temple of Doom" to Logan's Indy. Plus the fantasy elements continue from when Logan went to Hell to fighting real dragons in the centre of the earth.
It's a fun little romp, albeit too brief at three issues, with an extra issue thrown in featuring Kingpin and Sabretooth in a prelude to a larger storyline, but felt very middle of the road compared to Aaron's other, better efforts in the Wolverine series so far. Not bad, fun but lightweight, I'd recommend "Adamantium Men" and "Insane in the Brain" over this one.
May 1, 2015
Ugh This was just plain bad. I guess if you like the Patch aspect of Wolverine you may like this, but I find these crime lord stories boring. Underground caverns or poppy fields???? And dragons??? too much.
April 19, 2017
The main part of the volume is awesome, with Logan and friends fighting drug lords and dragons underground. The last issue with the Buzzard Brothers is a bit rough though, and kinda gross. The art is lovely except for the unfortunate last issue.
February 27, 2021
After the gloom and doom of the last three volumes, Jason Aaron opts for an almost comedic follow-up as Wolverine returns to Chinatown to retrieve some cash to set up the Jean Grey School, only for his past as Chinatown's kingpin to return and cause him all sorts of problems.
This arc is quite refreshing after the heaviness that precluded it. It's nice to see Wolvie kicking back and having fun, even if his version of fun involves lots of righteous murder. The dialogue here is extremely snappy, with guest stars Gorilla-Man, Fat Cobra, and Master Po all getting excellent one-liners that will have you grinning away. The story itself isn't overly important in the grand scheme of things, but as I'm always quick to remind people, comics are actually meant to be fun every now and then. And for those of us who do want a bit of an emotional stake, the conversations between Wolverine and Melita as they discuss their future are a good place to start.
Of course, all isn't entirely well, as the final issue of the volume acts as a prelude to the final one, as a Hand civil war almost breaks out on the streets of New York City and lots of familiar faces show up to cause havoc. This issue is an ominous one to end on, and serves to remind us that even if Wolverine is having fun, it won't be long before it all goes wrong.
Ron Garney handles the Chinatown story here, although it's again a little fast and loose compared to his best work. It's not bad at all, but under a little scrutiny it does begin to unravel a bit. Renato Guedes takes the final issue as well, a nice reminder that he's still hanging around even if he's not the main artist anymore.
Goodbye, Chinatown is a reminder that Wolverine comics aren't all bleak and cynical. A short and snappy three parter serves to clear the board after some powerful storytelling previously, but there's still a hook that says Jason Aaron isn't quite finished ruining Wolverine's life just yet.
This arc is quite refreshing after the heaviness that precluded it. It's nice to see Wolvie kicking back and having fun, even if his version of fun involves lots of righteous murder. The dialogue here is extremely snappy, with guest stars Gorilla-Man, Fat Cobra, and Master Po all getting excellent one-liners that will have you grinning away. The story itself isn't overly important in the grand scheme of things, but as I'm always quick to remind people, comics are actually meant to be fun every now and then. And for those of us who do want a bit of an emotional stake, the conversations between Wolverine and Melita as they discuss their future are a good place to start.
Of course, all isn't entirely well, as the final issue of the volume acts as a prelude to the final one, as a Hand civil war almost breaks out on the streets of New York City and lots of familiar faces show up to cause havoc. This issue is an ominous one to end on, and serves to remind us that even if Wolverine is having fun, it won't be long before it all goes wrong.
Ron Garney handles the Chinatown story here, although it's again a little fast and loose compared to his best work. It's not bad at all, but under a little scrutiny it does begin to unravel a bit. Renato Guedes takes the final issue as well, a nice reminder that he's still hanging around even if he's not the main artist anymore.
Goodbye, Chinatown is a reminder that Wolverine comics aren't all bleak and cynical. A short and snappy three parter serves to clear the board after some powerful storytelling previously, but there's still a hook that says Jason Aaron isn't quite finished ruining Wolverine's life just yet.
June 10, 2018
Goodbye, Chinatown (#17-19). In Wolverine: Manifest Destiny, Aaron set up a great Chinatown setting for Wolverine ... that he never used. So it's great that he finally returned to it in the wake of X-Men: Schism. This story is entirely over-the-top, with dragons, tunnels to the center of the earth, and poppy fields the size of Australia. Frankly, I think that's where Aaron does his best writing. There's some over-the-top humor in this story that's awesome, and makes up for the excessive kung fu fighting [3+/5].
Hello, New York (#20). This intro to New York is really a setup for Wolverine V5, "Back in Japan". Unfortunately, it's a confusing mass of characters that even this fan didn't recognize most of, and it reuses the god-awful Buzzard Brothers. The result is a mess [2/5].
Hello, New York (#20). This intro to New York is really a setup for Wolverine V5, "Back in Japan". Unfortunately, it's a confusing mass of characters that even this fan didn't recognize most of, and it reuses the god-awful Buzzard Brothers. The result is a mess [2/5].
July 28, 2022
Excellent pencils by Ron Garney wasted on some truly awful writing by Jason Aaron. Every page has new fantastic creature: dragons, Gorilla Man, the Buzzard Brothers, Jade Claw, Master Po but nothing is done with them beyond a fight scene, and characterization and dialogue is truly awful. More a collection of comics than a graphic novel, the last issue is tonally very different and doesn't fit with the rest.
January 13, 2019
Wolverine faces dragons and goes undeground.
March 11, 2019
Daaamn, Wolverine gets around. X-man, Avenger, head of Madripoor underground, leader of tongs in Chinatown... is there anything he hasn't been involved in?
March 17, 2019
Solid, but disappointing that the interesting plotlines of the previous volume are essentially dropped.
October 3, 2020
The synopsis sounded cool but the boom didn't deliver
August 3, 2021
Definitely enjoy stories about wolverine! This was definitely a good read
October 26, 2022
Enjoyed the banter, stayed for Ape man.
April 20, 2018
I guess I was getting into the dark, somber mood of the series and this goofy, dragon-filled story doesn't do it for me.
September 16, 2025
I have hated every page of Jason Aaron's Wolverine book. But I am truly impressed that each one is a little worse than the one before it.
Aaron is actually a good writer. Usually, my problem with comic writers is that they have great ideas but lack the skill to translate it to the page. Be it pacing problems, no understanding of human dialogue, or reliance on tropes. Aaron is a master of pacing. All of these books that I hate have been smooth reading. They're often quippy, they're aware of the tropes and try and write around them. The problem with Aaron's run on Wolverine is that his ideas are terrible. And each volume compounds these terrible ideas, calls back to the previous terrible ideas, and makes them so much worse.
In the twenty-first century, it is very unlikely that a white guy should consider writing a story about Chinatown gangs and Japanese Yakuza that include dragons guarding tunnels that stretch from San Francisco to China (I don't believe they ever say where in China the tunnels come out, just "China" because White Guy Writer.) I get that these are love notes to twentieth century tropes but they're just So Tired and So White Guy Writer Who Fetishizes Asian Culture. Maybe some day I'll learn enough about actual Norse culture to be annoyed by his work on Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 but that never bothered me as much as this bothers me.
This book tosses Gorilla Man from Agents of Atlas into the mix, and that doesn't accomplish anything except to allow Aaron to make dad jokes about gorillas. Ha. Ha.
It's so odd to think how close this is to when Aaron was writing the vastly superior Wolverine and the X-Men, Vol. 1. How is his work so good on that title and so bad on this Wolverine run that dovetails into it?
Aaron is actually a good writer. Usually, my problem with comic writers is that they have great ideas but lack the skill to translate it to the page. Be it pacing problems, no understanding of human dialogue, or reliance on tropes. Aaron is a master of pacing. All of these books that I hate have been smooth reading. They're often quippy, they're aware of the tropes and try and write around them. The problem with Aaron's run on Wolverine is that his ideas are terrible. And each volume compounds these terrible ideas, calls back to the previous terrible ideas, and makes them so much worse.
In the twenty-first century, it is very unlikely that a white guy should consider writing a story about Chinatown gangs and Japanese Yakuza that include dragons guarding tunnels that stretch from San Francisco to China (I don't believe they ever say where in China the tunnels come out, just "China" because White Guy Writer.) I get that these are love notes to twentieth century tropes but they're just So Tired and So White Guy Writer Who Fetishizes Asian Culture. Maybe some day I'll learn enough about actual Norse culture to be annoyed by his work on Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 but that never bothered me as much as this bothers me.
This book tosses Gorilla Man from Agents of Atlas into the mix, and that doesn't accomplish anything except to allow Aaron to make dad jokes about gorillas. Ha. Ha.
It's so odd to think how close this is to when Aaron was writing the vastly superior Wolverine and the X-Men, Vol. 1. How is his work so good on that title and so bad on this Wolverine run that dovetails into it?
May 24, 2013
While none of Jason Aaron's run on Wolverine has had tons of depth to it, Goodbye, Chinatown is particularly light and breezy. Some parts of it read as much like a sitcom as they do a superhero comic because so much emphasis is placed on the banter. Wolverine teaming up with Gorilla Man doesn't help either. The plot is a little bit of fantasy and at times feels more like a punchline than a story that wants to be taken seriously in any way. Even Wolverine's motivation as a character is comic in this particular story. This is not a bad thing because Wolverine is consistently fun to read.
The art is overall pretty good because Ron Garney is perfect for Wolverine and does a great job drawing the Asian inspired setting of this story arc. This only somewhat negated by the terrible rendition of Kingpin in Issue 20.
Wolverine is fun to read, but it is best experienced through the library, Marvel Unlimited, or perhaps in a heavily discounted trade paperback form. You will have fun reading each story once, but you probably won't have the desire to read stories like this a second or third time.
The art is overall pretty good because Ron Garney is perfect for Wolverine and does a great job drawing the Asian inspired setting of this story arc. This only somewhat negated by the terrible rendition of Kingpin in Issue 20.
Wolverine is fun to read, but it is best experienced through the library, Marvel Unlimited, or perhaps in a heavily discounted trade paperback form. You will have fun reading each story once, but you probably won't have the desire to read stories like this a second or third time.
January 22, 2014
Marvel comics doing what they do best with lighthearted humor in an over-the-top story with plenty of mutant brawling. It's very much in the vein of the TV show, except for a little more grown up and a modern sense of humor. One cameo in particular really made me laugh. Although it's strange to see Wolverine spouting witty remarks and near impossible to tell what's actually happening in the fights, it's a perfectly amusing waste of time with some classic characters.
June 2, 2015
Wolverine has somehow always fit in well in "kung-fu" stories. Here, he fits into the story well, I just am not sure why the story is being told. Not much substance and what one normally expects from Jason Aaron. The inclusion of some rarely seen characters don't actually add to the story. The art by Ron Garney was very good and elevated the book overall. This collection is not a must have unless you are a diehard.
February 24, 2018
Way over the top and ludicrous but elevated by the snappy dialogue.
June 26, 2017
Kind of a filler issue. Not exactly bad, but the main story seemed pointless. And the end story not a whole lot better. I would have preferred a whole book just on Logan and Melita Garner. This one just didn't seem very Logan-ish. Okay art and okay writing though.
March 29, 2012
A fun little story. Aaron's treatment of Gorilla Man is great, and the single issue about the Kingpin meeting the Yakuza head is great.
January 7, 2012
Wolverine vol. 4, #17-20: I read the individual issues of this collection. Wanted to put this down as "read" before I forget ;)
November 13, 2014
trés banter-y.
April 2, 2013
With that artist, (Garney)
Aaron can be borderline absurd
and almost get away with it.
Decent enough for a Library borrow, I 'spose.
Aaron can be borderline absurd
and almost get away with it.
Decent enough for a Library borrow, I 'spose.
January 11, 2014
I like Aaron's stuff better that the current title, but this one's a bit campy for my tastes. Still, the plots are engaging and the writing is quite funny.
February 22, 2014
Individual issues on marvel unlimited
March 27, 2014
It was okay
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews