Wolverine Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Madripoor Nights

Wolverine Epic Collection

by Chris Claremont, Peter David, John Buscema (Illustrator)

Collects Wolverine (1988) #1-16, material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #1-10, Marvel Age Annual #4. He's the best there is at what he does -- but what he does isn't very nice. And now, Wolverine has broken out of the X-Men and into his own solo series! Feeling the urge to cut loose, Wolverine travels to Madripoor -- an East Indian island full of pirates, cutthroats and...just the way Logan likes it! There, he'll take on ruthless crimelord Roche, meet the cunning Tyger Tiger, wield the mystical Black Blade, battle superhuman enforcers Roughouse and Bloodsport, and contend with drug kingpin Nguyen Ngoc Coy and his niece -- the former New Mutant known as Karma! The Hulk comes to town, a formative battle with Sabretooth is revealed, and Wolverine hunts for the Gehenna Stone! Guest-starring Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

495 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2014

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Claremont and John Buscema's run was nothing short of a masterpiece, some of the best comics I've read from the eighties, packed full of entertainment and atmosphere, it's a hell of a fun read, same goes for Barry Windsor-Smith's Weapon X which is just as good, looks even better, and its pretty much essential read for the character, but sadly, Peter David's comics towards the end are just not on the same level, and if they had replaced those issues with Claremont and Frank Miller's four-part Wolverine limited series, which has been left out from this epic collection, I would have given this book the perfect score.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for Wolverine comics #1-16.
The first story was interesting but seemed more like a way to get Lindsay McCabe and Jessica Drew involved with what Wolv… Patch was doing.

I enjoyed the Fixit issues, where Patch was basically messing with the hulking grey giant the entire time.

A highlight issue was #10, mainly because this was a Sabretooth-centred issue. I really liked the visuals.

The last 6 issues told the Gehenna Stone Affair. My favourite part from this story line was how basic the issues were; they were so easy to get through.
The story itself was a little random, in my opinion.

I did like how it made Logan reflect on his time in Madripoor and his desire to return to being Wolverine.

While I enjoy reading about his individual adventures, I can’t help but wonder about his absence as part of the X-Men (which is only mentioned once in the X-Men comics!)


Review for the Marvel Comics Presents issues #1-10.
I like when Wolverine goes off on his own and is able to let loose his more animalistic side, just because it's different to his (slightly) more controlled self when part of the X-Men.

I liked the concept of taking a character introduced in a main series and expanding their story in comics like Marvel Comics Presents.

Although, considering those comics are a collection of stories, it doesn’t really leave a whole lot of room for significant character development.

I am curious why they decided to have ‘Patch’ stay in Madripoor and how he juggles that persona and being part of the X-Men.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. Wolverine hiding out in Madripoor as Patch during the Australian Outback days of the X-Men. (The X-Men were supposed to be dead at the time.) Logan dukes it out with crime lords while establishing himself as Patch. The issues where the Mr. Fixit version of the Hulk visited Madripoor were so much fun. I loved how Logan kept messing with him. Jessica Drew sets up shop as a P.I. in Madripoor and becomes a supporting character too. The 6 part story by Peter David that ends the book is a bit goofy compared to the rest.

John Buscema's art is perfect for this series. With Bill Sienkiewicz's inks, it gives the book a grittiness that a setting like Madripoor deserves.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

No tour of the Marvel Comics 1980s could be complete without reading the solo adventures of Wolverine. Wolverine Epic Collection Volume 1 collects the Wolverine story from Marvel Comics Presents #1-10 and the beginning of the Wolverine solo series #1-16.

First, I want to say that this is my first time reading a Marvel Epic Collection. This is definitely a great format for collecting a series in chronological order. Reading this collection has prompted me to purchase a few more Epics. Bravo Marvel on creating the Epic Collection idea!

Now, on to the content. Wolverine is the defining character of Marvel Comics in the 1980s. Chris Claremont developed Logan/Wolverine into a great character in his run in Uncanny X-Men. This series gave him a chance to really show the guy off without the constraints of the X-Men. In this, Wolvie is more brutal and savage. He lets his feral side reign supreme.

Logan is in "disguise" as Patch in Madripoor. His disguise is just an eyepatch and fedora. No one who knew Wolverine is actually fooled, so it is good that very few people in Madripoor knew him.

Over the course of this collection, we get great villains like Asian crimelords, drug runners, and Ba'al, the ancient demon. There are also great guest appearances by Hulk (aka Mr. Fixit in this era), Karma (from the New Mutants), Jessica Drew (formerly Spider Woman), and more.

Claremont sets the table with the first 3/4 of this collection. We get to know all about the life of Wolverine away from the X-Men's base in Australia. The really awesome meal comes from Peter David's work on Wolverine #9-16, the Gehenna Stone Affair. Those final 8 issues have awesome action, intrigue, mystery, supernatural evil, and a hint at a greater purpose inside of Logan.

Overall, I loved the whole thing. IS it the best comics ever? No. Is it the best Wolverine comics? No. Is it worth the read? Yes. Who do I recommend it to? Fans of Marvel Comics, action movies, and bloody, violent anti-heroes.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have always thought Wolverine was too emo (not sure if kids still use that word) , but this collection is a good one to explain why he's so loved. Some highlights

- Madripoor actually feels ike a bada$$ place. Modern writers and artist haven't been able to replicate how gritty it is. Its like Casablanca set in southeast asia.
- All stories felt like a dark 80s action movie (thats a positive)
- Always found Shan to be the most boring character during the 80 New Mutants run, but she is given life here
- same deal with Jessica Drew (Spider Woman) , ended up loving her character
- Joefixit and Patch are silly concepts, but it actually works in this collection

[Greg (adds 2 TBR list daily) Hersom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'm offending anyone when I say that Chris Claremont and John Buscema -I'm a huge fan of both- are far away from the top of their game in this collection.
I dig putting a more hard-boiled slant on Wolverine, but wearing an eye-patch and calling himself Patch is just silly, -not to mention how aggravating it would be purposely blind one eye.
The coloring really made me appreciate how far comics have come, in other words, its a $#!+ job. It's like they were way past the deadline and had to rush it or just lazy; color blurs out of the lines, whole backgrounds are just covered in one shade, completely obliterating details.
Still at times, I found myself having fun, in a nostalgic kinda way or maybe that's just me, cause I bought the first few of these issues when they were new. The stories are fairly lighthearted, especially for Wolverine; reminiscent of when comics were a little more innocent

[Ripley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first official Marvel run of Wolverine in his own monthly comic by Chris Claremont. The stories are fantastic. Much darker and more violent than most superhero comics. In this run Logan isn't Wolverine. He's Patch, because the world believes the X-men to be dead. But wherever Logan goes trouble finds him and he's not afraid to kill bad guys. I absolutely loved it and this only sunk me further into the Pit that is Wolverine making him my favorite comic book antihero.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Marvel collects runs of a particular title, the reader can be stuck with a run completely unconnected chapter like stories, a series of loosely connected serials or even a tightly written length arc with some interesting character development and an actual following narrative. More often it's a mess of bits or all of the above. That's what this is. Starting things off Chris Claremont presents a story of Wolverine in a very noir-ish way, or at least as noir as Marvel could get at the time where it originally appeared, an all-ages anthology comic. Because of the nature of the short chapters necessitated by the original publication format, this first story arc suffers from pacing issues. But all things considered, this wasn't bad and it sets up the solo Wolverine series nicely. Now I suppose I should add that I'm not big fan of Wolverine. He's marginally less ridiculous than characters like Deadpool, Cable & the Punisher, but only marginally. I mean how serious can you take a character who's constantly having to reinforce his own sense of self-esteem by incessantly claiming that he's the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice. Also this series was no where near as well done as the earlier one that Claremont did with Frank Miller (see Wolverine). This time around Claremont and John Buscema are going for a gangster noir flavor and it almost works. Almost. The problem is that Claremont had become so burnt out on the X-Men that all the characters "sound" the same. Each and every character has the same syntax of dialogue and their lines are virtually interchangeable. This leaves every character sounding like a 10 year old with self-worth issues. There are several issues collected here that just show Claremont floundering well out his depth, but probably having fun doing it. And Buscema's art is great. Things pick up a bit when the Hulk (and in particular his Joe Fixit incarnation) shows up for a guest appearance, this is entertaining - if a bit silly. The real gems though are the first issue written by Peter David and drawn by Gene Colan (very nice change of pace) and the final chapter of Claremont's run which confirms, as had previously been long established, that Wolverine did not have bone claws before he was given the adamantium coating on his skeleton (the claws were bionic implants - it wasn't until bad writers and editors got a hold of character that the bone claws got retroactively introduced - some people just don't know how to do research), this story actually hints at the origins of the long feud between Wolverine & Sabretooth. I would imagine that had Claremont continued on this title, this might have been developed more. This really pick up though with the last story arc. What do you get when you add 1 part Indiana Jones, 1 part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1 part Casablanca, 1 part Tales of the Gold Monkey (look it up), Spider-Woman and Wolverine? A comedic epic of high adventure and non-stop thrills. It took Peter David coming on board this title to school Claremont in how to make the guy with the claws interesting again. Nice art from John Buscema & Bill Sienkiewicz too. This was definitely a story where all the components fit together nicely. Unfortunately, the good points are not really enough to do more than offset the bad, so for me it all evens out into an enjoyable collection, but not much more. But, like I said, Wolverine is not one of my favorite Marvel characters so I'm a little biased I suppose. Fans of the guy with the claws will probably love this collection.

[Camilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that I'm a real Chris Claremont fan, but in this book for me is Peter David who steals the show. His one shot about the vengeance of the nun is phenomenal and his final issues of the Gehenna Stone where the highlights of this volume in my opinion.

About the art...man, John Buscema is really something, his drawings are consistent through all the book, and of course the multiple talented inkers (Klaus Janson, Al Williamson, Bill Sienkiewicz) are up to his game too.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosomak, znany wszystkim jako członek zespołu x-men wreszcie doczekał się swojej serii solo. Gdzie mógłby się czuć lepiej niż w Madripoolu? Mamy tutaj jeszcze wersję Logana, który ze swojej przeszłości nie pamięta praktycznie nic, cały czas (wydaje mi się) trwa dopracowywanie jego umiejętności - jak szybko goją się jego rany? Czy można go unieszkodliwić na dłuższy czas? Czy może znaleźć się na skraju śmierci? Wydaje mi się, że odpowiedzi na te pytania na przestrzeni lat lekko się zmieniają, ale nie wpływa to w żaden sposób na bardzo pozytywny odbiór albumu, a nawet pomaga lepiej zrozumieć tą postać.

Podejrzewam również, że te zeszyty mogą być cennym źródłem informacji do nadchodzącej gry z Wolverinem w roli głównej, która (rzekomo) ma mieć miejsce właśnie w Madripoolu. Czekam!

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine's solo series is a refreshing change of pace from the other X-Men comics of the time. The first ten issues of this volume are written by Chris Claremont but he goes for a different, more noir, tone than in his other comics. Wolverine never wears his costume, doesn't use his codename, instead going by Patch, and avoids using his claws. The setting is Madripoor, a fictional crime-filled Asian city where he is in the middle of a war between two crime lords.

The final six issues are by Peter David and have more of an urban fantasy tone. Still set primarily in Madripoor, Wolverine this time is battling the minions of an ancient demon/vampire.

Both stories are a lot of fun.

[Remxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish, but this was fun. Madripoor Nights takes place right after the Fall of the Mutants storyline, when the world believes the X-Men are dead and Wolverine lives in the seedy Far Eastern city of Madripoor. I definitely got some 80s B-movie vibes from this (love those). I love undercover Wolverine as "Patch", but he does eventually don his silly costume. Five stars for the six-issue Gehenna Stone Affair story by Peter David with art by Buscema & Sienkiewicz - a super entertaining action adventure blockbuster with snappy dialogues. Great art throughout (Buscema, Janson,Colan, Williamson!). One day I'll get the omnibus and reread this.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some really fun stories in this collection. The Marvel Comics Presents storyline was gripping and felt like an old movie serial with Wolverine as the leading action star. I also really enjoyed most of the regular Wolverine series as well. The war for Madripoor’s underworld was great, Roughhouse and Bloodscream were great villains for Wolverine, and the one off Sabretooth story was a highlight. The only part I didn’t find all that interesting was the last storyline involving the Gehenna Stone. The Claremont stuff worked because it was based more on reality which I think is a more interesting take on Wolverine. I also liked adding Jessica Drew and Lindsey McCabe to the supporting cast to give different people for Wolverine to work off of. Overall some really enjoyable Wolverine stories in here with some terrific John Buscema art. If you’re interested in the less super hero-ish side of Wolverine you’ll want to read this one.

[Andrew Brine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually struggle with older comics, but this had very good action especially the sabretooth bits. Would be a lot better if wolverine didn't explain his powers every issue and only talk in puns.

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeling the urge to cut loose, “Wolverine” travels to Madripoor- an East Indian Island full of pirates, cutthroats and smugglers… just the way Logan likes it! There, he’ll take on ruthless crime lord Roche, meet the cunning Tyger Tiger, wield the mystical Black Blade, battle superhuman enforcers Roughouse and Bloodsport, and contend with drug kingpin Nguyen Ngoc Coy, and his niece- the former New Mutant known as Karma! Also: the Hulk comes to town with a brand-new identity regarded as “Mr. Fixit”, a formative battle with Sabretooth is revealed, and Wolverine hunts for the Gehenna Stone, all with the help of guest stars: Jessica Drew (the former Spider-Woman), and her business partner, Lindsay McCabe.
The beginning of one of the most long-lived, and popular series in Marvel Comics, starring everyone’s favorite X-Man, and with the always guaranteed letters of Chris Claremont, and the spectacular pencils of John Buscema, this “Epic Collection” gather’s “Wolverine’s” debut long-series, after Claremont and Miller released their successful mini-series in 1982. Including also the first 10 issues of “Marvel Comics Presents”, which introduces the fictional city of Madripoor, and the main staging for the presented first 16 issues of Wolverine’s main title, as well as fragment of “Marvel Age Annual” #4, also written by Claremont, and illustrated by both, Buscema, and Klaus Janson.
The edition not only collects the issues, but in between them there is a display of amazing and beautiful pin-up artworks by fantastic talents, such as John Byrne, Bill Sienkiewicz, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Bolton, Rob Liefeld, among many others.
The collection is worth it, not only containing the initial issues in the main series, but also the first inclusion of Wolverine in a magazine that wasn’t “X-Men” oriented. And being mostly a Claremont-Buscema collection, its worth the price of acquisition by the “classic factor”. I initially just wanted to have a watch on issue #10 (penciled by Sienkiewicz replacing Buscema), since that’s the issue in which Wolverine remembers the first time he fought Sabretooth after the murder of Kayla Silverfox, and sure, that was one of the best issues in the whole series, but I’d admit his entire adventures in Madripoor, either fighting against Roche in the “Marvel Comics Presents” magazine, or his duel against Silver Samurai, or the superhuman enforcers, Roughouse and Bloodsport, were all great, mostly due to Buscema’s pencils, however, Claremont’s scripts are just the right dose of adventurous and grim, similar to what Marvel Comics accomplished with the classic Conan series (a tremendous inspiration by Claremont in depicting the character of Wolverine in this series), and sure, Buscema’s artwork certainly became a great part on portraying that inspiration. Also, I forgot to mention, Peter David enters the series on issue #9- with the addition of Gene Colan, who delivers an astonishing artwork in it-, and continuing on #11 on a completely new arc, which yeah, it was fun and all, but wasn’t as gripping and stylized as the first 8 issues were, even if Buscema continued to draw the pencils, including Sienkiewicz as the inker. Those last 6 issues hinted more at the “adventure” pulp tone, but on a more fantastical note, instead of the gruesome-violent take played by Claremont.
Nevertheless, the first volume in the “Epic Collection” of Wolverine delivers a fair amount of issues, and collects three different titles with a fair dose of writing and artwork enough to get introduced into this world in the best way possible, meeting Logan’s alter-ego in Madripoor, Patch, and essentially preparing the way for further more intense and violent stories related to our favorite mutant, the best there is in what he does.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my read through of all the Claremont mutant titles I missed while growing up while being obsessed with this X-Men run. I started collecting Wolverine with the John Byrne run that immediately follows these issues, so I was always kind of aware of what occurred here but never felt the need to backtrack.

Claremont is sort of handicapped here by what was occurring in the X-Men book at the time, with the world believing that the team was dead. Nice enough set-up, but how do you have an ongoing Wolverine solo book if he can’t reveal his identity to anyone? I believe that Claremont is on record as not having wanted Logan to get his own title at the time, but relented when he realized Marvel was going to do it with or without him. I give him credit for trying something different here, creating a Casablanca type world where Logan can go incognito and have adventures that are more pulpy and 30’s serial film adventure inspired than traditional super hero yarns. I also appreciated how he used the book to check in on some wayward supporting X-Men characters who’d gone astray, like Silver Samurai, Karma, and Jessica Drew.

I’m just not sure how well it all works. John Buscema’s art is effective at the types of stories being told here, and the Madripoor setting is richly realized. The new characters are mostly okay, and all of Claremont’s issues are generally entertaining (the opening Tyger arc, the fight in the jungle with Coy’s army, and the Hulk issues standing out). But the hoops that Logan is forced to go through to hide his identity become repetitive and eventually unbelievable. He comments repeatedly that he can’t use his claws lest he reveal himself. That’s fine enough for an issue or so, but making that a rule for the book is like reading Captain America or Thor and saying they can’t use their shield or Mjonir. For better or worse, Wolverine is his claws, and it’s not as much fun watching him fight without them. It basically becomes a running joke that everyone here figures out who he really is anyway; it’d be a lot to ask that characters who’ve known Logan for years like Karma, Hulk, or Jessica Drew would be unable to recognize him.

Yet, I still wish I could’ve seen what more Claremont would’ve done with the setting given more time. He leaves the book on issue 10, and the remaining 6 issues here are written well by Peter David. His story brings the lurid B-adventure movie elements to the forefront in a great way that makes use of the setting Claremont had established, and probably features the best issues in this collection (issue 14, featuring an aerial action sequence straight out of James Bond, stands out in particluar). After these issues, that setting and those characters are largely forgotten which is a bit of a shame, but not completely unexpected. I can’t say that these are the best Wolverine solo issues (I actually really enjoy the Byrne and later Hama/Silvestri runs more), but I have to give them credit for trying something different.

[Robert Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are these the best Wolverine stories ever told? I may be a little biased. I first read the stories in this collection in single issue form, as an excited 9 and 10 year old in the late 1980s. Fans had been clamoring for a solo Wolverine series for years, especially after a very successful 4 issue series in 1982, illustrated by Sin City & Batman legend Frank Miller. In 1988, Marvel finally decided to deliver, with the sort of ridiculous choice that I assume could only originate with Chris Claremont, the writer most responsible for turning the X-Men Franchise into the multi-media colossus it is.

Why not take Wolverine out of his costume, and make him a sort of crusty nightclub owner in a dangerous South East Asian city-state? Over a number of years of stories, with very clear Casablanca, Indiana Jones and other cinematic influences, Wolverine ran around in khakis with an eye patch, fighting & negotiating with crime lords, local royalty, and very rarely super-villains. It's a testament to how committed 1980s Marvel was to keeping things fresh that this idea not only was tried, but persisted for years.

I adore these stories out of nostalgia, of course, but I think I can make a case that they really are among the best Wolverine stories ever. This entire multi-year run is illustrated by a late career John Buscema, one of the greatest Marvel artists of the 1960s and 1970s. He's clearly having a ball illustrating steamy streets and thugs instead of cosmic Avengers adventures. The choice of inkers is also quite extraordinary. Two of the 1980s most successful artists, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz cover the less glamorous job of finishing Buscema's work. I assume because they were excited to work with such an old pro. By 1988 I think both of these guys could have chosen their own projects.

Writer Chris Claremont is a genius, obviously, but his writing style is much parodied with good reason. It's stilted, overly verbose and honestly a bit laughable to the 40-something reader. His style hasn't stopped his stories from being the basis of a multi-billion dollar film franchise of course. Regardless, the switch three quarters of the way through the collection to writer Peter David, one of my favorites, was much appreciated. Madripoor, The Princess Bar, The Gehenna Stone Affair, and so much more that is found in this collection is foundational to my experience of fiction, and the way that I view the world. I'm very grateful for these stories, and am pleased to say that I still enjoy them today.

[Tacitus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burt: My! Are you a pirate?
Patch: No. I sell Arrow shirts.

Chris Claremont and John Buscema set up a Casablanca-inspired setting, with Wolverine going incognito as Patch. The X-men, including Wolverine, are believed dead, and so Logan has to be careful to not use his claws. He also wears an eye patch as a disguise. These stories work and are entertaining, mainly for their restraint; Claremont keeps the action small-framed in Madripoor.

Notably, Claremont demonstrates a knack for quickly establishing the character and plot points through thought bubbles or dialogue; the idea being that any reader could pick up a random issue and jump right in. If you didn't know who Wolverine was (his powers and so forth, or what he was doing in Madripoor), he establishes this seamlessly in a few panels and bubbles.

There's a plot involving Jessan Hoan (a banker turned crime lord, you see), that kind of trails off as the issues go on. The same is true of Lindsay McCabe and, to a lesser degree, Jessica Drew. Indeed, all of the female characters portrayed here were believable and served a story-released purpose. Claremont has a feel for character development, but the plots become a tad overworked. This may be because Claremont never gave Wolverine a clear or compelling motivation that could have pulled him through issue after issue.

It was a good thing that Peter David took over the writing duties, because he took the series in another direction. Whereas Claremont tried to go noir-ish, David saw Madripoor as a mix of Raiders of the Lost Ark and maybe Magnum P.I., injecting some humor and action in the six-issue "The Gehenna Stone Affair." David has fun with the whole Patch-disguise angle, too, revealing that Wolverine was fooling no one in his close circle, it turns out. Oddly, no one comments on his trademark hair style, as if it's commonplace.

Buscema was allowed to serve as the consistent art talent throughout, establishing a style for the series. With David's plots, the panels became bigger, the dialogue quicker, and the issues easier to read. Wolverine and friends uncover a plot by Ba'al and his vampiric followers to take over the world, in a more typical (and inevitably, more satisfying) superhero romp.

Altogether, this series offers a look at A-list creators who were just nailing it.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to be able to rate this volume as 4, or maybe even 5, stars. Sadly, that wasn't possible. While Chris Claremont does largely excellent work on his stories included here the overall work wasn't served well by the combination of artists assigned to Wolverine's first solo collection. John Buscema pencils a lot of the issues collected here, both from the old Marvel Comics Presents series as well as the Wolverine solo series. Buscema is a legend in the business. His work on Marvel's original Conan the Barbarian is still considered a high bar in comics, with good reason. Many current day pencilers are still visibly influenced by Buscema when working on Conan or other sword and sorcery books. He was that good.

Unfortunately, the inks provided by both Klaus Janson, who is widely considered to be one of the top inkers in the business, and Bill Sienkiewicz who is himself a legendary comics artist, are both ill fitted to Buscema's style. Perhaps Buscema merely did layouts and allowed Janson and Sienkiewicz were finishers, but all of the credits I recall seeing have Buscema listed as doing full pencils. Which means both Janson and Sienkiewicz' inks simply overpowered John's line work, which is a shame.

On the other hand, Glynis Oliver does yeoman's work on colors. A lot of modern colorists could learn a thing or two about their job by studying her work. Most coloring in modern comics are oversaturated and take away from the overall artistic presentation of the story. It need not be so.

Which brings me to Peter David, who is well known for his work on the Incredible Hulk. David's writing style, however, is extremely ill-fitted for Wolverine. I can think of few characters less suited for David's random use of "tee-hee, that's such a funny pop culture observation!" humor. Can it work in comics in general? Sure. Did it work in his run on X-Factor? Absolutely. Did it work in Wolverine? Not even close.

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claremont and Buscema is a formidable pairing and we get a series of highly entertaining stories, with glimpses of artistic greatness. Buscema is a master at depicting form and action, but his penciling is often very loose, requiring artistic interpretation from his inkers.

The inks here vary from perfection to scribbly--from issue to issue and sometimes from panel to panel--and from some very talented inkers. This might be explained by tight deadlines, but there is a lot of excellence to be found here.

The stories follow Wolverine as his alter ego Patch. The X-Men have disbanded and are keeping a low profile so their enemies don't attack their loved ones. The stories generally take place in an Asian city and island called Madripoor.

There is one throw-away filler story by Peter David inserted, and then a six-issue arc by Peter David that caps off the volume. Fortunately, the six-issue arc is more enjoyable, and the inking by Bill Sienkiewicz is quite excellent.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The joke goes there are two types of X-Men fans, X-Men fans and Wolverine fans. I’m the latter. As the Canucklehead’s popularity rose, editorial and writers got so in love with him that he’d overshadow the other (and better…) characters of the X-books. I like him in his place. I don’t like him as the main character of the X-Men stories.

Which may be why I have always loved these stories, Wolverine is intentionally separated from the now ‘deceased’ Outback crew and having his own adventures where he can be over-competent all he wants.

I think Claremont is enjoying the space to tell different stories here. We’ve got loads of pulp, Casablanca being a clear and cited reference.

The recently deceased Peter David’s bit at the end of this volume bore his characteristic humor for a ridiculous but fun story.

[Eric Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

COLLECTING: WOLVERINE (1988) 1-16, MATERIAL FROM MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) 1-10, MARVEL AGE ANNUAL 4 (WOLVERINE EPIC COLLECTION VOL. 1)

I was excited to revisit the Patch storyline from the late 80s, and was excited to find something I missed the first time around. Buying comics was weird in the 80s, and often you might miss something and not know. So imagine my surprise that the setup for the first 10 issues of Wolverine's comic came in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents. Often when I read these collections, it's just me rereading my childhood, and I love when I get to read something new.

Overall, it's fun because it's not a traditional superhero comic, and gives us another look at everyone's favorite X-Men.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art!

I read these comics when they came out, and they're a fun read. Whether or not it's your cup of tea, who can say? If nothing else, it's fun to see a masterful cartoonist like John Buscema at work, and for those who want to dig in and learn some drawing from it, seeing the same penciller inked by Klaus Janson, Al Williamson, and then Bill Sienkiewicz is fascinating.

The Madripoor stories are my favorite version of Wolverine, so it was a lot of fun poring over this material again. There were a couple of parts where the reproduction wasn't all the way dialed in, but that was a minor distraction.

[Christopher McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Wolverine its fun to read the first chunk of Wolverine's solo run, but beyond that its a mixed bag.
A few of the stories in here are interesting and there is some occasionally great art work; I did like the overall color scheme. Sometimes the art was a bit sloppy, or a certain issue too exposition heavy for a predictable run of the mill plot.

It's worth a read for Wolverine fans because you do get some triumphant moments, but if you're looking for the "best of" it isn't here.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early Wolverine issues in Madripoor are okay, but they feel generally pretty weird overall. He goes around fighting with drug runners and have bar battles, but it just feels weirdly dark and disjointed. This series clearly took a while to find its footing. I had also completely forgotten about the vampires. When he was fighting them in the new issues, I hadn't realized how often he's been set against vampires in his books.

[Del · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never was a fan of the character, I thought the 4 issue limited series wasn't that great, but I thought I'd give the series a chance, and I'm glad I did, as imo, these are far better than that initial limited series. Claremont and Buscema start it off strongly but it remains strong there after too. Have to say after reading the 2nd epic back to basics too and thought that also to very good, the character has grown on me. Excellent read.

[Rob Frisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of Wolverine's solo comic is a must for any comic book fan and of course the X-Men. The price though since it's out of print is so ridiculous. Talk about eye-gouging. Anyway, Marvel is reprinting this book and it's coming out sometime in 2021. So, don't worry, you'll be able to get it for $39.99 and the price gougers will go elsewhere and gouge something else. HA! Enjoy.

[Tim Pieraccini · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Buscema is the reason I own this. The stories are fine, nicely paced, decent dialogue, etc. but without Buscema's effortless energy I wouldn't have picked it up. The inking doesn't always serve the pencils (Sienkiewicz is an astonishing artist in his own right, but his work here is a bit too ragged and scratchy for my taste), but enough of the originals shines through to make it worthwhile.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine goes solo

Epic art and storytelling as the "dead" Wolverine travels to Madripoor. Endless battles ensure, and he makes some unlikely allies.
Featuring Hulk and Jessica Drew, and his first battle with Sabretooth!
An excellent and necessary read. Solid artwork by John Buscema and fluid storytelling by Claremont, This is a can't miss collection.

[Sergio Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenas historias a cargo de Claremont (muy Casablanca todo) y David (aventura pura). El apartado gráfico es lo que baja la nota: Buscema muy esquemático que brilla con sus propias tintas, cumple con las de Williamson y baja muchísimo con las de Sienkiewicz. De Colan mejor ni hablar.