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Wolverine: First Class (Collected Editions)
Wolverine: First Class, Vol. 1: The Rookie
Return with us again to the early days of the all-new, all-different, X-Men for all-new solo adventures of Wolverine and Kitty Pryde! The next generation of students has arrived at Xavier's School—Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and the mysterious Wolverine — and with them, new teaching methods. Professor X pairs up green recruit Kitty Pryde with the been-everywhere, done-everything vet Logan — and neither of them is all that happy about it.
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2008
2 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Fred Van Lente
1,359 books320 followersFred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 16, 2019
3.5 stars
"Return with us again to the early days of the all-new, all-different X-Men for the thrilling untold adventures of Wolverine." -- back cover blurb
The Wolverine: First Class title appears to be intended as accessible, entry-level reading for readers to jump into the long-running X-Men series. Courtesy of Professor X, Logan a.k.a Wolverine is placed into an older brother (but not quite father figure) / mentor-type role to newbie X student Kitty 'Shadowcat' Pryde for a trio of unrelated but lighthearted superheroic action-adventure stories. The characters easily fall into their known personalities - gruff and low-key Wolverine contrasting nicely with teenage Kitty's upbeat, sunny optimism - and they make quite the ultra-capable duo. It also feature cameo appearances from other 'X's (Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, etc.) from that era.
"Return with us again to the early days of the all-new, all-different X-Men for the thrilling untold adventures of Wolverine." -- back cover blurb
The Wolverine: First Class title appears to be intended as accessible, entry-level reading for readers to jump into the long-running X-Men series. Courtesy of Professor X, Logan a.k.a Wolverine is placed into an older brother (but not quite father figure) / mentor-type role to newbie X student Kitty 'Shadowcat' Pryde for a trio of unrelated but lighthearted superheroic action-adventure stories. The characters easily fall into their known personalities - gruff and low-key Wolverine contrasting nicely with teenage Kitty's upbeat, sunny optimism - and they make quite the ultra-capable duo. It also feature cameo appearances from other 'X's (Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, etc.) from that era.
June 6, 2018
My students really enjoyed this comic.
May 14, 2011
Wow, got tired of the "happy endings tied up neatly at the end of each issue" formula after only two issues.
Don't know what Van Lente's shooting for here, but boy is it low-interest kindling.
Art's no better either - pretty pedestrian looking stuff, just cartoonish and "whoosh-y" enough to make me think the style is deliberate.
Perhaps this series is aimed at teenage girls. If so, why would they bring in a ham-handed guy and not one of the many fabulously talented female writers who are always getting short shrift?
Don't know what Van Lente's shooting for here, but boy is it low-interest kindling.
Art's no better either - pretty pedestrian looking stuff, just cartoonish and "whoosh-y" enough to make me think the style is deliberate.
Perhaps this series is aimed at teenage girls. If so, why would they bring in a ham-handed guy and not one of the many fabulously talented female writers who are always getting short shrift?
January 10, 2015
This series is aimed at younger readers, so with that in mind I will say I enjoyed the stories. Issue 2 I thought was the best because it had a Wolverine-Sabretooth throwdown and those are always fun. Issue 1 was a typical kickoff issue, and 3 and 4 were good but issue 4 did end on a bit of a downer considering I thought these would be light-hearted stories. Wolverine fans will probably enjoy this series, but keep in mind these are mostly short, fun stories, and not the harder edged material you get in the main Wolverine books.
October 6, 2019
I downloaded this as a Kindle freebie, as I had just watched a "Star Wars" movie last night and I was feeling a little nostalgic. Plus, you know, Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. Awesome due, takes me back to the Chris Claremont days. The golden years, in my humble opinion.
I didn't realize this was intended as a young reader, which explains quite a lot about the stereotypes that Wolverine and Kitty play, as well as the simplified and easily solved plot line. If I were a child, this is a place to start. For avid, older, jaded fans, this selection is like a piece of stale Double Bubble that quickly loses its flavor.
I didn't realize this was intended as a young reader, which explains quite a lot about the stereotypes that Wolverine and Kitty play, as well as the simplified and easily solved plot line. If I were a child, this is a place to start. For avid, older, jaded fans, this selection is like a piece of stale Double Bubble that quickly loses its flavor.
July 11, 2019
I was digging this book, but it lost me a little with Lady Shadra of the Cat People...
Tune in to my special interview with author Fred Van Lente over on the All the Books Show. https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/of...
Tune in to my special interview with author Fred Van Lente over on the All the Books Show. https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/of...
December 27, 2017
These stories are too PG-13 for me. They're ok, but they add little to the overall X-Men universe. Younger readers might have stuff to learn here about courage, finding solutions, friendships and all sorts off things that I am fed up with. I'm too old to learn things anyway.
Wolverine is sent on a mission and has to take the inexperienced Kitty Pride with him. They find a mutant psychic who has been transmitting her distress into the townfolk and they take her back to Xavier's school.
Kitty needs to go to a Dazzler concert with her friends and wants to take Xavier's limousine. He only agrees if a grown up takes her, so she asks everyone and is refused. Wolverine refuses because she never did anything for him, so she throws him a birthday party attended by his girlfriend Mariko as well. What she doesn't know is that Wolverine and Sabertooth have a 'tradition' for this special day, one in which they try to kill each other.
The last story is about courage from unlikely sources, the importance of myth and the coldness of evolution. Wolverine loses his courage, but Kitty gets the edge to fight the threat from the Man-Thing in a town where the inhabitants are former animals given human traits by the Evolutionary.
Wolverine is sent on a mission and has to take the inexperienced Kitty Pride with him. They find a mutant psychic who has been transmitting her distress into the townfolk and they take her back to Xavier's school.
Kitty needs to go to a Dazzler concert with her friends and wants to take Xavier's limousine. He only agrees if a grown up takes her, so she asks everyone and is refused. Wolverine refuses because she never did anything for him, so she throws him a birthday party attended by his girlfriend Mariko as well. What she doesn't know is that Wolverine and Sabertooth have a 'tradition' for this special day, one in which they try to kill each other.
The last story is about courage from unlikely sources, the importance of myth and the coldness of evolution. Wolverine loses his courage, but Kitty gets the edge to fight the threat from the Man-Thing in a town where the inhabitants are former animals given human traits by the Evolutionary.
December 19, 2018
Trash. Absolute trash.
But it's Wolverine, so, I guess it's okay. It didn't kill me reading it. It just disappointed me.
I picked up this series in the bargain bin of a comic book store. I've found some real treasures that way. This time, while it was a bargain, it was not worth the price.
And I picked up the whole run.
I get that it was written for children, very very young children - I guess, I don't think even children would really enjoy it. That is, unless they never read any other comics, no X-Men or Wolverine originals, etc. Only then, if a child has absolutely no idea who these characters are and vows never to find out, then there maybe might be a chance of a glimmer of enjoyment. But just a glimmer.
I wish I could say that there were moments that I thought were good, but at best, there were moments that didn't piss me off in terms of tone, art, character, plot, and development of all of the above.
I mean, come on, there's a story where Wolverine becomes a coward. For no reason.
Bah. Enough.
But it's Wolverine, so, I guess it's okay. It didn't kill me reading it. It just disappointed me.
I picked up this series in the bargain bin of a comic book store. I've found some real treasures that way. This time, while it was a bargain, it was not worth the price.
And I picked up the whole run.
I get that it was written for children, very very young children - I guess, I don't think even children would really enjoy it. That is, unless they never read any other comics, no X-Men or Wolverine originals, etc. Only then, if a child has absolutely no idea who these characters are and vows never to find out, then there maybe might be a chance of a glimmer of enjoyment. But just a glimmer.
I wish I could say that there were moments that I thought were good, but at best, there were moments that didn't piss me off in terms of tone, art, character, plot, and development of all of the above.
I mean, come on, there's a story where Wolverine becomes a coward. For no reason.
Bah. Enough.
May 31, 2019
Kitty Pryde has just joined Xavier's school for the gifted; getting to know the other students, developing a crush on Cyclops, and making friends. Her first mission is to accompany Wolverine to find a new mutant. Unfortunately, that mutant's powers are to project her emotions, causing widespread panic and paranoia in a previously welcoming and accepting town. Despite Wolverine's attitude and reluctance to have her along, they both help each other out and begin to build a friendship.
September 7, 2025
This was not good. Hoping for a fun look at some untold tales from the early years of the "All-New X-Men" but instead getting generic Saturday morning cartoon tales without heart. Fred Van Lente struggles to make Kitty enjoyable (hard to believe) and Wolvie is portrayed pretty terribly. The 2-parter with the High Evolutionary was almost unreadable. The art was decent and fit the story well. Overall, an unfortunate beginning to a good idea.
November 27, 2018
On the one hand, I like the lighter approach to dear old Wolvie. On the other hand, only the first issue actually holds together. Issue 2 is an unmitigated disaster, and 3 and 4 just... doesn't really work.
October 1, 2020
I really loved Logan and Kitty's interactions. They were so funny and sweet with each other, especially as Logan started to open up to Kitty and he friendship. I also really enjoyed Kitty's narration. It was often very humorous and had me in knots of laughter on just about every page.
June 13, 2017
#1-#21
November 26, 2018
A fun read for the Wolverine lover or comic book lover's in general
Read
December 10, 2019no 1
July 10, 2020
A quick, upbeat trip to relatively brighter days for the X-Men.
November 7, 2021
Not a bad story with good art. I have it for free and I have no complains. You can entertain yourself with it and it's a complete story with some funny cartoons and the end
October 9, 2022
Decent Stories/Plots but Good Illustrations & Character Designs especially for Wolverine & Shadowcat!!!!
Something to cheer me up a lot after The Old Man Logan Heartbreaking & Bleak Story!!!!
Something to cheer me up a lot after The Old Man Logan Heartbreaking & Bleak Story!!!!
July 28, 2024
Badass on purpose mentors badass on accident
February 13, 2025
Found this while snooping through my brother's belongings. It was as whimsical and joyous as i hoped it would be.
August 25, 2025
The ninja themed restaurant date in issue two was a real highlight. This series is awfully pleasant for a Wolverine comic.
November 4, 2025
Great just like the last one
Action amazing art style amazing 🤩
Action amazing art style amazing 🤩
July 22, 2019
This is pretty harmless stuff, though I’m not a huge fan of Wolverine as a grumpy hockey dad. But, at times, it’s a fun little detour through the Claremont years.
August 7, 2014
This was decent for my first foray into reading x-men. I still prefer graphic novels that are less comic strip, more art though. And the plot line was very basic, all wrapped up neatly and happily. I did love some of the quips back and forth between the characters, but I really do need to find the grown-up graphic novel section of my library. And I hated the last issue with wolverine vs. hulk. Well, I guess I can't say I hated it, since I only read the first page or so before I realised that I was decidedly uninterested in continuing. If that hadn't been the last part (leaving a bad taste in my mouth), this would probably have been a 3-star rating... but I'm holding a grudge.
July 26, 2013
There's nothing really revolutionary here, and it's blatantly pretty kid-friendly. But if you're prepared for that, Van Lente makes the relationship between Kitty and Wolverine worth quite a few chuckles. The stories aren't uniformly good, but I enjoyed enough of them to make this a worthwhile read.
August 30, 2018
Kitty Pryde gets send on her first mission & she finds out people don't take very kind to mutants but Wolverine is there to show her the ropes. its a very intertaining read with lots of humor & great interaction between the two
May 29, 2009
I love love love the interactions between Wolverine and Kitty Pryde in this one. I really enjoyed this one.
April 12, 2011
Four great stories involving Kitty and Wolverine. Some very nice character moments.
September 22, 2013
Oh my goodness, the sass between Kitty and Logan is just fabulous.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews