Wolverine, Vol. 1

Wolverine (2020)

by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert (Illustrator)

The best is back! Wolverine has been through a lot. He's been a loner. He's been a killer. He's been a hero. He's been an Avenger. He's been to hell and back. Now, as the nation of Krakoa brings together all mutantkind, can he finally be...happy? With his family all together and safe, Logan has everything he ever wanted...and everything to lose. But he's never been one to back down from a fight - not even a combined assault from Lady Deathstrike, Sabretooth and Dr. Cornelius. Yet the fearsome Flower Cartel might have enlisted his worst and greatest foe: Wolverine himself! Writer Benjamin Percy (X-FORCE, WOLVERINE: THE LONG NIGHT) and legendary WOLVERINE artist Adam Kubert unite to put Logan at the heart of a criminal conspiracy that threatens to darken the Dawn of X!

COLLECTING: WOLVERINE (2020) 1-5

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2020

About the author

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mutant world has changed beyond recognition (thanks to Jonathan Hickman) giving Marvel a perfect opportunity for Logan to become a beacon of knowledge... as he shares his experiences of 'immortality' with all the other newly immortal mutants; surely some kind of story around how he reacts with his kin getting a level playing field with him? Instead we do get some interesting protagonists, but we get plain old cut and claw Wolverine investigating trouble. Very mediocre in my opinion, although Percy has definitely got some writing skills. 5 out of 12.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine takes on the Flower Cartel, a drug cartel that is stealing Krokoan flowers that are meant for medicines and turning them into street drugs. I like how the Pale Girl messes with Wolverine in this and how he gets past it. Then the Vampire Nation is rising and discovers Wolverine's blood gives them special abilities. This story wasn't as strong but Victor Bogdonavic's art is great. He comes over to Marvel with this book after many years prettying up DC.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Wolvie’s first ‘proper’ solo book since he came back from the dead (the time they made a big deal of it, not the time since then that nobody but me seemed to bat an eyelid at) this is pretty much Wolverine-by-numbers. It’s not bad but it’s not great either. There’s nothing here we haven’t seen before apart from the thin veneer of Krakoa-stink that just felt like an editorially mandated link to the new Hickman-verse.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magneto was pissed off at Wolverine!

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good first volume. Strangely I enjoyed the mini story more then the main story. I actually like the format of collecting all the parts of the mini story then doing the same to the main story.

The mini story involves someone is stealing the Mutant Island/homeland/fortress Krakoa's biggest export, and using is to make drugs in the human world. They have also made it personal for Wokverine. How far will Wolverine go for payback? The other bit of payback he get is actually pretty funny.

In the man story another nation has declared war on the world. What could bring Omaga Red to Krakoa begging for sanctuary? Also how does Wolverine fit in their plans? Part of the reason I did not enjoy this story as much is for me here Wolverine seems to have list his edge. He just seems to walk into one trap after another.

All in all a good volume. I can't wait to see what happens next to Wolverine and it is pulling me into the other X titles as well.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin Percy continues his exploration into the new Krakoan status quo for the mutants and company, and his Wolverine is even better than X-Force. It's dark, it's crazy escapist scifi but also somehow grounded in the gritty underbelly of the Marvel universe, and it works. Of course, quite violent.

With excellent art by seminal Wolvie legend Adam Kubert, I always thought that best writer-artist team was with Larry Hama. Percy is now a strong contender.

The stories are about the CIA, drug running as only this weird setting could do, and vampires. Omega Red is in there as some 90s nostalgia, I never loved that character but he's utilized well and (spoiler) remains a villain while so many other Krakoans are 'good guys' nowadays.

One criticism for a plot point I could do without, Wolverine gets drugged and captured more than once which is both cliched and doesn't really make sense. Oh well~

Above all, I enjoy his relationship with other X-mutants such as Magneto. Somehow, Logan on this nation-state island where he bickers with the Quiet Council is an even better headquarters than the old mansion. Looking forward to catching up on all of his run!

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reviewed all 4 of these issues (well issue 1 has two stories making it 80+ pages long) and I have to say this is the first time I'm REALLY enjoying a Wolverine story.

To sum it up it's basically wolverine trying to take down a baddie again. But this time he tries a new tactic. Maybe having his FRIENDS help him instead of always doing something on his own. This makes for new and exciting ideas. It helps that Percy has Logan's voice down-packed and the art is pretty fantastic. This is a great start to the new Wolverine story. A 4 out of 5.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read again!

We have two stories here like the first is Wolverine tracking down some people who have been taking the Krakoan drugs called Pollen and the people he is after are called the flower cartel and he learns of some Pale girl from there but on some X-Force mission it goes wrong and what happens is brutal and it leads him to focus and track down this enemy fast and its fun, seeing him team up with Marauders to track down the Pale girl and how he defeats her is a change of pace from the lonely wolf he is always shown to be and could be considered fun and then we have the big story of what some future plots might build to. Its fun and action packed and is mystery filled and introduces new character and concepts and starts his run off with a bang! 4/5 to that!

But the next story is weird. It focuses on Omega Red who is back and well has Wolverine fight the people from the area he has come from and he finds vampires in Paris and meets a vampire-hunter named Louise there and the story is unclear and it doesn't help it has so many perspectives but then again the constant jumping back and forth kinda makes it unclear and messes up the flow of the story and idk what happened in the end. Did he defeat the vampires or more future plots with Dracula? But the art was nice I guess. 2.5/5 to this one.

I think the stories don't have a sense of closure and maybe setting stuff for the future but reading it as a separate volume kinda messes it up for me and the stuff with Magneto sure while humorous kinda goes against his character, making him a comic relief I didn't like that but nonetheless good first return to form for the character and it will be interesting to follow the threats of the Pale Girl and Dracula in future volumes. The art overall is nice and makes for a smooth read but please stop with the information pages, I hate that about this HiX-Men era.

[Corey Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good!

So this is in the Krakoa era, which I have been avoiding in favor of getting a better handle on the world instead of just jumping into the all the complicated (but good) stuff Hickman created. But when I saw this on Hoopla's free borrows list, I thought I would give it a try. Well, guess what? It wasn't confusing!

In other words, it stayed it's own little bubble, only referencing all of the stuff going on in the main X men titles. So my head didn't completely explode from too much info like what happened with House Of X/Powers Of X.

So what's this book about? So there's this black market that is taking this pollen fom Krakoa and using it as this drug and selling it. Of course, the council doesn't like this, so they send the x-force to try and get the pollen back. Of course, stuff happens, which causes wolverine to go on his own little adventure.

After all of that gets wrapped up, there's this whole plotline with VAMPIRES! And I loved it! I don't know what's so interesting about marvel vampires, but they are! Don't judge me. And no, I wasn't talking to you Mr. Leto.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty fun book. Check it out!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolverine's solo series as part of Dawn of X is piloted by Benjamin Percy, who also covers Logan's adventures over in X-Force, so at least there's not a lot of push and pull between those two books. That said, this volume is...even, to say the least.

The first half of this volume deals with the Flower Cartel, yet another shady organisation targetting the X-Men, this time so that they can steal the Krakoan flowers that have revolutionised the mutants' world. It's a decent story, but compared to the other shadowy cabals introduced as part of Dawn of X, this one lacks a bit of punch.

The other half pits Wolverine against vampires, which should be a fun time, but Logan feels like he's on the back foot for the entirety of the proceedings, so it's hard for the story to gain any traction. He's almost none the wiser by the time it's over as well, which doesn't help.

The artwork's pretty great though. I'm always wary when I see a Kubert on a monthly book because they're all notoriously slow, but Adam Kubert's issues are as solid as I've ever seen them. Viktor Bogdanovic picks up the latter half, and I find his style a bit more impressive to be honest, kind of like a less refined Greg Capullo (I'm sure I've used that comparison in the past). Wolverine has some top talent drawing it, even if the story doesn't always keep up.

Dawn Of X doesn't have many duds, but Wolverine's first arc isn't as good as the other books around it. It's not bad, but it doesn't really distinguish itself from any of the other books, and there are certain story elements that could swap in almost any other X-Man and the book would be basically the same. A bit more individuality and a bit more direction is needed for this one to climb to the top of the pack.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying it but a bit scattered and unfocused...as is the way with Hickman projects.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Wolverine as a character, but never enough to follow him in his own book. With Jonathan Hickman's Dawn of X relaunch, I decided to give it a try, and it's been fairly enjoyable so far. There are two storylines introduced in the first issue of the new series--one involving a mysterious group called The Flower Cartel, which is hijacking shipments of Krakoan plants and subverting them for their own dark ends--and another involving the Vampire Nation, who are making some kind of play for power using Wolverine's blood which allows them to walk in the daylight.

Neither of these stories is resolved in this volume, and it's a bit strange how both of these seemingly unrelated storylines are being developed at the same time, but then, I suppose that's a bit how life goes as well. One storyline doesn't patiently wait for another to end before starting its course. Of the two, I'm finding the Flower Cartel storyline to be more engaging, as I always thought that Dracula's involvement with the X-Men was somewhat cheesy. Omega Red is a crucial part of the vampire storyline though, and I do really enjoy him as a villain, so as long as he's a part of it I'll probably be on board.

Wolverine's inner monologue is pretty much what you'd expect, though I do appreciate that they're trying to move him in more optimistic directions with the advent of the sovereign nation of Krakoa. I particularly enjoyed how one issue in this volume involved a bunch of victims of mutant violence who joined a hate/support group to cope with their trauma, though I wish author Benjamin Percy had explored that idea a little further.

Andy Kubert's art on the Flower Cartel storyline is phenomenal as one might expect, especially in the opening pages depicting the aftermath of a violent scene in the Alaskan wilderness. I was unfamiliar with Viktor Bogdanovic's art on the vampire story, but it was very well suited to that dark subject matter.

Benjamin Percy has a good grasp on the character and tends to steer clear of his caricaturistic dialog that all too often turns the character into a joke. I don't know how long I'll realistically read a Wolverine solo book, but it's off to a more interesting start than I would have expected, so I'll stick with it for now.

[Rylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is essentially an extension of Percy’s X-Force which isn’t a bad thing, I love Percy’s X-Force. The story focuses on Wolverine going after a drug cartel that is taking the Krakoan medicine and selling it on the black market. It’s cool seeing Wolverine find his role within the newly established Krakoa. The art in here is absolutely stunning, Adam Kubert never fails. His art looks especially nice with the coloring used in this series.

[Matt Quann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adam Kubert's art is great, but this just doesn't feel like an exciting entry in the new mutant status quo.

[Filip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally posted over at my blog The Grimoire Reliquary.

The first volume of Benjamin Percy’s Wolverine has me more excited about the violent midget ninja than any X-Book has for close to a decade. Not Death of Wolverine, not Hunt of Wolverine or Return of Wolverine or Prom of Wolverine 2: Stabby Boogaloo. But enough jokes; at the heart of this first volume is Wolverine’s unease with what has become the heart of mutantkind: their island nation of Krakoa. I’ll have to talk about Jonathan Hickman’s fascinating House of X/Powers of X elsewhere, but for the sake of context, I’ll just say that his vision of the X-Men’s new place in the world has revitalised my favourite superhero team, and a franchise that was really struggling for several years, especially with the Red, Gold, and Blue titles. If you enjoyed those–power to you. Me? I stopped reading for three-four years.

Hickman’s vision has drawn me in; Percy’s Wolverine has shown me that the characters I know and love from childhood are alive and well. Wolverine’s role in Krakoa is to make sure threats moving against the mutant nation are quietly taken care of, away from prying eyes. In this first volume alone, there are plenty of those–and despite Wolvie’s skills, as sharp as they ever are, he’s feeling the weight of that change. Krakoa has shaken Logan up; he’s slipping, missing things he shouldn’t be missing, and facing foes who are a whole lot more elusive and ingenious than he’s prepared for. But he’s still Wolverine, and he’s sure as hell going to take care of business because (you know it!) he’s the best there is at what he does.

Percy’s villains work really well against Wolverine. Logan is known by his reputation–how could he not be–and the cast of antagonists exploit his weaknesses in the most delectable ways. Tension abound. One, the Pale Woman, might be an original character; I, at least, have no memory of every having . She’s being treated as a question mark, a powerful telepath whose powers rival some of our mutant A-listers. She’s dangerous enough to do all kinds of nasty things to Wolvie, as you’ll see. Then there’s a familiar vampiric face (rhymes with Shmacula) that the X-Men have come into conflict with many times before. He’s got a whole new do-0ver and where I’ve previously found his use uninspired in Marvel’s hands, here I am genuinely eager to see how the conflict between mutantdom and this new iteration of the Vampire Nation will play out.

This volume has scope–from Alaska to Russia to France to Canada. Each location is well-defined, drawn in a way that feels true to the real-world locations. More importantly, each presents its own serious set of problems. A rival mutant society, a Vampire Nation newly unified under Dracula, the Pale Woman…Percy and co. are placing a wide range of chips, and I am eager to see where they will each fall.

Nor is the support cast anything to sneer out. Beyond Krakoa and a score of mutants whose voices felt authentic for the first time in years, there are several original characters here who steal the cake; a DEA agent with a tragic backstory, a vampire-hunting French woman Logan exchanges a few sparks with, and even a bunch of unusual kids. Okay, I’ll mention the mutants I loved seeing again most: Kitty was great, everything with Jean killed me, KID OMEGA OF ALL PEOPLE was a lark, but also the Stepford Cuckoos were great to see in their five-in-one hive mind again (even though I’m sad to see that individual character growth they’ve gone through since Grant Morrison’s run disappear).

Two specific interactions between Wolverine and another character brought about the most tense and humorous moments both. The first is with Omega Red–the history between him and Wolverine is long and bloody, and Red serves as a foil to Logan; they are two sides of the same coin, in much the same way that Sabretooth and he often are. The second is Magneto; from a fun moment I did not expect to taunting and a revitalised mutual disdain between the two, I alternated between grinning and reading with bated breath to see how each scene would resolve.

The art is intense. Artists Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic share in the burden, providing some stunning, action-heavy pencil (and maybe ink?) art; it’s dynamic, it’s gorgeous to look at, it’s colourful in a measured way, with each scene capturing a different mood through use of cooler or warmer tones(thanks to color artists Frank Martin and Matthew Wilson). Kudos to the whole team – this has proven a great book to start off the X-year!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine going to war with Dracula is a bold choice for the first arc on a run, I'll hand that to Mr. Percy!



I personally preferred the first arc involving nefarious dealings with the pharmaceutical products the Mutants are producing on Krakoa, the Dude-esque side character of Bannister was good fun even if the details about the Pale Lady villain were kept maddeningly vague.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The thing that's always the same, no matter what kind of mess I'm in, no matter what odd and broken pieces of my brain remain, no matter where and when I find myself, is gut instinct. That's always been my true north, the compass I chase. Because someone who takes the time to think $#%& out and plan ahead is somebody who believes in a better future. I never been that guy."

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟

Decent art and characterizations, however the plot was barely comprehensible and jumpy from scene to scene. Percy writes a good Wolverine inner monologue :)

[Kyle Berk]

Pairs very well with X-Force.

There are two storylines going on here across the five issues.

One is about a drug cartel messing with Mutant property and is very interesting. And another is about an old enemy of Logan's coming to Krakoa and vampires. That one is fun.

Worth a read if you like Wolverine solo titles as this fits in perfectly with that.

What might entice you further is the fantastic art from Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic.

[Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for Wolverine fighting Dracula

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Wolverine stories with a very old-school feel. First tale is grounded in the world of Krakoa, but concerns drug deals and drug dealers, a sick little girl and an uneasy partnership. The philosophical question behind these endless regnerations got off the ground in Giant Size, and gains traction here. Second story concerns Wolverine and Dracula & the Vampire Nation, which have long been a part of the Marvel U. Omega Red is back, the relationship between Magneto & Wolverine is pretty much what you'd want it to be (and funny) and the art changes here are appropriate to the story and not at all jarring. Maybe not a bad intro to the character for new readers?

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this collection more and more as it progressed to the point where I'm just ready for a Woverine vs. vampires ongoing series.

[Tesutamento · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hickman HoX/PoX ile mutant dünyasında yeni bir çağ açsa da bu yeni çağın Wolverine serisi maalesef oldukça eski usul. Wolverine'in klasik iç hesaplaşmalarıyla dolu, bolca kesip biçme barındıran bir cilt. Karakter ne yaşarsa yaşasın hala canavar olup olmadığı ikileminden çıkamadığı için hikayelerinin çoğu aşağı yukarı aynı şekilde ilerliyor. Hazır mutantlar Krakoa çağına girmiş ve farklı şeylerle uğraşmaya başlamışken bu kitapta daha farklı bir Wolverine ortaya konabilirmiş ama kolaya kaçılmış. En azından çizimlerine bakarak katlanılabilir.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again Ben Percy fails to impress me though this might be the less worse of his works that I’ve read so far. Kubert’s half-cartoony style isn’t the best suited to convey the right visual impression of this moody-introspective-action-packed-thriller wannabe.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolverine is a badass. I really loved this volume, following Wolverine while enjoying life in Krakoa and while trying to escape Krakoa for a sense of danger and excitement. I love the horror elements to this volume, as well and I’m looking forward to seeing where this story continues!

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected! Percy makes it clear up front that Logan is unsure about how safe and "good" things are on Krakoa so he's being cautious. Since he's in charge of protecting the island, he decides to take care of a few threats on his own, and in his own "classic" style.

It's nice to see a little of the "old" Wolverine again. The best part is Logan's general attitude to everybody which goes back to the "I don't give a @#$!, I'm doing what I want to do." One of which is what he does to Magneto. The stories are bloody when it comes to the battles, not quite rated R but pushing the Teen rating for sure. In the five issues included, there are three stories, at least two are setup for future tales. Percy also examines Wolverine's mental state, not only referring to previous memory issues, but also talks as if something happened recently. Not sure what he's referring to, maybe his death?

Adam Kubert's art is still pretty good, although I think someone else is inking it to save him some time. Kubert switches off with someone else who has a similar, yet acceptable style.

Looking forward to more.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but not great. Starts off with some x-men stuff on Krakoa and some petal business that was good but I might be getting sick of the krakoa story line... I dont know... all the death and resurrection kind of seems pointless and old hat but whatever. The second story was more focused on Wolverine himself and it was better. I like seeing an older villain and the vampire stuff is OK for now.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, as far as Wolvie stories go it’s FINE. PASSABLE EVEN. A tad boring to retread his old hits as if everyone hasn’t seen Logan self-flagellate ad naseum.

[Felix Zilich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Всю мою сознательную жизнь вселенная мутантов крутилась в бесконечном колесе сансары. Спроси меня в любой год что происходит в текущем икс-онгоинге и я точно не ошибусь, если скажу, что иксмены-радикалы опять кого-то взорвали, Профессор снова умер, таймлайны в очередной раз изменились, люди ненавидят мутантов, а мутанты - бунтуют против зануды Циклопа. Одним словом, ничего нового.

Джонатан Хикмен, кажется, сломал в прошлом году эту карусель и сценаристы из его команды активно помогают ему вынести мусор. Среди них Бен Перси. Один из самых крепких новых авторов среднего тира, у которого я с удовольствием читаю любой онгоинг. Фишка Бена - суровые мужики без особых претензий (Оливер Квин, Дик Грейсон, Титаны, теперь - Росомаха), а самый полезный навык - умение работать в команде с авторами из параллельных серий. Что для реформатора Хикмена - настоящее золото.

В начале первого тома Логан живёт на Кракоа, играет с детьми в прятки, ловит их над пропастью во ржи, но ветер странствий вновь заставляет волосатого злобного хоббита покинуть его маленький уютный Шир. Его Гэндальфом оказывается Омега Ред, который прибывает однажды через портал и получает от икс-боссов амнистию и полный иммунитет. Разумеется, Омега - лишь приманка. Цель психопата - выманить бессмертного поросёнка из домика, после чего доставить его во внешний мир, к своему новому хозяину.

Спойлерить пока не стану. Займусь этим во втором томе. Скажу лишь, что в первом сборнике три параллельных, но совершенно нелинейных сюжета. Первый - про пиратов из Цветочного Картеля. Второй - про сектантов из Москвы. Третий - про Париж и чернобыльского владыку. Лучшие моменты - личный портал на задний дворик нового beer buddy, а также история о том, как Логан нассал в шлем Магнето.

[Alan Castree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories in this book. The first story is a continuation of X force with some Marauders (but before [spoiler] comes back), and it was okay… the second story was about vampires. And it was also okay. Both seemed a bit random but not bad. Nothing extraordinary here.