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Wolverine Omnibus
Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 3
Collects Wolverine (1988) #31-59, Bloody Choices, Rahne Of Terra, Ghost Rider/Wolverine/ Hearts Of Darkness, X-Men (1991) #4-7 and material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #54-55 And Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #85-108.
Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri reinvent Wolverine's world! Logan smashes a drug ring in Madripoor, encounters the mythical Hunter in Darkness and relives the Spanish Civil War with his old pal Puck! The Reavers cook up the deadly doppelganger Albert and his explosive partner, Elsie-Dee! Sabretooth returns, convinced he's Wolverine's father! And determined to uncover the secrets of his past, Logan and Jubilee investigate the Weapon X facility! But as suppressed memories bubble to the surface, can Professor X and Jean Grey unlock the mysteries inside Wolverine's head? The sadistic Cyber debuts, Mojo and Omega Red strike and Logan suffers a terrible loss!
Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri reinvent Wolverine's world! Logan smashes a drug ring in Madripoor, encounters the mythical Hunter in Darkness and relives the Spanish Civil War with his old pal Puck! The Reavers cook up the deadly doppelganger Albert and his explosive partner, Elsie-Dee! Sabretooth returns, convinced he's Wolverine's father! And determined to uncover the secrets of his past, Logan and Jubilee investigate the Weapon X facility! But as suppressed memories bubble to the surface, can Professor X and Jean Grey unlock the mysteries inside Wolverine's head? The sadistic Cyber debuts, Mojo and Omega Red strike and Logan suffers a terrible loss!
1226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1992
7 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Larry Hama
1,953 books151 followersLarry Hama is an American writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 6, 2024
The Wolverine Omnibus collections are an attempt by the Marvel Comics editors to compile all of the stories that included Wolverine / Logan throughout the vast Marvel universe in a trade paperback format and re-market essentially reprinted material with glossy paper, and higher production. Although one might call it a cash-grab capitalizing on the mainstream popularity of the character, Marvel does it for a lot of characters. Transparent as it may be the marketing works.
I love these collections, and the format. As a reader of comic books, you follow certain characters throughout their titles. Wolverine has one monthly title, but his popularity requires that he guest star in at least one monthly title, while having a monthly feature in Marvel Comics Presents. Sometimes, the titles change their distribution seemingly at random. Marvel Comics Presents goes bi-weekly at certain times of the year. It can be quite costly to follow a character.
The Omnibus collections make the curating process easier for people that just want to read specific stories about specific characters. Here, the editorial team collects the Wolverine (1988) title #31-59, Wolverine: Bloody Choices (1991) graphic novel, Wolverine: Rahne of Terra (1991) TPB (trade paperback), Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness (1991) TPB, X-Men (1991) #4-7; and material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #54-55, and Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #85-108.
Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri receive the credit on the cover as the creative team of Wolverine at the time, but needless to say numerous artists and writers contributed to the comics included in this anthology. Also, as the third volume in the Omnibus series, the earlier history of the character is covered in earlier volumes.
As usual, although Logan may be the major protagonist, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Ghost Rider, the New Mutants, X-Force, and the Punisher all get to adventure with our MC. He faces numerous villains: Nightmare, Sabretooth, Cylla, Fenris, Mojo, Omega Red, the Hand, and a host of others.
Wolverine is not my favorite Marvel superhero, but clearly many fans love the anti-hero demeanor that Logan wears as a facade. There is way more "heart" in these stories than one would expect. Consequently, as I've read these stories, I understand his appeal. The character has a code, but there are times he lets his hair down so to speak and goes on adventures that are a little less earth shattering, world threatening important.
He can kick back with a beer and get stupid like the rest of us, and he's not afraid of anything, because his bones are laced with adamantium (a well-nigh unbreakable metal) and he has a healing factor that keeps him young and healthy. Damn, you have to envy a guy like that.
I love these collections, and the format. As a reader of comic books, you follow certain characters throughout their titles. Wolverine has one monthly title, but his popularity requires that he guest star in at least one monthly title, while having a monthly feature in Marvel Comics Presents. Sometimes, the titles change their distribution seemingly at random. Marvel Comics Presents goes bi-weekly at certain times of the year. It can be quite costly to follow a character.
The Omnibus collections make the curating process easier for people that just want to read specific stories about specific characters. Here, the editorial team collects the Wolverine (1988) title #31-59, Wolverine: Bloody Choices (1991) graphic novel, Wolverine: Rahne of Terra (1991) TPB (trade paperback), Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness (1991) TPB, X-Men (1991) #4-7; and material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #54-55, and Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #85-108.
Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri receive the credit on the cover as the creative team of Wolverine at the time, but needless to say numerous artists and writers contributed to the comics included in this anthology. Also, as the third volume in the Omnibus series, the earlier history of the character is covered in earlier volumes.
As usual, although Logan may be the major protagonist, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Ghost Rider, the New Mutants, X-Force, and the Punisher all get to adventure with our MC. He faces numerous villains: Nightmare, Sabretooth, Cylla, Fenris, Mojo, Omega Red, the Hand, and a host of others.
Wolverine is not my favorite Marvel superhero, but clearly many fans love the anti-hero demeanor that Logan wears as a facade. There is way more "heart" in these stories than one would expect. Consequently, as I've read these stories, I understand his appeal. The character has a code, but there are times he lets his hair down so to speak and goes on adventures that are a little less earth shattering, world threatening important.
He can kick back with a beer and get stupid like the rest of us, and he's not afraid of anything, because his bones are laced with adamantium (a well-nigh unbreakable metal) and he has a healing factor that keeps him young and healthy. Damn, you have to envy a guy like that.
April 25, 2025
(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
It only took the turning of a single page to realise that this was going to be when the Wolverine omnibus' came into their own. The previous two had their moments, but I ultimately came away feeling a little bit underwhelmed, a little deflated at the lack of consistency or killer stories contained within. This was the halcyon period for comics, with some top tier talent on board, it really should have been better. Well now it is.
The art and colours are simply phenomenal. I've had very little exposure to Mark Silvestri up until now, although to see him in his element, with actual inking on paper and colour that isn't sterile, digital slop is a sight for sore eyes. But then you add some truly outstanding writing from Larry Hama and you have the recipe for one truly banging X book. It has it all, some humour, some heart and enough assess getting kicked to make a pacifist run for the hills. He is the best he is at what he does, after all.
Sadly, the storytelling did deteriorate slightly towards the end, with meaningful and well crafted stories falling slightly to the wayside, replacing it with a little too much actin shlock for my taste. That and some colour blending did rear it's evil head as well, though this is a minor gripe amidst what is easily near to 1000 pages of Wolverine and a few select co-hort's turning on the charm and dialing up the harm. If you only grab one Wolverine omnibus, it needs to be this one. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
It only took the turning of a single page to realise that this was going to be when the Wolverine omnibus' came into their own. The previous two had their moments, but I ultimately came away feeling a little bit underwhelmed, a little deflated at the lack of consistency or killer stories contained within. This was the halcyon period for comics, with some top tier talent on board, it really should have been better. Well now it is.
The art and colours are simply phenomenal. I've had very little exposure to Mark Silvestri up until now, although to see him in his element, with actual inking on paper and colour that isn't sterile, digital slop is a sight for sore eyes. But then you add some truly outstanding writing from Larry Hama and you have the recipe for one truly banging X book. It has it all, some humour, some heart and enough assess getting kicked to make a pacifist run for the hills. He is the best he is at what he does, after all.
Sadly, the storytelling did deteriorate slightly towards the end, with meaningful and well crafted stories falling slightly to the wayside, replacing it with a little too much actin shlock for my taste. That and some colour blending did rear it's evil head as well, though this is a minor gripe amidst what is easily near to 1000 pages of Wolverine and a few select co-hort's turning on the charm and dialing up the harm. If you only grab one Wolverine omnibus, it needs to be this one. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
February 6, 2023
This omnibus is wild. One minute it's a mournful tale of loss, the next it's a wacky parade of robots and cyborgs and Sabertooth in silly costumes. Marc Silvestri does his level best to keep it looking awesome, and Jubilee is delightful, but it's just hard to take these tough emotional beats seriously when there's so much nonsense next to it. The MCP issues are similarly ropey with the usual set of dreams, time travel, crossovers, and other excuses not to care about the important things happening in the main comics.
April 1, 2025
Poor Wolverine. He got a bit too big for his britches. When we first got to know Wolvie he was the team hothead. He wasn’t well liked, on or off the page. (This is true, believe it or not.) Chris Claremont would change that in both ways. In the backups for Classic X-Men he retconned in a relationship with Jean Grey (boo); and in subsequent issues of Uncanny X-Men he developed Asswipe Wolverine into Ronin Logan (yay). The apotheosis of Wolverine realized, the poor guy never had any down time—he was everywhere. And all these years later reading Wolverine’s chronological appearances is tough as adamantium because so much of it is utter, utter crap.
The first omnibus was genuinely great. It showed you why Wolverine became a household name. There’s very, very little in that book that outright sucks. We get his first appearances, his major definitive X-Men stuff, his first limited series, and the first ten issues of his first ongoing (almost all of this, by the way, is written by Chris Claremont in his prime.) Even the Kitty mini isn’t terrible. Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X (aka the only stories from Marvel Comics Presents that are worth a damn, and Wolverine’s first origin-adjacent story) is here, as well. I just find it overrated. Windsor-Smith needed a writer. The story, which tells a very small if crucial part of Wolverine’s origin, surprised nobody. It is very property and colorful but it has almost nil to offer as far as plot. It’s boring. It’s annoying to read. It’s a lot of Mad Scientist Musings and Military Security Talk. Riveting stuff.
The second omnibus completely inverts that hit to miss ratio. The issues of his ongoing are mostly dreck, first off. (Claremont, God love him, misfired with the Madripoor Patch setup and without him on the book the whole house of cards quickly falls apart.) Writers Peter David, Archie Goodwin, and Mary Jo Duffy deliver decent, blah, and skip-worthy stories, respectively. It’s bananas to think, really, how Marvel put so much pressure on Claremont to write a Wolverine ongoing and then once they got it (sans Claremont) they didn’t really even assign the book to a creative team and let it languish beginning with issue #11—at the peak of the character’s popularity—even the non-fill-ins feel like fill-ins. Secondly, the Havok mini by the Simonsons is the best stuff here and that’s not saying much. Depending on your mood and goodwill, the art is a little hard to look at and the story is a little cliche and boring. Thirdly, the slew of one-shots are pretty terrible and the less said about Marvel Comics Presents, the better. This book is a chore and a half.
This third omnibus is where the Wolverine-as-solo-artist idea finally is justified (not counting volume 1’s Chris Claremont-Frank Millar mini.) And that’s because 1) an actual creative team takes over the ongoing series starting with issue #31, 2) and it’s not just any team, but a great team: Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri, and 3) Wolverine isn’t hamstrung by the goofy Patch setup and he’s allowed to interact more with the other characters in his world. The first few stories aren’t great, sure, but they do look great. Silvestri (with inker Green) had one of my favorite runs on Uncanny and it’s easy to see this run as an extension of that one. Once Hama brings in the supporting X-characters that Claremont specifically (if nobly and foolishly) eschewed, and once he sets up his long term storylines with his own original characters, the book starts to soar. Before you know it, Wolverine is actually a quality book! Not perfect, but very good. Is more than half the book still filled with ugly dreck because Marvel was still abusing the popularity of everyone’s favorite sharp hairbag? Most definitely. But at least there is a sharper contrast between good and bad.
If you want to read every appearance of Wolverine ever, god bless. If you want just the better stuff, read the first omni, skip the second, and skip half the third. Claremont did some masterful, groundbreaking work with Logan, but the reward was bastardization and overexposure. Here you get a worthy successor to Claremont. These are comics worth reading.
(Ironically, Hama tried to revert Wolverine back to his Original Hothead Flavor but fails, thankfully.)
The first omnibus was genuinely great. It showed you why Wolverine became a household name. There’s very, very little in that book that outright sucks. We get his first appearances, his major definitive X-Men stuff, his first limited series, and the first ten issues of his first ongoing (almost all of this, by the way, is written by Chris Claremont in his prime.) Even the Kitty mini isn’t terrible. Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X (aka the only stories from Marvel Comics Presents that are worth a damn, and Wolverine’s first origin-adjacent story) is here, as well. I just find it overrated. Windsor-Smith needed a writer. The story, which tells a very small if crucial part of Wolverine’s origin, surprised nobody. It is very property and colorful but it has almost nil to offer as far as plot. It’s boring. It’s annoying to read. It’s a lot of Mad Scientist Musings and Military Security Talk. Riveting stuff.
The second omnibus completely inverts that hit to miss ratio. The issues of his ongoing are mostly dreck, first off. (Claremont, God love him, misfired with the Madripoor Patch setup and without him on the book the whole house of cards quickly falls apart.) Writers Peter David, Archie Goodwin, and Mary Jo Duffy deliver decent, blah, and skip-worthy stories, respectively. It’s bananas to think, really, how Marvel put so much pressure on Claremont to write a Wolverine ongoing and then once they got it (sans Claremont) they didn’t really even assign the book to a creative team and let it languish beginning with issue #11—at the peak of the character’s popularity—even the non-fill-ins feel like fill-ins. Secondly, the Havok mini by the Simonsons is the best stuff here and that’s not saying much. Depending on your mood and goodwill, the art is a little hard to look at and the story is a little cliche and boring. Thirdly, the slew of one-shots are pretty terrible and the less said about Marvel Comics Presents, the better. This book is a chore and a half.
This third omnibus is where the Wolverine-as-solo-artist idea finally is justified (not counting volume 1’s Chris Claremont-Frank Millar mini.) And that’s because 1) an actual creative team takes over the ongoing series starting with issue #31, 2) and it’s not just any team, but a great team: Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri, and 3) Wolverine isn’t hamstrung by the goofy Patch setup and he’s allowed to interact more with the other characters in his world. The first few stories aren’t great, sure, but they do look great. Silvestri (with inker Green) had one of my favorite runs on Uncanny and it’s easy to see this run as an extension of that one. Once Hama brings in the supporting X-characters that Claremont specifically (if nobly and foolishly) eschewed, and once he sets up his long term storylines with his own original characters, the book starts to soar. Before you know it, Wolverine is actually a quality book! Not perfect, but very good. Is more than half the book still filled with ugly dreck because Marvel was still abusing the popularity of everyone’s favorite sharp hairbag? Most definitely. But at least there is a sharper contrast between good and bad.
If you want to read every appearance of Wolverine ever, god bless. If you want just the better stuff, read the first omni, skip the second, and skip half the third. Claremont did some masterful, groundbreaking work with Logan, but the reward was bastardization and overexposure. Here you get a worthy successor to Claremont. These are comics worth reading.
(Ironically, Hama tried to revert Wolverine back to his Original Hothead Flavor but fails, thankfully.)
October 13, 2023
Larry Hama is on board now, and the roller coaster starts. Lady Deathstrike, Sabertooth, Weapon X, Cyber, The Hand’s ninjas, Albert and Elsie-Dee, The Hunter In The Darkness… all characters and institutions that will define Wolverine for all of the 90’s and even beyond. Granted, the writing and art is veryyyyyyy 90’s, but that’s part of the fun. Maybe it’s just that this is the Wolverine I’ve first read and grew up with. Classic to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2023
Beautiful art.
If you’re a Wolverine diehard, this is cool for your collection. I bought all three of these volumes so I figured I’d read them. None of the shit stuck with me or made me feel any sort of way, it was probably great during the 90’s, but too dense for my taste.
If you’re a Wolverine diehard, this is cool for your collection. I bought all three of these volumes so I figured I’d read them. None of the shit stuck with me or made me feel any sort of way, it was probably great during the 90’s, but too dense for my taste.
October 1, 2024
Peak Wolverine. Hama on words with Sylvestri on the pencils are a dream team that won’t easily be eclipsed. This took me back to my adolescence and filled in so many gaps as I couldn’t afford to buy all the issues as a young boy.
November 2, 2025
The Larry Hama run starts here with lots of great action and key moments like the tragic end to Mariko's story, but so much of this collection is odd throwaway filler issues like a long run of Marvel Comics Presents.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews