What do you think?
Rate this book
Wolverine (1988) #150-153
Wolverine: Blood Debt
The man called Logan has been many things... Warrior. Assassin. Experiment. X-Man. But now, he must add "Pawn" to the list.
In the dark shadows of the Japanese underworld, a deadly game of chess is being played out between two warring factions of the Japanese Yakuza. Wolverine faces a legacy of evil that dates back to that nation's own dark Feudal times with the lives of his friends on the line. Allying himself with past enemies, he fights to avenge and honor the death of the clan lord Mariko Yashida, the only woman Logan has ever loved.
What begins with Wolverine being shot in the head, ends in an unforgettable battle of fire and blood.
Blood Debt was written and penciled by Steve Skroce, a featured storyboard artist for the hit Warner Brothers movie The Matrix.
Collecting the epic of trust and dishonor from Wolverine #150-153.
In the dark shadows of the Japanese underworld, a deadly game of chess is being played out between two warring factions of the Japanese Yakuza. Wolverine faces a legacy of evil that dates back to that nation's own dark Feudal times with the lives of his friends on the line. Allying himself with past enemies, he fights to avenge and honor the death of the clan lord Mariko Yashida, the only woman Logan has ever loved.
What begins with Wolverine being shot in the head, ends in an unforgettable battle of fire and blood.
Blood Debt was written and penciled by Steve Skroce, a featured storyboard artist for the hit Warner Brothers movie The Matrix.
Collecting the epic of trust and dishonor from Wolverine #150-153.
104 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 21, 2025
A political family drama that sees Logan and some of his loved ones forced into the middle of a power grab slash fest between forgettable siblings. Skroce brings the visual action to life better than he does the writing element, but the narrative flaws are minimal for a story that is essentially an excuse to see Wolverine do what he does best: look really badass whilst tearing through disposable goons. It is a ‘popcorn entertainment’ kind of experience that is worth a read for seasoned Wolverine fans more so than newcomers.
March 20, 2014
Introduce a crime family that no one cares about, then have them turn on each other, trying to use Wolverine as a weapon. Not very original. Art is ho-hum. Liked the Japan setting, but too much focus on the badguys and all the double triple crosses. Would have preferred more on Yukio/Amiko/Silver Samurai. Those parts were mildly interesting.
This book pretty much makes Logan pretty paper thin. Doesn't even seem like he's that interested in what is happening. I liked the dynamic of him with his pseudo family Yukio and Amiko, and his strained relationship with SS, but otherwise, this was predictable and rather disposable.
Non-essential, probably for Wolverine fans only, and even then, there are many better choices out there. However, I have seen worse!
This book pretty much makes Logan pretty paper thin. Doesn't even seem like he's that interested in what is happening. I liked the dynamic of him with his pseudo family Yukio and Amiko, and his strained relationship with SS, but otherwise, this was predictable and rather disposable.
Non-essential, probably for Wolverine fans only, and even then, there are many better choices out there. However, I have seen worse!
July 6, 2019
Lobezno como lo llaman en España, en Latinoamérica lo conozco como Wolverine, en este comic Wolverine vuelve a Japón a visitar la tumba de su amor verdadero llamada Mariko, luego de visitar a una aliada que cuida la hija de su difunta amada se ven envueltos en una guerra de mafias por el poder y control del crimen organizado que domina Europa occidental hasta Japón. El comic es violento y con mucha carga de acción típico para el personaje, con muy buena historia y desarrollo del personaje, muy entretenido, serviria como guión para ser secuela de la película Wolverine el inmortal.
January 2, 2019
It's alright. I appreciated the setting, but didn't particularly care for the story and some of the characters.
August 26, 2020
A fun, blood-soaked arc of Wolverine doing what he does.
April 14, 2021
Still one of the best "Wolverine in Japan" stories Marvel ever put out.
October 20, 2024
No es tan bueno como otros cómics de Wolverine que he leído, pero se sostiene y está muy bien ilustrado.
May 1, 2014
I decided to read this due to its inclusion on Wizard's "100 Greatest Comics Of Our Time" list, which was published about 10 years ago at this point, and only included comics that had been published during Wizard's existence as a magazine. It's still pretty surprising to me that something as lackluster as this made it onto such a lofty-sounding list, though.
Pretty much everything in this book has been done a million times. Wolverine goes to Japan and goes on a killing spree: check. Wolverine tries to save some kidnapped folks we've never met and don't care about in the slightest: check. Wolverine is forced to use his healing factor so much that it makes you wonder if it is a superpower or immortality: check. All our friends are here.
The book was also plugged at the time of its publication as being "written and penciled by Steve Skroce, a featured storyboard artist for The Matrix." Ok, great. What that has to do with being able to write a comic book, I have no idea. His art is fine. It's on point, easy to follow, but doesn't show any particular knack for creativity or flare. It's like 90% Wolverine getting shot a bunch.
The best I can say about this book is, it's short. It doesn't have a lot of fat and doesn't try to be more than just a straightforward comic book about Wolverine getting stabby. So, in its own way, it's merciful.
Pretty much everything in this book has been done a million times. Wolverine goes to Japan and goes on a killing spree: check. Wolverine tries to save some kidnapped folks we've never met and don't care about in the slightest: check. Wolverine is forced to use his healing factor so much that it makes you wonder if it is a superpower or immortality: check. All our friends are here.
The book was also plugged at the time of its publication as being "written and penciled by Steve Skroce, a featured storyboard artist for The Matrix." Ok, great. What that has to do with being able to write a comic book, I have no idea. His art is fine. It's on point, easy to follow, but doesn't show any particular knack for creativity or flare. It's like 90% Wolverine getting shot a bunch.
The best I can say about this book is, it's short. It doesn't have a lot of fat and doesn't try to be more than just a straightforward comic book about Wolverine getting stabby. So, in its own way, it's merciful.
May 13, 2016
Now I remember why I was unimpressed by the Bride fighting a horde of ninjas or Neo taking on 100 Agent Smiths; it's because Steve Skroce did it first! When the X-Men titles went through their brief "revolution" phase (a marketing thing, to be sure) they shuffled team rosters and creative talent and tried (again, BRIEFLY) to generate some stories that were somewhat unburdened by the baggage of X-History as we know it.
Skroce, one of the designers behind the Matrix movies, writes and illustrates this brutal little tale of vengeance and honor and giri in the traditional Japanese sense. Wolverine is the only gaijin character in this story aside from the Mongolian crime syndicate invaders. Everyone and everything else is very Japanese. Some visuals and ideas that would later get used in movies (and some, even in X-Men movies) were born here, and it's a beautiful story to look at and fun to read. It's quick and violent and compromised, like all good Wolverine stories, and well-crafted and thought out to boot. Strongly recommended to anyone who wants an isolated Wolverine story that doesn't require homework.
Skroce, one of the designers behind the Matrix movies, writes and illustrates this brutal little tale of vengeance and honor and giri in the traditional Japanese sense. Wolverine is the only gaijin character in this story aside from the Mongolian crime syndicate invaders. Everyone and everything else is very Japanese. Some visuals and ideas that would later get used in movies (and some, even in X-Men movies) were born here, and it's a beautiful story to look at and fun to read. It's quick and violent and compromised, like all good Wolverine stories, and well-crafted and thought out to boot. Strongly recommended to anyone who wants an isolated Wolverine story that doesn't require homework.
February 6, 2009
i'd really like to give this three and a half stars, because it is a fun read. not a lot of surprises in the plot, but lots of wolveriney action. and since it was on sale at mile high comics for $2.95, i feel pretty good about how it turned out.
i'm not familiar with the artist and writer's work as a whole, so i can't make a lot of comparisons, but they were both actually better than i expected. the art is rather well done actually.
overall, its about what you'd expect from a wolverine story arc, but if you're a fan, its definitely worth reading.
i'm not familiar with the artist and writer's work as a whole, so i can't make a lot of comparisons, but they were both actually better than i expected. the art is rather well done actually.
overall, its about what you'd expect from a wolverine story arc, but if you're a fan, its definitely worth reading.
March 12, 2013
You gotta love any comic where Wolverine goes batshit crazy on his enemies and tears them to shreds. This is a fascinating story about Wolverine as he returns to Japan. Chaos follows shortly as important people are kidnapped from Wolverine and he is forced to do some tasks in order to get them back. Very good storyline, very good artwork as well. I was very enthralled with this one from the get go.
April 5, 2009
Maybe this was worth two and a half stars. It was ok, and I can see myself recommending this to action fans or Wolverine fans but not the more versed comic book reader. It's not a challenging book but there are little rewards for those who linger on the page.
Steve Skroce said "I just wanted to make a real dynamic and easy to read comic book!" (last page, check it out).
Steve Skroce said "I just wanted to make a real dynamic and easy to read comic book!" (last page, check it out).
June 28, 2025
Japan again again. Yukio and Mariko again again. Silver Samurai again again again. This is a familiar and boring style of Wolverine story, but Steve Skroce is a strong writer, and his art helps elevate a pedestrian Wolverine story into one that's more enjoyable than similarly written arcs.
I recommend it for all Wolverine fans, particularly those who love his frequent trips to Japan.
I recommend it for all Wolverine fans, particularly those who love his frequent trips to Japan.
April 10, 2011
This book is just bad. Its author thinks that Wolverine is a killing machine who can take 100 bullets in each chapter and still fight on. This is not what Wolverine is or should be about. Waste of paper.
April 18, 2017
Sequel to Wolverine, but only in plot. The art is different, more colorful, but the style is not to my liking and I didn't care for the story, it's basically just Wolverine slashing various adversaries.
February 12, 2011
Not anything new or amazing, but had some fun Wolverine action with a decent storyline.
July 19, 2017
English (but not so good) / Italiano
Hard and fast this Japanese adventure of Wolverine.
Italiano
Tosta e veloce questa avventura nipponica di Wolverine.
Hard and fast this Japanese adventure of Wolverine.
Italiano
Tosta e veloce questa avventura nipponica di Wolverine.
April 21, 2017
Continuing my X-men catchup project - a slightly ridiculous (and ridiculously expensive) project wherein I collect and read the X-books from roughly the point at which I quit reading in my younger days. I have been slowly amassing these books over the last few years and am now at a point where I can begin reading without major gaps...
Not a bad Logan story at all. There are no far-reaching story details (and that is really ok) and no guest stars from the x-world (other than Silver Samurai). The art and plot are both serviceable to good and there are far worse x-books that one could read. Not one I would leave out on the coffee table, but also not one I would be ashamed of.
Not a bad Logan story at all. There are no far-reaching story details (and that is really ok) and no guest stars from the x-world (other than Silver Samurai). The art and plot are both serviceable to good and there are far worse x-books that one could read. Not one I would leave out on the coffee table, but also not one I would be ashamed of.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews