It’s about time I aimed my crosshairs at him! My column has been all about pointing out characters who are in an excessive amount of ongoings, and Wolverine is sort of a “classic” in that regard. Most people have often remarked that Wolverine has somehow made it into every major team book, and that to an extent is true.
But, believe it or not, Wolverine books are actually at an all time low. This really might shock you, but Wolverine actually has less books than Captain America AND Thor at the moment! WHAT? Don’t believe me? Well, you better look behind the cut and see just what Wolverine is up to these days.
Wolverine
It’s been quite some time since Wolverine owned this title, but it recently restarted with Jason Aaron at the helm. The first arc features Wolverine trapped in Hell with a demon possessing his body and destroying his life up above, which is spinning out to the other Wolverine-related titles. Jason Aaron had written quite a great little run in the pages of Wolverine: Weapon X, and Marvel was so pleased that when Wolverine: Origins ended and the new Wolverine status quo began, they gave Aaron the keys to the car. Why? Because Aaron had taken Wolverine from a stereotypical two-note character into a fully dimensional character actually worth reading about.
Which brings me to…
Should We Get It?: Yes. In all accounts, yes. Marvel had a great move in getting Aaron as the new master of Wolverine’s destiny, and the story so far – with just two issues – has been nothing short of fantastic, and works wonderfully as the continuation of Wolverine: Weapon X, which was awesome all across the board. This is the only Wolverine book that you need, and this should be the main one that you want.
Wolverine: The Best There Is
This is the only other real Wolverine title, and it’s not even out. While we used to have many different titles with Wolverine’s name and some additional slogan to it, Charlie Huston (the awesome writer that made Moon Knight relevant again) has been given his own Wolverine story to play with. However, this book has an obvious catch to it. Since it isn’t the “main” Wolverine title, they had to give you SOMETHING to make your money’s worth, right? Well, for this it’s that the book is excessively violent. This might even get the words MAX written on it, because apparently the preview was too violent to show. Hmm.
Should We Get It?: Well, the books not out, so it’s hard to tell, but I do know a few things. The first is that violence can be quite fun, so a book that’s main purpose is to allow Wolverine to be really violent could be pretty good. The other thing to note is that Charlie Huston is writing it, and as I said, he’s the awesome writer who made Moon Knight relevant again. However, he also kind of failed to make Deathlok a really entertaining character (which was sad for me), so the book could swing either way at this point.
It’s supposed to come out December, but I haven’t heard anything about it in a while so it looks like the book might be pushed back until January.
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine
Oh look! It’s Jason Aaron again, and he’s brought a Kubert with him! This book falls in the cracks of continuity, as Spidey and Wolvie are once again teamed up by Aaron (having previously been brought together right before Wolverine became Dark Wolverine by Daniel Way) being shot through time and alternate realities. We’ve had such crazy awesome things as Doom the Living Planet and the Phoenix Gun, all rendered with a beautiful three page spread.
Should We Get It?: I’d say so. Aaron is the Wolverine writer at the moment. There are several Astonishing titles in the works as well as currently out, and outside of Whedon’s work this has been the best (which is kind of unfortunate to say). Aaron is having a lot of fun with this book, as needed, and it makes for a read that isn’t too serious and never ceases to entertain.
And so we get to the more cluttered section of the list:
Team Books
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men is the main X-title. If you want to follow the official story of the X-Men as their epic journey continues, you’re going to need this title. Of course, part of the big group is Wolverine. In fact, to a certain extent he’s second or third in command (depending on how Scott’s relationship with Emma is that week). He’s definitely Scott’s right hand man in all attack situations though, and while Wolverine has not been in the book as much as he used to be, he’s still a huge role in the X-Men’s future.
Should We Get It?: Not if you want to follow the exploits of just Wolverine, no. Wolverine is a big part of the mutant species, and thus the book about the survival of the mutant species would be good to have, it’s really not that big of a thing for Wolverine. In fact, right now it’s focusing on other characters. However, the teases for the upcoming Quarantine arc do seem to have Wolverine as a big part of it, and with Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen on the title, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want this title.
X-Men
The new X-Men book, Victor Gischler has joined the ranks of the mutant writers to infest their world with vampires. Now Wolverine is a vampire, and one of the big time ones leading the charge against the mutant race as well. Hmm. That can’t be good.
Should We Get It?: I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m not a vampire fan, and I’m not a Gischler fan either. A good deal of people find the book rather entertaining for whatever reason (such as the other writers of this site, for example), but it’s not one you really need to read for anything mutant-wise, and it’s definitely not Wolverine essential.
Uncanny X-Force
When Messiah CompleX finished, Cyclops started a covert group of mutant assassins to take out threats that he deemed too great for mutant kind’s survival. When Second Coming finished, Cyclops disbanded X-Force. Wolverine quickly started it up again, under the pen of Rick Remender, all with the goal of finishing a loose end from Messiah War: Apocalypse. Teamed up with Fantomex, Psylocke, Angel, and Deadpool, Wolverine is on his way to murder the reincarnated mutant before his power can come to fruition.
Should We Get It?: I don’t know if it’s Wolverine essential, but the first issue was fantastic and in chatting with Rick Remender, it only seems like it’ll get better. X-Force was a bit on the rocks as the book rounded out towards the end, but this relaunched version has a lot of promise to it, and it stands to be really entertaining. If you had to pick one X-team book to get with Wolverine in it, I’d say X-Force is the one considering he’s the leader.
Avengers
When New Avengers originally began in the wake of Avengers: Disassembled, Bendis put Wolverine on the Avengers and kept him there. Now that the “real” Avengers are back (or however you want to refer to it), Wolverine and his pal Spider-Man have made it on to both teams. Now Wolverine is jumping through time to figure out who screwed up continuity for everyone, and he’s right alongside Iron Man and Cap for the whole event.
Should We Get It?: Well, it’s not Wolverine essential, but it’s kind of like with Uncanny X-Men: this is the flagship Avengers title. Whatever is really going to happen to the whole of the Marvel universe will probably start in this title. It just so happens that Wolverine is there too. So if you love the Marvel U, I’d say Avengers is a book for you – but if you just love Wolverine, I’d say you’d probably enjoy a different title.
Specifically, that title is…
New Avengers
New Avengers is, for all intents and purposes, Bendis’ baby. This is the book that really put him in “charge” of the Marvel U, allowing him to push some of the biggest events through the entirety of the Marvel U: Secret War, House of M, Secret Invasion, and then Siege. Everything important has happened here in volume 1, and the panel at the top of the page is even from this book. New Avengers is Bendis.
Should We Get It?: Yes. Yes! If you want to get a great book that’s very fun and very worth your money, New Avengers is that book. Wolverine is a great addition to the team, because while Bendis is taking a more “serious” approach in Avengers (although it still has his wit pushed in), New Avengers is Bendis putting huge stories into the story while allowing his love of dialogue and humor take the main reign. Wolverine is hilarious in this book, and there aren’t enough titles that just focus on how darkly funny he can be. While it is not Wolverine essential, it is a damn good book to have.
Wolverine Family
Daken
When Wolverine: Origins, Siege and the Dark Reign all came to an end, a lot of people thought, “Hey! Does this mean Daken is going to go away!” Nope! If you thought that you were wrong, wrong, wrong. Daniel Way has taken his favorite creation and kept him in his own title, which is now tied into the whole Wolverine Goes To Hell storyline. While his original story never really went anywhere other than “watch Daken fuck with Norman Osborn,” his new story hasn’t really gotten a chance to move forward at all. It is clear, however, that Daken is here to stay, and that something is going to happen with him.
Should We Get It?: For my money, no. I enjoyed Wolverine: Origins for what it was, but I was never really a fan of Daken’s solo stories. I don’t think he’s a worthwhile character to warrant his own stories, to be perfectly honest. But I’m also just one guy. This story does add a little to the overall tale of Wolverine Goes To Hell, offering up Mystique’s role in the larger scheme of things as teased by Aaron in the main book. In that way, it does add an interesting little side-note to Wolverine’s story. But once that ends? I can’t see much reason to really follow it.
X-23
Oh, X-23. How hard your life has been. After being a “successful” Wolverine clone, X-23 essentially found her way to Cyclops’ kill squad. Now that the whole team has been thrust out in the open, X-23 is left alienated from her peers and everyone is worried that she is just a merciless killing machine. So what does she do? Runs away and goes on a trip cross country with Gambit. To be fair, it’s what any of us would have done in the situation.
Should We Get It?: I have a love hate relationship with the character. At times, I really enjoy her story. Lately though, I find it to be rather dull. Marjorie Liu did write a really nice X-23 one-shot, but the first issue of this book didn’t convince me of anything really. If I were you, I’d save the money and go buy more books by Jason Aaron.
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Now, don’t get me wrong – Wolverine will make guest appearances everywhere. It’s what he does. Take a look at books like Avengers: Children’s Crusade for example, that supposedly feature Wolverine based on the covers, but he hasn’t really had a large role at all. When a writer needs a sort of deus ex machina character, they quite often call upon Wolverine to use because he’s just so darn easy to write. However, cameos aside, Wolverine does not hog the spotlight these days as much as he used to. It’s a bit surprising in all honesty.
There you have it, though. That’s the current Wolverine world boiled down! Surprised, right? You’d think that he would have a lot more titles in this list. But hey, after Thor, Cap, and Batman – who all had WAY too many books in their lists – I’m glad to have a breather!
You should also keep your eyes open for the upcoming Wolverine/Jubilee meaning and Age Of X, both which will involve Wolverine (and will supposedly be solicited for January).
