Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated by Tomm Coker17th century Japan: a time and place of violent upheaval. Into this strange and dangerous world come Wolverine, Pyslocke, Punisher, Hulk and Deadpool. Five of Marvel’s greatest heroes as you’ve never seen them before!
Peter Milligan is one of those writers whose work you have to at least read the first issue of. Sometimes, he gets a bit too odd for some people *ahemAnimalManahem*, but when he is on his A-game, he knocks it out of the park. Marvel’s 5 Ronin series has had a good deal of hype surrounding it since its announcement, so follow the cut to see if what the case is with this issue.
Before I address the issue as a whole, I’d like to talk about the art in particular. As much as I love David Aja covers, I’m guilty of letting the cover of a comic make me be unnecessarily harsh on the interior artist. There have been multiple times where the cover has made me gone “Well, the art was alright, but the artist was no David Aja/John Cassaday/etc,” even when the art was perfectly fine. I thought this would be the case with this issue – after all, the name Tomm Coker wasn’t ringing any bells (though I late found out he illustrated Daredevil: Noir, which I enjoyed greatly).
Damn was I wrong.
As great as Milligan’s story was (which I’ll get to in a minute), Coker completely upstaged him in this issue. Normally, when I read comics, I’m not one of those guys who are in it for the art. I love great art, no doubt, but I’m a writer, and so writing is always first and foremost. With this issue, though, I found myself marveling at the linework of Coker just as much as I was “reading” the comic as a whole. Every page is expertly crafted, and matches the tone of the book perfectly, showing that this not quite as well-known artist can stand among the gritty greats of Aja and Lark with his head held high. Daniel Freedman also deserves a heap of credit for his outstanding coloring job. Colorists don’t get enough love, and some people don’t seem to realize that some of the most aesthetically-pleasing books out there get that way due to great coloring work. When a great artist and a great colorist work together like this, it’s a thing of beauty.
And how about that story? The goal of any first issue is to get the reader interested in reading more, and I can damn well say that this succeeded in doing that. The setting of post-feudal Japan has always been one of fascination for the western audience, simply due to its exotic nature, but Milligan makes it even more compelling with his depiction of the former samurai trying to find his place in a world that doesn’t need or want him anymore. The action scenes are incredibly well-done, leaving the reader on edge even after they’re finished, just in case some residual action spills over into the more passive scenes. My only real problem with the writing was how the narrative would seem quite regal and profound, and then drop in things like “‘aint” to remind us that, even though we’re in a different time and place, this is still supposed to be Wolverine. Still, that’s one minor thing amongst a crowd of overwhelmingly positive things to say about this issue.
One final thing that I found particularly neat is how even though this issue was chapter one out of five, it still told a relatively self-contained story. By focusing on the character of this setting’s Wolverine, and having the climax of the issue be the reveal of the immortal samurai’s secret (which was brilliant), Milligan creates a story that can be enjoyed on its own. Simultaneously, by introducing the character of the Ronin Deadpool, we readers become interested in the overarching story and want that next issue. Luckily, number two comes out next week.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – So sick we are considering suing Marvel for intentional distribution of hazardous materials.
