Let us travel back in time to a era when alcohol was prohibited in the United States as Richard Isanove begins his tale on “Savage Wolverine”. This is where I’d make a witty pun on the .NOW numbering if I could think of one.
Written & Illsutrated by Richard Isanvoe
“THE BOOTLEGGER”SURVIVING THE BLACK ROLLERS! In the 1930s Dustbowl, Logan is a bootlegger carrying whiskey down from Canada, until he finds himself the accidental caretaker of a group of orphans whose family was targeted by the mob. Now Logan must choose between the anonymous life he’s been meticulously building or stepping out into the spotlight again to defend the innocent. A tale of family, betrayal and revenge all set against the hard-scrabble life of the Great Depression, this is a chapter of Wolverine’s life you won’t want to miss!
Wolverine is a pretty interesting character for the Marvel Universe (and comics in general, really) in that not only is he everywhere at once, but he has experienced every period of history since the 1800s. This allows a writer to rather easily slot Wolverine into pretty much any period story and that is exactly how Richard Isanvoe’s story in “Savage Wolverine” operates. Taking advantage of thr short stoty nature of the serirs’ arcs, the time is 1933 and the place is Minnesota and Logan is positioned as an alcohol bootlegger which is already a unique story to tell in Marvel Comics.
That’s really why this issue works is that while it is entirely set-up to the story, the story it is presenting is something not often seen in mainstream superhero comics. Isanvoe is telling a period piece noir drama that just happens to have Logan in it. That’s not a slight against the issue as Isanvoe really nails the aesthetic of both the noir feel of the story and the time period in both writing and art. Everything about the issue is designed to immerse you into the time period of the story and it works beautifully, creating interesting and engaging dialogue and gorgeous artwork. This must be what Americans love about Downton Abbey. While Isanvoe plays the set-up of the story relatively safe pulls a lot of the usual moves with a Wolverine story (Logan is settled and happy but disaster strikes and Logan gets angry and enacts revenge), the strength of the dialogue is completely engaging. Even though the supporting cast of the book had only just been introduced, I found myself caring for them simply because of how strong Isanvoe’s dialogue is and how much character he can convey in such little time.
When Isanvoe isn’t busy impressing with dialogue so strong it makes a fairly by-the-numbers story seem engaging and unique, he is wowing with gorgeously detailed art. For as good as the writing of this issue is, it wouldn’t be half as good with Isanvoe’s atmospheric art to back it up. From the opening with Mounties chasing Logan through snow-covered woods to Logan standing up to a line of Tommy guns like something out of The Untouchables, Isanvoe’s completely captures the setting. Not only that, but the painting effect is simply gorgeous to look at. This might be the prettiest Wolverine comic I’ve read since the one-shot David Aja worked on.
However, for as pretty as the book looks and as fun as it is to read, Isanvor does play shockingly safe with plot of this issue. While the idea of Logan as a bootlegger is unique, it doesn’t factor into the plot as much as you might think. Instead, Isanvoe has Logan meet up with an old friend only to have disaster strike as it always does, sending Logan into his comic-selling bezerker rage. While the last page hints at more interesting developments in issues to come, it was definitely disappointing that this issue was played so safe.
Ultimately, even though there was nothing here we hadn’t seen before plot-wise, Isanvoe still proves that he can write and draw a fun Wolverine story. The dialogue is spot-on and creates an atmosphere that engrosses the reader in the noir stylines of the writing. Combining that with atmospheric art that serves to engross the reader in the time period of the story and you have a story that definitely focuses on atmosphere and it pays off. Just because it doesn’t bring anything all that new to the table doesn’t mean that this issue wasn’t a blast to read and I can only hope Isanvoe develops the story to new and interesting places.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Browse. A strong start, but for those on the fence it might be best to see how the next installment develops.
