The main issue with this Wolverine comic is that there isn’t much of Wolverine featured in it. The suspenseful cliffhanger allows the issue to start with a gripping opening and it ends with a satisfying climax, but has a rather bloated middle.
Written by Chris ClaremontCover by John Buscema
Penciled by John Buscema
Inked by Al Williamson
Colored by Glynis Oliver
Lettered by Tom OrzechowskiWolverine, in the guise of Patch, is under the control of the Muramasa Blade!
The beginning of the comic has Wolverine, or “Patch” drawn from the perspective of the antagonist with a much better splash page than ones that have come before. The ferocity of Logan combined with an elegant katana is as winning an art formula in 1988 as it is today.
The pacing of the middle of the comic is slow, with too many text heavy characters drawn in static poses. It is somewhat important for them to give us time with the enemy turned ally, Silver Samurai, but one can’t help feel that it’s being padded out. Lindsay McCabe can carry the role of POV protagonist, but only when she has something interesting to do. Her dialogue heavy moments with Silver Samurai and other allies are the duller areas of the issue.
The only shining light in these scenes was when she was interrogating the cultists and attempts to convince them that she is half crazy and they should tell her everything they know. The faces drawn by John Buscema are each expressive and distinct from one another, but the twist that she was acting it all along could be seen a mile away. Despite the excellent introduction of Lindsay, the comic simply isn’t interesting again until Wolverine comes back into it.
Silver Samurai doesn’t help carry the dramatic weight with no clear personality to speak of, despite a cool design and an official induction into the status of antihero by Lindsay who could use all the help she can get. The pages of him practicing with his sword provides a quick reminder of his powers for those who only started reading this issue. But they just don’t evoke any feeling beyond wondering: when will they fight Evil Wolverine already?
The ceremonially adorned and sword possessed Wolverine is worth the wait. The samurai armor and the dragon mask look remarkably decadent, especially when we have yet to see Patch in his typical X-Men Costume.
The internal monologue of the fish out of water Lindsay who is forced to take a human life in order to save her friend is a very welcomed use of slowing down the story with more words on the page. The still moments are captured well by the art team; with expressive line art of faces and bold coloring in the background. There is a sense that the whole world has stopped when you look at each of these panels. This coloring can also be seen at the start of the issue where the entire color scheme was tinged with a fiery yellow to convey the light from the burning building.
Logan, much like Jessica Drew, speaks in a faux Shakespearian dialect when he is possessed by the sword. It is a silly feature that reminds you that you’re reading a comic book. The fight between Silver Samurai and the possessed Wolverine puts the reader in the strange position of rooting against Wolverine in the fight. It’s at this point though that you feel the lack of emotional investment towards Silver Samurai’s victory as much as you do Wolverine’s defeat. It really highlights how unsuccessful the scene of him speaking to Lindsay while he trained was to make you root for him when the fight unfolds.
Watching two powerful characters fight each other is a staple in the super hero genre. Buscema and the rest of the art team get to play with a sword fight. There are whooshes, sparks, and big block onomatopoeic words like “KTANG” and “SKAKT,” and while not as fluid as the miniseries before it, there is a strong style on its own that makes every member of the art team shine. The dialogue between characters adds a lot to their fights.
The end of the comic seems to wrap things up rather quickly once the fight is over. The sword being such an essential MacGuffin to the characters’ motivation, everything sort of falls into place very conveniently for Wolverine.
