Issue #7 of “Wolverine” manages to effectively introduce Joe Fixit, a.k.a. the Gray Hulk into the plot going on in Magripor last issue. Chris Claremont puts time into Fixit’s journey to Madripor in a subplot that allows him to introduce Fixit’s character to us the reader. This is done in three mini plots that take up three or four pages and have a definitive beginning and end. Meanwhile, the Prince of Madripor carries the main plot of the gang war into an amicable end. You really get the sense that Claremont is building out a cast of characters they can refer to for later issues later down the line. What I love about this is it shows the mentality of writer when he’s writing a long term monthly issue. He and John Buscema now have a bunch of heroes and villains they can refer to in later stories.
Written by Chris ClaremontCover by John Buscemea
Illustrated by John Buscema
Colored by Mike Rockwitz
Lettered by Ken BruzenakIt’s Madripoor War Hulk when Joe Fixit comes to town! He’s not sure who the players are yet – but Wolverine’s decided who HE’S going to play with!
Before Fixit can go to Madripoor, we are shown him being hired by a prominent mob boss in America. This dull introduction really contrasts the Grey Hulk from his greener peer and informs the reader of his mobster background. Fixit proves himself to be a reasonable man who, when pushed to it, will destroy anybody who gets in his way.
The splash page re-introducing us to last issue’s cliff hanger makes an effort to split the groups of people into two groups wiith a wide borderless ift in the middle of the page. At the top we see Wolverine and his companions standing over the supervillains that were defeated in the last issue. At the bottom we see the Prince of Madripoor and his small army of guards. Fortunately, the prince is a superfan of Lindsay McCabe’s body of work. Time and time again Claremont amazes me with his ability to insert a non super-powered character like Lindsay into the plot in a way that makes her an important part of the team.
The first short with Joe Fixit shows him and his attractive chauffeur being hassled by a preppy biker gang. The Gray Hulk gives the biker every opportunity to back down but the kid is too proud to admit any fault and pay the damages for the keyed car; so Fixit smashes their bike. The kid then escalates and tries to smash Fixit’s head with a wooden plank. A wound inflicted that would kill a normal man is grounds enough for Fixit to enact fatal retribution. The last page we see of the leading instigator is with The Gray Hulk’s large hand holding the young man’s head like a large apple while he stutters to speak. This retribution shows a personal sense of justice as Fixit tells the other biker gangs to pay for the damages done to the car if they don’t want to end up like their friend. This is a phenomenal introduction to the character as it shows us that he is principled and never did more than what was done to him. It is also in the back of your mind that it is likely him and Wolverine might have to fight one another.
Buscema introduced the Prince as a regal man with a menacing presence in the last issue but when we see his shrine for struggling actor, Lindsay MaCabe, it is strange to say the least. As Buscema and Mike Rockwitz create busts of Lindsay in all of her B-Movie costumes and Lindsay tells the gang how much of a failure each movie was. While the reader is looking at the Prince’s shrine to Lindsay, we wonder if she is in a more dangerous situation than she was moments ago. Jessica Drew thinks this and puts the thought in the reader’s mind. This sequence really highlights how well the entire creative team slots into what one another is doing and really shows the capacity for the medium.
The rest of the comic continues with a parlé between the crime lords and Joe Fixit slowly getting closer and closer to everyone else’s destination. One artistic highlight was Fixit walking through a plane and the reader only seeing the thuds lettered from the point of view of the airport baggage employees under the plane. Another was Prince Baran asking Lindsay Mcabe for an autograph with a golden pen.
