Hunt For Wolverine: Mystery In Madripoor #1 Review
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CTG's Take On The Hunt For Wolverine
Marvel's suggested retail price for the issues in the Hunt for Wolverine Event has already hit $70, and that doesn't even include the still-mysterious finale yet.
That is insane. So, as each week brings us a new issue, CTG is gonna deliver a mini-review focused on whether or not the latest chapter is worth your hard-earned dough.
In addition to our regular 10-star rating, we'll give each issue a basic Buy It or Skip It recommendation based on how essential it seems to the overall Hunt.
There will be monthly roundups to rank the four miniseries and identify the must-reads when/if they show up. We'll also deploy a provisional Wait And See recommendation at the series level for those titles that seem promising but not yet essential.
This week: Mystery In Madripoor#1
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Thony Silas
Colourist: Felipe Sobreiro
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
It's Hunt For Wolverine: Catfight Edition. Hoo boy. Mystery In Madripoor right to the top of the "skip it and feel good about saving your money" list.
Jim Zub and Thony Silas take charge of a female team comprised of women with variously-tight connections to Logan: Psylocke, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, and Domino. (Domino is, admittedly, just their ride.)
Based on an initial suspicion that Magneto might have something to do with Logan's disappearance, the team heads to Madripoor. Instead of Magsy, the team faces off with a nigh-random and also all-female villain squad. Aside from their leader, they're a serious deep-cut crew - is that Cartwhip with a new code-name? - and their interest in Logan and the heroes hunting him remains totally opaque at the end of #1.
Before things get combative, the heroes stop by the Princess Bar for a peek at Logan's vault o' keepsakes. Rogue's surprising discovery there - instead of a heartwarming memento, she finds on an old letter from Carol Danvers begging Logan to kill Rogue, yikes - is as close as Jim Zub's script gets to interesting.
Psylocke's turn as the point-of-view character, flashing back to dishwater-shallow memories of Logan sparring and bleating ice-cream koans of self-awareness at her, is a non-starter. At least this issue's plot developments suggest that somebody else will pick up narration duties in the next issue.
Thony Silas's art is another disappointment. While I've seen him rise to respectable heights before - he put in some excellent work on X-Men Gold - in this issue, his visuals look terribly rushed and none too passionate. All of the characters have a serious case of sameface going on, and the action scenes showcase far more anatomical impossibilities than anyone wants to see in a premium Marvel comic.
While the creators of Mystery In Madripoor resisted the temptation to turn this all-female book into a T&A delivery vehicle, the dull plot, bland characterization, and poor art they deliver instead are questionably-valuable alternatives. This series might hit some interesting points in the future, but that's not the way we're betting after this introduction. Our recommendation for Mystery In Madripoor #1: An emphatic 'Skip It.'
CTG's Take On The Hunt For Wolverine
Marvel's suggested retail price for the issues in the Hunt for Wolverine Event has already hit $70, and that doesn't even include the still-mysterious finale yet.
That is insane. So, as each week brings us a new issue, CTG is gonna deliver a mini-review focused on whether or not the latest chapter is worth your hard-earned dough.
In addition to our regular 10-star rating, we'll give each issue a basic Buy It or Skip It recommendation based on how essential it seems to the overall Hunt.
There will be monthly roundups to rank the four miniseries and identify the must-reads when/if they show up. We'll also deploy a provisional Wait And See recommendation at the series level for those titles that seem promising but not yet essential.
This week: Mystery In Madripoor#1
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Thony Silas
Colourist: Felipe Sobreiro
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
It's Hunt For Wolverine: Catfight Edition. Hoo boy. Mystery In Madripoor right to the top of the "skip it and feel good about saving your money" list.
Jim Zub and Thony Silas take charge of a female team comprised of women with variously-tight connections to Logan: Psylocke, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, and Domino. (Domino is, admittedly, just their ride.)
Based on an initial suspicion that Magneto might have something to do with Logan's disappearance, the team heads to Madripoor. Instead of Magsy, the team faces off with a nigh-random and also all-female villain squad. Aside from their leader, they're a serious deep-cut crew - is that Cartwhip with a new code-name? - and their interest in Logan and the heroes hunting him remains totally opaque at the end of #1.
Before things get combative, the heroes stop by the Princess Bar for a peek at Logan's vault o' keepsakes. Rogue's surprising discovery there - instead of a heartwarming memento, she finds on an old letter from Carol Danvers begging Logan to kill Rogue, yikes - is as close as Jim Zub's script gets to interesting.
Psylocke's turn as the point-of-view character, flashing back to dishwater-shallow memories of Logan sparring and bleating ice-cream koans of self-awareness at her, is a non-starter. At least this issue's plot developments suggest that somebody else will pick up narration duties in the next issue.
Thony Silas's art is another disappointment. While I've seen him rise to respectable heights before - he put in some excellent work on X-Men Gold - in this issue, his visuals look terribly rushed and none too passionate. All of the characters have a serious case of sameface going on, and the action scenes showcase far more anatomical impossibilities than anyone wants to see in a premium Marvel comic.
While the creators of Mystery In Madripoor resisted the temptation to turn this all-female book into a T&A delivery vehicle, the dull plot, bland characterization, and poor art they deliver instead are questionably-valuable alternatives. This series might hit some interesting points in the future, but that's not the way we're betting after this introduction. Our recommendation for Mystery In Madripoor #1: An emphatic 'Skip It.'
A Look Inside
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