Hunt For Wolverine: Dead Ends #1 Review
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Colourists: Guru-eFX
Letter: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Kitty calls Tony Stark and Daredevil to the Xavier Institute for a big ole note-sharing study session to find out where they're at with this Wolverine hunt. Comics being comics, of course, it's interrupted by an over-the-top dramatic attack.
By the end, we get to almost put a face on the antagonist pulling the strings throughout the hunt. Her name is Persephone, she thinks she's righteous, and yet she'll threaten New York with orbital bombardment and murder a handful of pre-mutants (makes sense in context) simply to tell Kitty and friends to back off.
That points to a fundamentally naive view of the Marvel universe, right? "Random chaos and murder! That will surely cow the superheroes into leaving me alone!"
Brief action scene and villain introduction aside, the majority of this comic is a thorough recap of the Hunt for Wolverine miniserieses. It's a much-appreciated catch-up for those of us who made the sensible time and money-saving decision to skip some or all of the minis.
Here's the absolute quickest summary: Persephone's Soteira organization has been launching literal tons of stuff into space, running zombie experiments, stealing DNA data on every mutant and pre-mutant on Earth, and using Logan as a ruthless assassin in a very "Enemy of the State" way.
The script corrals an impressive amount of information and presents it organically. Charles Soule is a field marshall of twisty plots, and his script does heavy work making sense out of all that's come before.
It restrains itself partially but not entirely from gloating over the twists revealed in the miniseries. There is one page of "Lookit lookit, Psylocke is back in her Braddock body" crowing that doesn't really contribute to the story. It's forgivable given that that is the grand prize winner for status quo changes so far.
The comic works smoothly on an artistic front as well. Ramon Rosanas does sterling scene-setting work at the start (his Barcelona is really beautiful) and fills the stage throughout with nicely-rendered characters. The key action scene is a trifle underwhelming, but that seems inevitable when you cram a lot of airborne action into a small number of pages.
Guru-eFX contribute chilly colours for a dark night full of grim deeds. They handle a lot of heavy lifting in adding definition to the characters' faces. The resultant two-tone effect looks like high-quality animation.
Although the sheer volume of recap material slows this comic down, it's an admirably complete snapshot of the diverse points the Hunt for Wolverine has already hit. It sets the stage for the full-on Return by adding a promising antagonist to the mix, and it's a generally fun read. We give it a strong "Buy It" recommendation - especially if you skipped the miniserieses and need to catch up.
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Colourists: Guru-eFX
Letter: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Kitty calls Tony Stark and Daredevil to the Xavier Institute for a big ole note-sharing study session to find out where they're at with this Wolverine hunt. Comics being comics, of course, it's interrupted by an over-the-top dramatic attack.
By the end, we get to almost put a face on the antagonist pulling the strings throughout the hunt. Her name is Persephone, she thinks she's righteous, and yet she'll threaten New York with orbital bombardment and murder a handful of pre-mutants (makes sense in context) simply to tell Kitty and friends to back off.
That points to a fundamentally naive view of the Marvel universe, right? "Random chaos and murder! That will surely cow the superheroes into leaving me alone!"
Brief action scene and villain introduction aside, the majority of this comic is a thorough recap of the Hunt for Wolverine miniserieses. It's a much-appreciated catch-up for those of us who made the sensible time and money-saving decision to skip some or all of the minis.
Here's the absolute quickest summary: Persephone's Soteira organization has been launching literal tons of stuff into space, running zombie experiments, stealing DNA data on every mutant and pre-mutant on Earth, and using Logan as a ruthless assassin in a very "Enemy of the State" way.
The script corrals an impressive amount of information and presents it organically. Charles Soule is a field marshall of twisty plots, and his script does heavy work making sense out of all that's come before.
It restrains itself partially but not entirely from gloating over the twists revealed in the miniseries. There is one page of "Lookit lookit, Psylocke is back in her Braddock body" crowing that doesn't really contribute to the story. It's forgivable given that that is the grand prize winner for status quo changes so far.
The comic works smoothly on an artistic front as well. Ramon Rosanas does sterling scene-setting work at the start (his Barcelona is really beautiful) and fills the stage throughout with nicely-rendered characters. The key action scene is a trifle underwhelming, but that seems inevitable when you cram a lot of airborne action into a small number of pages.
Guru-eFX contribute chilly colours for a dark night full of grim deeds. They handle a lot of heavy lifting in adding definition to the characters' faces. The resultant two-tone effect looks like high-quality animation.
Although the sheer volume of recap material slows this comic down, it's an admirably complete snapshot of the diverse points the Hunt for Wolverine has already hit. It sets the stage for the full-on Return by adding a promising antagonist to the mix, and it's a generally fun read. We give it a strong "Buy It" recommendation - especially if you skipped the miniserieses and need to catch up.
A Look Inside
Comments