Wolverine #12

Writer Paul Cornell Artist Alan Davis

 

Introduction

 

Paul Cornell has announced some really interesting things that are all coming to ahead in an official relaunch of the Wolverine proper book. Throughout the entirety of his run, I have often had a question in the back of my mind regarding the series at large; what would it be like if the writer had full creative control? It has seemed like the Pual Cornell has been too chained down by compressed storytelling over the first few arcs of the title that it made it hard to invest completely in the saga. With the All-New Marvel Now story there is going to be some new wrinkles of continuity melded into the plot where the writer will not feel as chained down by an editor. Is this the jolt the series needs? Will Paul Cornell be able to stay consistently fascinating as we ease further into some of those more interesting moments. What could possibly justify Wolverine using a gun when he has those sweet freakin’ claws? Keep reading Wolverine to find out.

 

Writing

 

Cornell continues to explore the vulnerable side of Wolverine in killable, he has almost hitting some of these beats to strong in the last few issues. Some initial narration from the character is good, but Logan is just not as interesting when he is another regular person like you or me. Fortunately, the stakes are raised with a mere fight scene in the issue, thanks to the character’s torn mental state. In order to keep things interesting, there a are a few twists and turns her that many may not see coming. Plot in this installment is really thin, to the point where it may become hard to trudge through each month. If this series is guilty of anything, it’s being too direct where moments of brevity could have helped. Instead of some of the cheesy narration by Logan, a show and not tell approach would helped this issue in spades.

 

Conclusion

 

Alan Davis returns to the book with some interesting pencils. The artist has a very distinctive style that adds some variety to superhero comic books with some Eastern flair. While I appreciate what he is trying to do, his exact style has never been to my liking. Does that mean that I am going to nitpick the art even though it is technically proficient and great on the storytelling side? No. Cornell and Davis have always been a great match together. If Wolverine was not shipping as consistently, and he was named as a permanent artist, it would make sense. Above all else, Davis has carved out a great visual style on the book that everyone other penciller on the book has been faithful too. This is a testament to Davis and the full art team of Mark Farmer and former Daredevil colorist Matt Hollingsworth continuing to set a sleek visual look.

 

Conclusion

Wolverine is getting ready for the relaunch at it’s own pace. Interesting things may eventually be happening here, but it’s too early to properly tell at the moment. Hopefully the next volume will bring the substance this book is lacking.