WOLVERINE: THE ORIGIN #1
Origin, Part I of VI: The Hill"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Andy Kubert
Digital painting: Richard Isanove
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN |
This first issue detailing the early origins of Marvel's most popular mutant character (and perhaps its most popular character period) might not be what many readers are expecting. Unless, of course, they're expecting an engaging read with strong characterization, then this is exactly that.
Decades and decades ago... perhaps more than a century ago... a young orphan girl arrives on the estate of one of the town's richest men, to serve as a companion and tutor to the man's sickly son. The girl, Rose, also meets the son of the embittered groundskeeper (Mr. Logan), and she, sickly John and the poor boy (whom they call "Dog") become the best of friends. However, the prejudices of the rich man's father and Dog's come between Dog and the other two children.
Marvel tried something relatively new on its X-Treme X-Men series by having Liquid! Graphics colors artist Salvador Larroca's pencils directly. I wasn't taken with the results. Here, computer colorist Richard Isanove colors Andy Kubert's uninked art, but the result is much stronger. In fact, I can barely tell that the work wasn't inked. Though I'm leery of eliminating the art of inking from comics altogether, I have to admit the experiment worked this time.
I wouldn't have thought that Kubert's angular, dynamic pencilling style -- seemingly tailor-made for super-hero storytelling -- would work on a period piece, but he does quite nicely with the subject matter. The settings, from the Howlett estate to the more natural and serene country paths and swimming hole, are stunning. Most importantly, though, is how expressive the characters are.
This first issue -- and if we're lucky, the series as a whole -- isn't about burgeoning super-powers, espionage or conspiracy theories. It's about how people are... assembled by their experiences. It's about the powerful influence of our families, or the more subtle but just-as-important effects others around us can have. Most importantly, though, I think what Jenkins is saying that ultimately, we also choose who we are.
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