WOLVERINE #171
"Stay Alive, Part 2 of 3"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Frank Tieri
Pencils: Sean Chen
Inks: Norm Rapmund
Colors: Avalon Studios
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Tieri redeems himself somewhat after last month's painful start to the "Stay Alive" story arc. The creative team makes the most of the silent "'Nuff Said" motif by presenting the reader with an extended and well-choreographed fight scene that nevertheless advances the plot. The art is passable, but the penciller and inker still don't mesh all that well together.
Spiritual vampire Mauvais is out to usurp and consume the power of the legendary cannibal-creature known as the Wendigo, and Wolverine is determined to keep the villain from succeeding. The problem is that the feral mutant must fight a battle on two fronts. Meanwhile, one of Wolverine's old lovers and enemies is set upon by assassins while yet another deadly foe watches from the shadows.
Chen presents the lengthy, three-pronged fight scene quite well. One doesn't even miss the dialogue or narration. He also manages to convey the confusion of the snowstorm in which the characters find themselves, and the colors reinforce that plot element. Still, there's a sketchiness to his work here that isn't in keeping with his usual style. I suspect Rapmund just isn't the right inker for the usually polished approach Chen brings to comics.
The idea of Wolverine fighting with and against the Wendigo ends up working quite well here. It adds a new level of frustration to the violence, and somehow, one can imagine how harrowing it would be to face not one but two lethal foes. On top of that, Wolverine is trying to protect the Wendigo, and one could imagine a sense of betrayal -- albeit an understandable primal one -- in the predicament.
In the end, though, I remain completely disinterested in Mauvais as a villain. His appearance strikes me as little more than cliched, even silly, and his power seems to boast no limit. So he wishes for eternal life... but he wants it in a feral host body that couldn't possibly integrate into a society he wishes to manipulate? Mauvais raises far too many questions, and I'm honestly not all that interested in the answers.
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