everyone may want to read wolverine #53

[darc_light]

He makes a great hero, with all of his inner turmoil and struggle, along with his natural optimism, humor and loyalty. But, I agree that, as a villain, Kyle is usually shown as Lil' Sabretooth...And I hate Sabretooth. Even as a villain, even as a bald, wannabe Nosferatu I liked Kyle, he just has a loveable personality. I hope they don't rob him of that...
When he's sane, he's noble, loyal, funny and incredibly sweet, even as a villain he keeps some of these qualities, like the way he cared so much for Aurora while in Weapon X, even though she treated him like dirt, he still loved her...

[DelBubs]

I'm posting the whole review here as the link provided gives you 'Cable & Deadpool #39', The Boy Who Made Silence #1

29 April 2007
Wolverine #53

WOLVERINE #53 - Evolution, part 4 of 6
"Insomnia" by Jeph Loeb, Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #8 (of - "The Treasure Hunters"
by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz

------------

It's another very quiet week - aside from the final issue of First
Class, everything is in mid-storyline. But it's also a singularly dull
week outside the X-books as well, to be honest. So, more by default
than anything else, I've thrown in WOLVERINE #53. At least it's meant
to be a major title.

I haven't been greatly impressed by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi's run
on this title. Its strongest feature has been the art, which is
undeniably beautiful. But while Bianchi knows how to produce a striking
image, he's not so great at stringing them together. The panel-to-panel
storytelling is hit and miss. When it hits, the book looks magnificent.
When it misses, though, it misses by a mile, producing a clumsy jumble
of confusingly arranged elements.

Still, at least you get some lovely pictures from Simone Bianchi along
the way. The story has much more fundamental problems. Jeph Loeb
broadens his canvas here and attempts to explain not only the link
between Wolverine and Sabretooth, but also the preponderance of mutants
with vaguely animalistic powers. Loeb doesn't make a very convincing
case for the latter point, in his choice of characters. Wolfsbane and
Wild Child are fair enough. Thornn and Feral would be reasonable
illustrations if it wasn't for the fact were cats, not wolves. Besides,
they lost their powers on M-Day - and this being a comic edited by Axel
Alonso, I have precisely zero faith that the continuity error is
intentional. Sasquatch's inclusion on the list is just baffling, since
his powers are magical. Or, if you prefer the original version, he had
yet another accident with radiation. Either way, he's not a mutant.

The angle here, ludicrous as it may seem, is that all these
vaguely-related mutants somehow provide evidence of a parallel
evolutionary strain through wolves. No, really. That's the idea.

And Loeb doesn't exactly endear himself to me by having Wolverine
immediately challenge the very concept of evolution. Now, I suppose to
an extent you've got to expect this sort of thing when it comes to
American pop culture. With the best will in the world, there are
broadly three categories of people who don't believe in evolution these
days: people with very strong religious beliefs, people from countries
with dreadful education systems, and citizens of the United States of
America. Wolverine, being a Canadian, is none of the above, and he's
generally written as non-religious if not outright atheist. And if he
seriously had fundamental doubts about this whole evolution thing, you'd
have thought it would have come up during his thirty year membership in
the frigging X-Men, given how fundamental it is to the whole mutant
question. It's difficult to imagine a less appropriate person to raise
the issue.

Loeb also seems to be suggesting that Sabretooth's uncontrolled
behaviour is the result of his being older, and that Wolverine will
eventually deteriorate in the same way. Except we've had decades of
character development with Wolverine going in exactly the opposite
direction. This whole idea seems to be misreading the character on a
fundamental level.

Anyhow, let's leave that aside and consider the idea on its merits, such
as they are. What Loeb seems to be proposing here is broadly a cross
between two very bad ideas from the past. First, he's reviving the old
"Wolverine is really an evolved wolverine" idea, which Marvel toyed with
briefly in the mid-seventies before thinking better of it. Second, he's
using the idea that mutants with similar powers form a sub-species.
Well, that idea was stupid when Chuck Austen did it in "Dominant
Species", and it hasn't improved with time.

This being part four of six, of course, it's entirely possible that Loeb
is merely teasing this idea, and plans to go somewhere else. But that
wouldn't greatly improve this story (except in the sense that it would
do less damage). Even on that charitable reading, it would still be a
story that teased a dreadful idea, and had little else to offer.

This is poor. So far, Loeb has done little to justify his star status.

Rating: C-

I hope the reviewer doesn't get to miffed by my posting the full review

[Le Messor]

With the best will in the world, there are
broadly three categories of people who don't believe in evolution these
days: people with very strong religious beliefs, people from countries
with dreadful education systems, and citizens of the United States of
America.

As somebody who is definitely in the first category (okay, technically also the third)--LOL!

- Le Messor
"Do you mind if I don't smoke?"
- Groucho

[SephirothsKiller]

Heehee, what a snappy review. I loved it.

[DelBubs]

Thr URL is working now.

Click here to sign up and have reviews sent through your mailbox.

[Theta_Ray_Bill]

Loeb's wolverine is among the DUMBEST books I've seen in my life. I wasn't a big Wolverine fan *BEFORE* his stupid animal people. Thankfully, after this Captain Jackass is gone, they'll retcon this out of existance. Because this is dumb. VERY VERY dumb.

[Le Messor]

For the premise to work, there would have to be two parallel species. They would not be able to produce offspring. And they would both have to be unaware of the wolf species.

Why didn't Hank put himself on the list? He put every other furry mutant / Great Beast possessed Gamma-irradiated scientist there.

Scott, talk to Loeb, please!

- Le Messor
"Don't remember anything you can look up."
- Albert Einstein (?)
"Sometimes it's more important to know where the information is than what it is."
- Mark T. Shirey, et al

[Damien]

Back to Wildchild form? Or still Nosferatu-looking?

See for yourself...

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...rine_53_17.jpg

He destroys Wolverine

OMG!

That's beautiful.

- Damien

[SephirothsKiller]

I have this theory that Loeb ended up using all of his creative magic on Heroes and so everything else he puts out is drained of any possibility of being good. So far Wolverine and Fallen Son confirms this for me.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I can only hope that Loeb is going somewhere opposite of where we think he's going with this, because if he is going for the wolf-people-evolution thing...I'll just puke. It was a supremely stupid idea in Universe X and it hasn't got any less stupid with time (more so, if Sasquatch is thrown in with every other animal mutant, like he was in UX).

It won't make Wolverine more interesting as a character...He might as well just make Logan/James/whatever one of the High Evolutionary's New Men.

Dana

[Theta_Ray_Bill]

But remember:

People will buy it, because its Wolverine! >.>

[cmdrkoenig67]

But remember:

People will buy it, because its Wolverine! >.>

Believe me...I know, Blech!

Dana