Wolverine #23: All Style, Little Substance

Julius Ohta knows how to stage a fight scene; that’s the main takeaway from this comic. Issue #23 picks up right where the previous issue left off and continues the battle between Taskmaster and Wolverine. Ohta employs leading lines (contour lines or objects angled to point the viewer’s eye in a direction) to give Taskmaster an imposing presence on the page. Ohta swaps between static and dynamic composition to underscore how dominant Taskmaster is over a depowered Wolverine. Panel bleeding (the extension of an object outside of the panel) adds a level of motion to Ohta’s work that captures the eye. The choreography remains easy to follow throughout the issue; each panel naturally guides the reader from one exchange to another. Ohta even draws Taskmaster and Wolverine differently. The former is rendered as an imposing, confident mercenary while Wolverine appears broken and beaten, barely clinging on to himself. The color work by Jesus Aburtov emphasizes Ohta’s art. Aburtov contrasts light and dark to add further momentum to the panels. Colors that pop off the page add a captivating quality that makes the pages stunning. 

Ahmed’s voice for Wolverine stands strong as both consistent with the character and distinct from previous iterations. Ahmed continues to write Logan with his signature headstrong and aggressive attitude, in line with the character since his debut in 1974. However, Ahmed adds a layer of nuanced knowledge to Logan. In this comic, Wolverine has a level of knowledge that simply comes with age. Despite Taskmaster being one of Marvel’s most formidable combatants, a depowered Wolverine still has enough combat experience to tangle with the mercenary. Ahmed understands that Logan’s resilience is a product of his personality and not his powers. However, Logan isn’t experiencing any character development during this arc. Wolverine gets to be consistent because he isn’t experiencing anything that would change him. His values are never challenged; he’s never given a reason to have any emotions outside of his typical anger and annoyance. While being distinct and well-written, Wolverine feels almost dull in this issue because he’s not out of his comfort zone. 

The actual plot itself, however, is still incredibly dull. Wolverine continues to go through the motions of not having a healing factor. The storyline blends together with the general Wolverine mythos and fails to add anything new. None of the characters involved add anything new to the overused story trope. The issue leans on familiar ideas instead of building a compelling narrative of its own. Any reader who has read a Wolverine comic where the X-Man loses his powers has read this comic before. This story arc is practically a retread of the 2013-2014 depowered story arc with a different coat of paint: Logan has lost his healing factor; mercenaries hunt Logan; doctors are stumped by Logan’s condition. Readers have seen this before. While the artwork keeps each page engaging, the story itself never truly develops enough momentum to match the visuals.