WOLVERINE #2: Your Own Worst Problem

Things don’t really get better for Logan this issue. The threat of the Pale Girl and how deadly she is doubly driven home starting in the opening scene as an entire boat of Marauders falls foul to her machinations including one who nearly loses their life in the process.

The story is a psychological one as much as it is physical as Percy brings the violence one expects to see in a Wolverine title through Adam Kubert’s art on to the page but the nature of that violence is rooted in a far more interesting psychological story. There is ultimately a lot more talking than there is bloodletting which isn’t to the detriment of the plot as Wolverine sets out to make things right for killing his team (yes he really did kill them last issue) and Scott Summers is not happy about it (the silent recrimination coming off the magnificent double splash featuring Scott and Logan by Kubert is palpable) by teaming up with Bannister.

For me, the most interesting thing going on is how Percy is examining the impact of Krakoan medicine on the human world. The reality of the logistics of more demand than the availability of Krakoan meds is viewed through both Bannister’s sick child and the data pages. The issue feels weighted and real as Percy writes a deeply down to earth and very fallible Wolverine who once again finds himself up the creek without a paddle and that’s perhaps my favorite element of this issue: is that for all his macho bravado and posturing at his core Logan is still deeply flawed and a character that more often than not finds himself up to his neck in it and tries his damndest to claw his way out of it. The interaction between Wolverine and Bannister is marvelously written, two characters on the opposite side of things but tied together to solve the mystery of the Flower Cartel and the Pale Girl.

Misdirection abounds in several instances. Yes, we see Wolverine face some of his greatest enemies in the book but it’s not what people think, and ultimately the twist at the end of the story only serves to underline how serious a threat the Pale Girl is with Percy painting a truly terrible last page scenario that really left me going: AND NOW WHAT???

Adam Kubert is a consummate master of his craft. We get a 24-panel double-page splash grid followed by an absolutely superb and eerie single page splash right off the bat and the switching between standard paneling and less geometric hard shapes as well as bouncing between black and white in between panels add an extra dimension to everything but never feels cluttered. A lot of artists can draw but there’s consistency in the look that permeates this whole book and that might seem like a small detail but making faces and expressions on characters consonant with one another consistently as believable facial expressions really add to the reading experience of the issue. Nothing feels out of place and nothing feels lazy in the art at all.

The colors are mostly muted and earthy with occasional colored pops that make certain details jump out as Frank Martin once again does a great job coloring Kubert’s’ work losing none of the inked details. The double-page splash in the hatchery is superb, to begin with, but Martin’s colors add a whole new level of atmosphere and power to the image.

The comic as a cohesive whole is a very strong and professional effort with all the elements of art working together with the writing for an excellent second installment that leaves you wanting more.