Wolverine #29: Fever Dream

Wolverine isn’t having the best time lately. Luckily for readers, the issues are a blast. Wolverine #29 is written by Benjamin Percy, with art by Juan Jose Ryp, colors by Frank D’Armata, and lettered by Cory Petit. Something unique about this series is its synergy with X-Force. In this age of X-titles, it is impressive to see two series go so long. Along with Wolverine reaching issue #29, X-Force hit the impressive number of issue #36. It is no coincidence that both series are written by Benjamin Percy. We are at the point in this era of X-titles where you might not read everything, but there is most likely a book for you. Readers of both Wolverine and X-Force have a cozy little corner in this era of books. However, things are getting pretty intense, and it looks like everything is catching up to Beast.

For the majority of this issue, Wolverine is imprisoned in The Pit, which is a living nightmare but results in some killer art. Juan Jose Ryp absolutely knocks it out of the park and has delivered the fever dream Percy’s script calls for. For the majority of this arc, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the art. It wasn’t what I was used to for this title, but I really loved the horror elements that Ryp brought to the table. With issue #29, I can see why Ryp was a perfect choice. The pit really is an organic nightmare, and we see Wolverine giving all he has to fight it. In a particular panel, we see vines crawling into Wolverine’s mouth and nose while his body is swallowed deeper into the pit. Frank D’Armata’s coloring pairs so well with Ryp’s art. The Pit is pretty much all the organic material of Krakoa, but D’Armata adds so much depth and detail to the page. One standout of the issue is the use of vines as panel borders. I found myself studying the incredible detail and colors. 

The vine borders also lean into the idea that The Pit really does function outside of the rest of Krakoa. There are different rules and even different physics. We see this when Krakoa morphs into Sabretooth to fight Wolverine. The vines also signify that Wolverine is seeing what the pit wants him to see. There is a montage of recreations of defining fights in Wolverine’s long life. These panels reminded me somewhat of Wolverine having to relive similar moments in last year’s X Lives and Deaths of Wolverine. As I said before, this really is a fever dream as the art ceaselessly takes Wolverine to the deepest depths of his mind. Ryp and D’Armata knocked it out of the park. Get these artists on an X-related horror book!

Because this issue leans heavily into the visuals, there is minimal dialogue. Wolverine books are often action packed, so this is nothing new. It might be in my head, but I felt that this issue had smaller narration and speech bubbles. It gave the sense that Wolverine was far away, both mentally and physically. Looking back through the issue, Petit’s lettering carries the reader through the action and horror. The lettering makes sure that the eye doesn’t jump right to the next line of dialogue, putting the focus on the incredible art but ensuring the dialogue is not lost.