• Wolverine #5.1

    by
    Craig Reade
    Published on 02-11-2011 09:11 PM
    3 Comments Comments
    Reviewer: Craig Reade
    Quick Rating: Well written and fun.

    It's Logan's birthday! But will he make it home in time for the surprise party?

    Written by: Jason Aaron
    Art by: Jefte Palo
    Color by: Nathan Fairbairn
    Letters by: Cory Petit
    Cover by: Paolo Rivera
    Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
    Publisher: Marvel Comics

    In this issue, Wolverine is on his way home to what he thinks will be a quiet evening with his girlfriend Melita. She's done some digging, and after hearing him mutter something about his real name in his sleep, discovers his birth record and decided to throw him a birthday party. A ton of Avengers and X-Men are in attendance (save Spider-Man, who is seen wondering alone down the halls of the Avengers Mansion), all waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor. However, as so often happens, Wolverine is sidetracked by a pool of blood and some tracks leading into the forest.
    The art in this issue is an absolute turn-off. Granted - the layout is outstanding, and there is little doubt that Palo can set a scene. But his characters, good lord - they are horrible. If you were to break his work down, overall it is strong - but since the characters themselves are the focus of the reader, ugly characters turn the reader off before they can see the outstanding detail in the background.

    The story is outstanding. Yes it was silly, and some of the party stuff was contrived. But it was fun - and that is what counts. You get your money's worth in this issue - a strong, single-issue story that is entertaining through and through. As a Marvel.1 story though... I am not sure it completely does the job for the concept. Yes, it is a strong single-issue story that does give you all the information about Wolverine you will ever need (though does Wolverine really need that kind of introduction?). However, this series isn't even in double-digits yet. Do you really need a "key-issue, jumping on point" when the regular issue #1 was just a couple months ago? Having read a couple of these Marvel.1 books, I am getting the feeling that the "get the reader excited about the upcoming arc" bit isn't really accurate, since once again I have no idea what is to come in this book.

    Still - the concept has produced entertaining single issue reads, and this issue is no exception. If you haven't followed Wolverine in a while, this is a great issue to pick up. It is an outstanding read with no strings attached.

    Story:
    4.5/5 Stars

    Art:
    2.5/5 Stars

    Overall:
    3.5/5 Stars

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    Comments 3 Comments
    1. Adam Chapman's Avatar
      Adam Chapman - 02-14-2011, 02:04 PM
      I agree with you on the art, it was a definite turn-off, and the story was just kind of forgettable, to me, and as a .1 issue, it seemed to completely miss the mark in terms of what the .1 issues could or at least should be. Invincible Iron Man's .1 issue was very similar to me in that it seemed to do too much of recapping and if you're a follower of the series, it felt more superfluous than I would have been expecting. I was hoping these .1 issues would actually manage to be jumping-on points without being dull for ongoing readers, but thus far I think they've managed to miss the mark.
    1. Craig Reade's Avatar
      Craig Reade - 02-14-2011, 04:47 PM
      To be fair - that wasn't the mark they were shooting for. The "Jumping on" issue is going to bore ongoing readers by its very nature... that's why they number them in between issues, so you can skip them if you don't need them (of course, the marketing department probably doesn't like that).

      I will agree that they could have done a better job making you excited for what is to come - that is something the ongoing reader would have appreciated a little more.
    1. Thelostone's Avatar
      Thelostone - 02-19-2011, 03:02 PM
      The art was bad, and the birthday story was lame. It was a "jumping on" point, issue 6 went back to the story that made drop the book in the first place. I was really let down by this book.