In the latest edition of Comics to Read Before You Die, Jessie Robertson looks at Wolverine Vol. 1…
Sept- Dec 1982
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Frank Miller
Inker: Josef Rubenstein
Colourist: Lynn Varley
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Louise Jones
The characters that succeed, that we remember, that endure are able to be painted in many colors. They’re able to take on many roles, be many things to many people, be an everyman in most aspects. Through the long and arduous struggle through what is comic book history, Logan has been that character. He’s been a savage monster, animal, drifter, teammate, leader, gangster, samurai, father. In what was his first book titled with his name, he’s human. Claremont takes the garish yellow suit off, removes Logan from Canada, removes all sign of the X-Men, and peels back a layer from this character that feels completely lived in and at the same time, fresh and exciting and new. Logan loved a girl, a woman more so. A love lost by time and circumstance to him. But circumstance is what brings him back to her.
What transpires over these four short issues feels like it could be laid out upon 12 issues, honestly. From the opening bear incident tracking all through his travels into Japan and the inner workings of the Yashida clan and Logan struggling with his own heart and code has an isolated, yet grand scale to the thread weaved in these books. These books introduced a lot of main characters into Logan’s past, not the least of which was Mariko Yashida. Beautiful Mariko. When we first see her, she hides her face from Logan, married now, having taken a husband for familial and political reason. Her left eye is black and swollen and shame spreads across her blemished face. When this book opens, Wolverine retorts his famous catchphrase, “I’m the best at what I do, yet what I do isn’t very nice.” So, we have this dangerous man, deadliest in the world, staring at the woman he loves, beaten and battered, yet he can do nothing about it, at Mariko’s insistence. It begins a tremendous story of ups and downs for Logan as he is tricked and deceived by Lord Shingen, returned patriarch to the Yashida clan.
Famously, Frank Miller drew these books, and it’s really remarkable work. It’s real people, no exaggerated lines or jagged curves like in Dark Knight, but everything is done to accentuate that this is not a super hero story. There’s a few panels I like to call “portraits” as it’s a static shot of a character’s face, fully detailed, and colored and shaded wonderfully by Lynn Varley. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of bold color in these books, but the pages don’t overwhelm you with darkness either. It strikes a delicate balance of both and again, leaves you at the door of Xavier’s mansion and puts you into this world, puts you into Japan, a real place.
Wolverine has long been my favorite Marvel character, not just because he’s a total bad-ass, but because his is a story with many meandering roads, his life journey has been long, and full of mystery, intrigue, loss, deep hurt and triumph. The story of his love with Mariko is his most human, for my money, because it softens him, in the right ways. I’d be remiss not to mention another famous character in his pantheon: Yukio. A character shrouded in mystery, whose love of Logan is equal to his of Mariko’s, a love that can only be for a short time, in a skewed light. Her story is overlooked here; used as a device to put Logan into each place he needs to be in to move the story along but it’s a tragic one as well. If you’re ever looking for back issues, Wolverine Vol. 2 #55-57 is another brilliant chapter in Logan and Mariko’s love story.
These books still hold up as tremendous storytelling, personal and eye-catching artwork and brilliant material in Logan’s pantheon that add so significantly to his rich history. It’s an absolute must-read for any Wolverine fans.
Jessie Robertson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pnc360pUDRI&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
Originally published April 17, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
