Fresh off the heels of Inferno, this week we are treated to another X-related event: X Lives of Wolverine #1. With Wolverine and X-Force writer Benjamin Percy continuing his story, he’s joined by Jossua Cassara on art, Frank Martin on colors and Cory Petit on letters.
WRITING
Benjamin Percy has been writing Wolverine for quite some time now, and his grasp on the character is apparent. How he handles Logan, gentle with a “don’t mess with me” edge, is exactly how I like my Wolverine. Percy starts this issue off fast. We’re thrown into Wolverine’s past as he battles possessed characters under the spell of Omega Red. This is a tough spot for Logan because these are still people. If he kills them, we are made aware that Omega Red can jump bodies, so the person is lost for good. Percy makes the initial set up interesting enough to keep the reader engaged as well. We want to know why Logan is going through his past lives. We want to know why Omega Red is body hopping and trying to kill Charles Xavier. The issue takes over two different times in Logan’s life, the past, and his current life on Krakoa. While Percy shows us that Logan’s past is dangerous and filled with deadly villains, like the body-jumping Omega Red, we also see that things are not perfect on Krakoa right now either. Percy is crafting two separate stories that both spell danger for the mutants. In the present, Omega Red is uncovering secrets on Krakoa that will eventually come to a head at some point in the near future. Percy leaves us wanting more as we finish this issue off. Where things go from here are unknown, but they seem dangerous for mutant kind.
ART
It’s nice to see Joshua Cassara back on pencils with Benjamin Percy. Cassara has a clean style that is easy on the eyes. In the panels from the past, Logan fighting the Omega Red gardener character is an easy fight to follow due to Cassara’s strong line work. Your eyes can effortlessly flow from panel to panel. Cassara also gives us some memory burning panels, like Logan unleashing his bone claws while attacking the Omega Red gardener character.
The colors by Frank Martin are essential to this issue too. Martin’s work leaps off the page with his vibrant colors and dark backgrounds. As Omega Red hops from body to body, little details like the Omega mark on someone’s forehead glowing will catch your eye every panel. The difference in atmosphere between Krakoa and the past are recognizable too with Martin. The Krakoa pages are lighter and brighter with the sun shining, while the pages from the past are dark and dire.
Cory Petit’s letters compliment the art in this issue. As Charles Xavier’s father gets hit over the head with a musket, a “KRAK” can be seen. Any great Wolverine story has to have the famous “SNIKT” in it, and Petit does a great job of placing it in the perfect spot as Logan unleashes his claws on a villain.
CONCLUSION
X Lives of Wolverine #1 sets the stage for another classic Wolverine story. Where things go from here is anyone’s guess, but the stage has been set perfectly by Benjamin Percy to give fans an adrenaline pumping book. X Lives of Wolverine is on sale now at your local comic shop.
