In Hell They’ll Be Good Company: Reviewing ‘Wolverine’ #36

Mutants have been banished and slaughtered by Orchis. Seems likely that Wolverine would be in the thick of brutal vengeance.

If one assumed that, they would be quite wrong. At least for the moment.

Currently, the clawed one is in the midst of a hellish crossover with the Ghost Rider series, both penned by Benjamin Percy, that kicked off with a very 90s-tastic one-shot issue. Bouncing between the two titles for an issue, Wolverine #36 is the third chapter in the event, and by howdy it sure is something.

If anyone were to compile a list of the most common things found in a Wolverine comic book, this issue would hit quite a few of them. Chief among them is that Weapon Plus, yes that Weapon Plus, is back but this time they’re all satanic using demons and other hellish things to do their dirty work. Not the most inspired use of the overused government-sponsored (which government is always in the air) organization but certainly a different take.

Hot claws are back, except they’re not. Wolverine gets possessed and, in his captions, gets all comic book writer and declares himself Hellverine which feels wildly on the nose out of character. There isn’t a ton that goes on, battle-wise as Wolverine and Ghost Rider are sidelined pretty fast to get to the possession element. There is only the final one-shot left, and really this event does feel like it flew by with very little for either character outside of the basics of them.

Which is fine. Not all stories have to be deep or expansive or such, but it sure feels weird right now. Mainly because the rest of the X-Line is in the thick of Fall Of X, and Wolverine is treating it like just another day. Sure, the opening page recap and Johnny Blaze’s captions in the previous issue refer to the Hellfire Gala incident and what Orchis has done. Yet, Logan seems to not have a concern in the world for the new state of the world and the fates of his friends and loved ones.

Just a strange time to be doing this crossover, when timing-wise they knew where things would be at this point long ago.

Visually, the art of Geoff Shaw and Rain Beredo really captures the spooky, hellish, horror vibes that we’re meant to feel here. It’s very much a style that is suited for Ghost Rider and his stories. It feels a bit off for something like Wolverine, but since Ghost Rider is in many ways guiding this story it works a bit more.

Shaw has a style that sort of mixes kinetic and static energy in the panels. Many of them feel like the characters are in motion, captured in very solid detail leaving some elements out of focus on purpose. In other cases, heavily some of the emotional/horrific moments, things feel like a captured image that allows the moment to linger with us more. There is a moment where a flashback has the young man Bram, the demon-linked killer they are hunting, mouth wide open before his demon horrifically murders an old woman.

It’s like that famous scream painting, haunting as we stare at his gaping maw and the terror radiating off him.

Color palette-wise, Beredo goes for a darker and more toned-down style in many cases. Allowing some starker colors to dominate in the right space, such as all the red at Weapon X. It keeps the grounded tone that is needed for a story like this. Yes, it’s all supernatural with demons and hell stuff but it has a weight that tries to make it feel more real. Horror, no matter how outlandish, has to feel somewhat real to us in a sense to bring that horror out. Fear of the unknown plays a part but things like a child covered in blood, brutal satanic murders, and other bits are familiar enough to bring out those feelings.

One of the things that I like about the lettering from Cory Petit is how understated some of it is compared to the story. An example of that is how no matter how big and bold and scary the moment, much of the lettering is very small in scale. It makes it seem far quieter and softer compared to the horror we’re forced to behold. Basically, it’s like those quieter moments in horror before all hell breaks loose.

Petit sells it because even in that smaller state, he can infuse it all with emotion and power. We can hear and feel these characters and their words. Then when we’re at the height of moments, it all expands to ramp up the feelings to a higher scale.

All plot poking aside, one thing that keeps me coming back (outside of my eternal devotion to the X-Men) is how well Percy writes Logan. Plots might be far too familiar with dangling bits all over the place, but the Logan of it will be crisp and stern. Just the way the collective we, likes it.

This is not to leave out the artwork. Unfortunately, it’s harder to quantify that as a reason to come back because the art team has changed so much through the run, often without notice. What we get though is very solid most of the time, other times it’s good but not the best Logan fit per se.

Until the new line is announced, or someone hits the reset button we can be sure of a few things. Percy will be writing the title. Logan will appear in this series written impeccably. And the plotlines/reveals will be far too familiar and surely will end in a way that is wide open.

Wolverine #36 is now available from Marvel Comics.