Star-Spangled Odd Couple: Reviewing ‘Wolverine’ #38

When the world goes to hell and fascism is on the rise, sometimes you need a star-spangled old soldier friend. Good thing for Logan, he has one of those as Captain America answers the call once more to help put Orchis in their place.

Wolverine #38 sees the duo teaming up for the umpteenth (truly we’ve lost count) time since their first meetings in Captain America #8 and the iconic Uncanny X-Men #268. This time the pairing has their tale told by Benjamin Percy, Juan Jose Ryp, Frank D’Armata, and Cory Petit.

It’s nice that while Orchis is wrecking things and the Uncanny Avengers are thick in the hunt for Captain Krakoa, Captain America has time to hang at a bar shooting pool. I kid, I kid. Well, at least a little bit. It does in a funny way show how very disconnected and wibbly wobbly these stories involved in the same event have been. With the cheeky “X Weeks later/ago” blurbs and weird sliding timescales being the culprit.

That’s not a critique of this story though. Just an eye-brow-raising slight chuckle thing about a lot of shared universe stuff lately that feels a little less shared. More an observation, where I can make a joke (quality up to the viewer), than a critique.

Anyway, let’s focus on the actual issue itself.

As mentioned above. We’ve had a ton of stories that pair the wild quiet loner with berserker qualities with the by-the-book golden boy former soldier. It’s probably a genre of its own at this point similar to the much-used loner that pairs up with a young person who opens their heart that is all the rage.

So, with so many stories, where would I rank this one? Well first off, that’s not entirely fair because there are so many stories, many that I haven’t read, from so many creators. Making them compete never feels fair. That being said, this is one that I would put probably in the middle of the pack, the higher side of the middle.

Basically, it’s Logan and Steve trying to do a heist (steal back stuff stolen from Krakoa) on an Orchis ship, only to find someone beat them to it. Turns out that someone is the folks from the Legacy House, the group we’ve seen numerous times in this series. They procure (usually through illicit means) rare items of the unnatural/supernatural/super realm to auction off to big buyers.

Percy writes their dynamic well, highlighting why this duo of opposites actually work well together. It’s a mostly fun romp, though I am tired of the Legacy House by now. I get the proclivity of writers to use and reuse their creations, but sometimes it just doesn’t hit. For me, this is one of those times. Overall it’s a solid entry in the arc that isn’t an arc that has Logan just bouncing around doing Fall Of X related things.

I think Ryp’s artwork might be growing on me. It’s still way too slick at times and not quite right for Logan, yet I find it working here. At least somewhat. There were plenty of smaller moments here and ones with movement that allowed the work to be less static than it has been at times in the past.

There are some fun full spreads that create a level effect. Logan just smashing through the levels of a ship and such. It’s all paired still with the heavier darker smooth colors that D’Armata brings. Last issue, I think what helped with the stuff was the fact that Logan and Hulk were traveling to a variety of settings. It allowed the art to breathe more.

We do see different settings here but they’re all nighttime spaces on ships or warehouses or other similar confined visually sparse spaces. So there isn’t a ton of personality to be found in some spaces, but they make it work. With splashes of more vibrant colors here or there to break things up. The night at least feels very night-like, heavy, and ominous with just enough light to break it up.

Being an issue that is more action and movement, there isn’t as much to say with these being two characters that speak less outside of the necessary moments. Plenty of great captions, that still nail the voice of Logan perfectly. Adding all the right beats to make it flow and move. Same with the flairs in the dialogue bubbles that make things have volume, tone, weight, and personality. Petit just knows how to make words work.

Wolverine #38 is now available from Marvel Comics.