Let The Berzerker One In — Reviewing ‘Wolverine: Blood Hunt’ #4
by Scott Redmond
Overview
All that can be said about ‘Wolverine: Blood Hunt’ has probably been said, but the fourth issue managed to find a few more things that were just borderline fine to throw onto the pile. An inconsequential end to a very much inconsequential event tie-in series, only adding to the giant pile of Wolverine content the publisher is churning out en masse.
Overall
7/10Once upon a time, there was a story that asked the question, “what if Wolverine was lord of the vampires?” This is not that story.
Logan’s dalliance with creatures of the night during Marvel’s summer event is now over as Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4 brings the tie-in to a close. Tom Waltz, Juan José Ryp, Guru-eFX, and Joe Caramagna bring the story in for a landing … of a sort.
When a story is mostly a plane made up of old, familiar, and slightly rusted parts, it’s one of those “any landing is a success” kind of moments. Look, this story is not the roughest or worst Wolverine story that I’ve read in the last year (looking at you Weapon X-Men) or any year really. It’s fine, just overall fine.
It’s a shame that this pretty by-the-numbers, overly-talkative, tells you ever move as it’s happening, and mostly inconsequential story is Waltz’s Marvel entrance. Having read the man’s work with the TMNT franchise, there is so much more in there. I’m dead certain there is even a good Wolverine story that he would love to tell.
Instead, they gave him a bunch of leftover parts scattered between the ended Krakoan Era and beginning From The Ashes era of X-Men meshed together with the short and strong requisite Marvel summer event.
I joked in the previous review about needing a beer per issue … I should have followed through on that. It might have made things at least a bit more fun. Wolverine gets tempted to be Vampire king, turns on Maverick, Nightguard saves him with her sword before killing the vampire ‘queen,’ Maverick pontificates bout love and loneliness, Wolverine and Nightguard kiss. The end.
Yeah, that’s basically the story. With a bunch of bloody fight scenes mixed in there.
I feel like I’ve spent the better part of two years — off and on — poking at the artwork of Ryp. Much like this story, it’s fine. Still not certain that it’s the right style for a Wolverine story, especially these darker and harsher ones. But it does what it’s asked to do: bring a bunch of life to almost non-stop blood-soaked violence; slashing and shooting that takes down hordes of undead canon fodder. There is enough dynamic energy to at least make things move well, and the glossiness is either lessened or I’ve just become numb to it by this point.
As noted, this is a very dark book. Both in tone and in the colors that Guru-eFX brings to the page. Though this is a bit lighter and brighter than the last few, as the inside spaces they occupy come with lights and shiny things. The color palette shifts to accommodate these changes, giving the book some different energy. Plenty of shadows, and muted colors, still dominate, as they mix with the slightly flashier colors of the costumes and figures.
As much as I point at the wordiness of these books, I do like how the lettering has been handled. Caramagna picks up from Petit and hits a lot of the same energy notes. Having Logan’s thoughts in his sharp yellow boxes counteracted by vampire Alyssa’s purple boxes was a nice move. It gives us a great way to see she was influencing him without thought bubbles or telepathic bubbles cluttering up the already word filled pages.
Perhaps this might read better as a complete story, but I’m betting it reads pretty much the same. Might be time to go get those beers now.
Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4 is now available from Marvel Comics.
