As the Krakoa era of X-Men comes to an end, Wolverine finds himself in a familiar setting as he once again gets in touch with his primal side in the wilderness. There’s a killer in the woods — and as Wolverine’s attempt at peace is shattered, an old enemy will re-emerge and a new villain threatens to bring Logan to the brink of his berserker rage. Before long, Logan will have to unleash his claws, push his healing factor to the limit and demonstrate he’s the best there is at what he does once and for all — nice be damned! But Nightcrawler knows his old friend is capable of doing what’s right.
In the new wave of recently launched X-Men titles, the Children of The Atom have lost their royal status and are now once again feared and hated by the world’s population. In the spirit of returning to this previous status quo, Wolverine’s latest solo series sees him isolated in the wild as he was prone to do in his berserker days. Due to his long life that has had its fair share of traumatic experiences, Logan has often had periods where he has struggled to function in the human world and has sought solace with wild animals. To enhance this further, several of Wolverine’s classic foes have returned. The Canadian Government group Department H – who have always had a contemptuous relationship with Logan – along with two that bring out his wild side out in force – the demonic beast Wendigo and recurring 90s foe Cyber.
Writer Saladin Ahmed brings Logan’s struggle to the forefront in a strong fashion through his clashes with the new Wendigo, who is an innocent teenager inflicted by the curse. The subsequent battles are exactly what readers would expect, but Ahmed adds some extra depth with Wolverine trying to tame an untameable monster whilst struggling with his own demons. There are also some strong scenes with Logan’s close friend Nightcrawler who is the first person to find him in his isolation and the history between the two characters is delved into as Kurt tries to persuade Logan to return with him.
The art from Martin Coccolo harkens back to 90s era X-Men which is perfect fit for the approach this series is taking. It’s the first main solo Wolverine series in a while that has him back in his classic blue and yellow colour scheme and Coccolo does a tremendous job of bringing him to life. The action is on point with the battles with Wendigo and Cyber being some of the more gnarly encounters Wolverine has had in recent memory and both villains looking suitably beastly.
This is another strong entry in Marvel’s new X-Men line that will more than appeal to longtime Wolverine fans whilst also giving newer fans something different they can easily jump on board to. Ahmed and Coccolo are off to a strong start.
Wolverine by Saladin Ahmed Vol. 1: In The Bones is out 27 May from Marvel (9781302958039, p/b, £16.99)
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