SAVAGE WOLVERINE #15

[ SAILING FOR A SALE ] 

Only real heroes would go chasing after some other guy’s kid and actually care about them. Wait a minute! I am talking about Wolverine, right? That Richard Isanove, who does both the story and the art for this book, must be good if he can make Logan seem like a man with a heart of gold. I'd say Marvel is getting a lot of bang for their buck in March, 2014. Wouldn't you?

To QUOTE Henry Hill (as portrayed by Ray Liotta in Goodfellas): “For most of the guys, killing’s got to be accepted”.

THE STORY:

Following up from the events of last issue, Logan now has to rescue the daughter of his Canadian friend who was killed by some French guy.

Speaking of which, this issue starts off by learning some background information about this mysterious French man and his German friend. I really hope this is pertinent to the overall story-line, because if it turns out to be nothing more than filler, then it's worse than I think it really is.

THE GOOD:

It’s not that this is a particularly bad book to read, it’s just that there are so many things going on I don’t know if I can call it good or bad without knowing what's going to happen next. So what I'll do, is list the things that felt good to me.

The best thing I would say is the setting. There really hasn't been much written on the time before Marvel was founded as Timely. It’s nice to see how a character would act in that pre-Marvel time. 

Also, the art is consistent and that’s always a good thing. The cover is pretty nice. And I especially liked how the reflection of Wolverine in the water is his yellow and blue suit.

The story seems to be progressing along nicely as well. A lot happens in this issue, but not so much that you feel overburdened by it.

It’s good that Isanove shows Wolverine’s claws are bone plus the blood splatter on them appears rather organic. I think many other creators would've simply overlooked that fact. 

THE BAD:

Like I said above, I really don’t have a hold on this adventure yet, and that gives me a bad feeling. That being said, I don’t think the arc will be worse off one way or another. The first five page flashback sequence doesn't really fit at the moment. I think it would have been better to include those five pages either in the next issue or the last one. 

Also, the puke in the flashback sequence doesn't really look like puke either, more like trash. I don't want to know what that kid was eating whilst on that boat. Yuck!

THE MUSIC:

The song that I picked for this story is 'Stormy Weather' by Ella Fitzgerald. The song originally came out in 1933, the year the story is set. I think they fit together due to a mutual sad tone which creates a good contrast to the tale. If this comic was a movie then you would definitely hear this song playing in the background as Logan and the kids try and get away from the French guy and his henchmen.

THE COMPARISON:

This issue reminded me of the Godfather movies. Only the first two, not the third one. All of the killing, torture, and the flashback, seems to fit it like a glove.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of the day this issue of 'Savage Wolverine' is a good continuation of the general story-line. Which is probably not the best thing I could say, but it is true nonetheless.

The endings of both comics have been good, leaving me wanting to see what happens next. Which I hope they’re doing on purpose.

Something else that I liked that doesn't have anything to do with this story is the ad for the show, 'Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H'. It’s funny to know that Chris Bosh did the voice of Heimdall -- like how did they even ask him to do that?

Another thing I'd like to mention is that it seems like almost everyone that comes onto 'Savage Wolverine' has to outdo the last one by killing more and more people. At this rate, by issue 20, Wolverine will be killing someone every panel. Although that could be a good thing, I guess.

*** This review was brought to you by the one and only, Jimmy Coffey.