Reviewer: James Hatton
Story Title: Enemy Of The State: Pt. 1
Written by: Mark Millar
Pencils and Cover by: John Romita, Jr.
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I generally don’t read Wolverine. Maybe it’s his overexposure, and the fact that any single X-Title could be called “Wolverine” with only slight modifications (with the possible exception of Astonishing). It is possible that I’m just not as huge of a fan of the Canadian MegaForce as everyone else seems to be. He just doesn’t do it for me as a badass.
Millar and Romita, Jr. are the team for this book’s next twelve issues and that has to count for something. So I did what I haven’t done in quite a long time, and read a damn Wolverine book. Let’s see how it fares, hmm?
Story!
Let me just say that I am going to completely ignore that Wolverine is in 30 titles right now, assume that this story happens in it’s own little bubble of continuity, and that’s that.
Logan is on the warpath… heh, bet alot of issues of this story have that theme. Well, in this one, a relative of Mariko has had his son kidnapped wrongfully. Wolvie is going to go find him – whether they like it or not. At the meeting to exchange the boy for money, Wolverine plays a bluff, has it called.. and then.. seriously.. zombie ninjas show up.
Ninjas are cool.
Zombies are cool.
It only seems natural that zombie-ninjas are just the cat’s meow. He defeats them quickly and is finally taken down by their ringleader, The Gorgon. (Gorgon? Why Gorgon?) In a funnier moment, during a conversation between Nick Fury and Elektra, they comment how they’re not really that worried. Wolverine disappears. It happens. He’ll show up in a few weeks. Lo and behold, he does so having been beaten within an inch of his everloving life.
He’s also been implanted with a terminator interface, so in the months to come, we can assume he’ll be out trying to kill Sarah Connor – but next month, Elektra.
Millar actually wrote a fine issue. He’s stylistically writing an enjoyable, fun story. It isn’t anything exceptionally new, but I’m not sure how many new stories there are for a man who has 5 issues a month written with him in them.
Art
Romita, the guy who had served on JMS’ Flagship-Spiderman for a few years now, seems rushed. Very rushed. The action scenes seem jumbled, and there are literal PAGES, where Logan looks like he was done as a quick convention sketch. We’ve seen that Romita can blow us away, I do enjoy Romita’s work. It is the perfect combination of classic comic style – and individual voice. To start on such a medicore note, is surprising from him, though.
Overall
Like I said, I’m not a Wolvie kinda guy. I will relent though that this issue was quite a bit of fun. Every page moved the story, and there didn’t feel like there was much space wasted. The villain of Gorgon is as generic of a villain as they come, but the real story is going to start next month, as our ONCE AGAIN Logan has been mentally played with. It’s interesting to see how long they let that go. Next month though, he gets to go up against Jennifer Garner.
…mmmm… Jennifer Garner…
