Wolverine: Logan

Y the Last Man’s Brain K. Vaughn and Eduardo Risso of 100 Bullets (both mega stars of DC Comics’ Vertigo line) have joined forced to produce the best Wolverine story since Chris Claremont and Frank Miller teamed up in 1982.

The 3 issue mini-series simply entitled Logan follows the scruffy Canadian as he revisits his past in Japan. Seeing as how Vaughn and Risso only have 3 issues to tell their tale, it covers a lot of ground very efficiently. We see Logan following the trail of an old nemesis only to remember being in Japan as a prisoner of war during World War II.

The art and writing combine to tell a remarkable poignant and gripping story about isolation and a surprisingly sensitive Wolverine in a world that is far scarier and more fierce than his lauded ‘berserker rage.’ Thrown into a prison cell, Logan meets fellow captive US army soldier the hot-headed Lt. Warren. A hasty jailbreak sees them on the run in the beautiful countryside. The beauty of the surroundings (so lushly depicted by Risso) is eclipsed by a passing lady whose angelic poise nearly makes Logan’s heart stop (a reaction we’d see repeated much later when he met the lady Mariko). Lt. Warren attempts to kill the peasant girl, seeing her as ‘just another Jap,’ but is stopped by Logan whose interruption so enrages Warren that he abandons the mutant in this foreign land. Wolverine and the peasant girl form a solid bond and for the first time he finds acceptance… then it all goes south.

With so many comics featuring him lately, this stands out as one of the few that actually further develops Wolverine. When it first came out, I was as in love with 100 Bullets as most other comic readers, yet I eventually lost interest. Yet I still miss Risso’s artwork. An incredibly talented and emotive artist, his style is so rarely seen in comics outside of 100 Bullets. The combination of his characteristic line work and Vaughn’s deft writing skills have produced such a great comic that it’s frustrating to have to wait three months to read the entire story.

When I was a wee comic book collector, I had a handful of comics that I read over and over and over (yet the sturdy books maintained their condition somehow). Issues 6-12 of the Wolfman and Perez’ New Teen Titans, Justice League of America #200, the Days of Future Past issues of X-Men and Wolverine by Claremont and Miller. Reading this series Logan brought me back to what it meant to truly bond with a comic book. I’m not sure what that quality is that separates the good ones from the truly great ones, but this series resonated with me.

If you are a Wolverine fan (and these days, who isn’t?), you should pick this up. But more importantly, if you are a fan of well told comics of any genre, this belongs in your collection. An excellent example of quality sequential art, Logan is one of the best comics I’ve seen in a long time (especially from Marvel!).

X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie details

A recent article in Variety Magazine announced the cast of the upcoming X-Men prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Twentieth Century Fox has added three more superheroes to “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” with Ryan Reynolds set to play Deadpool, “Friday Night Lights” regular Taylor Kitsch to star as Gambit and hip-hop artist will.i.am joining the cast as John Wraith.

Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston and Lynn Collins round out the cast as Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Col. William Stryker and Kayla Silver Fox, respectively.

Hugh Jackman reprises the role of Wolverine in the “X-Men” spinoff that Gavin Hood is lensing in New Zealand, Australia and New Orleans. Pic bows May 1, 2009.

David Benioff penned the script, which would reveal the origins of the Wolverine character and introduce other mutants not yet seen in the “X-Men” franchise.

Marvel has been eyeing the possibility of casting Reynolds as Deadpool, an assassin with self-healing powers, for some time with the idea of spinning off the character into his own film series should the character prove popular among moviegoers.

Fox and Marvel have also long wanted to add the card-throwing character of Gambit to the “X-Men” franchise but could never find a way to give him enough screen time among the many other mutants that have appeared in each film.

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am will play Wraith, a mutant who has the power to teleport, and is another test subject of the Weapon X program that created Wolverine and other mercenaries. It would be his first film role.

Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter are producing with Jackman and his Seed Prods. producing partner John Palermo. Marvel’s Kevin Feige exec produces.

First look at Wolverine prequel

Take a nice long look, ladies. Hugh Jackman can strain those neck muscles all day.

This small pic is all we get from the upcoming prequel painfully entitled X-Men: Origins: Wolverine. The film will follow the adventures of our favorite Canucklehead all the way up the first X-Men film… which like any prequel project… is confusing. The new film is the one that came before the one you saw first.

Jackman has been quoted as saying that he is very aware of the pressure that this film is under. The first X-Men film won over a Hollywood that had little interest in super hero flicks… and we all saw where that got us.

But there is still a good chance that a Wolverine solo film could work.

Rumor is that Sabretooth ( a character sidelined to mere muscle in the X-Men film who was much more pivotal in the comics) will play a large role in the plot, and that should please comic book fans to no end.

And that’s what it’s all about right? Pleasing us comic book fans.

Wolverine movie news

Actor Hugh Jackman is quoted at Wizard talking about what to expect for the Canucklehead. “[The Japan connection] is still something we really want to do,” said Jackman. “What we need to do is establish who he is and find out how he became Wolverine. And by the end of the movie, I want it to be that you definitely knew who this guy was, like Mad Max and Dirty Harry. He’s a good guy, but he’s not a nice guy. He’s just the guy you want on your side.”

Sounds like the Claremont/Miller mini-series connection I theorized a few weeks ago here is close to the mark!

Suggested reading:

Wolverine by Claremont & Miller (Marvel Premiere Classic)
X-Men: From The Ashes

Director announced for Wolverine movie

Variety recently announced that Gavin Hood (South African director of the Oscar winning film Tsotsi) will direct the upcoming 20th Century Fox Wolverine movie (due out in 2008). The script will be written by David Benioff (Troy, Stay and the Kite Runner) and produced by Lauren Shuler-Donner, Wolverine star Hugh Jackman and his Seed Productions partner John Palermo.

The film will draw upon the character defining Wolverine mini-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller who first removed the character from his X-Men teammates in 1982 so that Logan could take center stage.

The Wolverine mini-series was the first step in creating what has become Marvel Comics‘ most successful character to date. Taking place in the rich setting of Japan, the Wolverine mini saw Logan experience an awakening to his animal side which became soothed by his noble spirit as he found love with the gentle Lady Mariko. The four issues also featured Frank Miller’s ninja clan ‘The Hand’ and introduced Wolverine’s study of martial arts.

Created by Len Wein as a villain for the Hulk in the 1974 issue 181, Wolverine was at first a Canadian agent sent to stop the Hulk and the monstrous giant Wendigo. Small and vicious as his namesake, Wolverine held his own against both behemoths and lived to tell the tale to his superiors at the mysterious Canadian Government Agency called Department H.

When looking for the ideal characters for the new ‘international’ X-Men team (including Storm from Africa, Colossus from Russia, Banshee from Ireland, Nightcrawler from Germany, Sunfire from Japan and the Native American Thunderbird) he was developing in 1975, Wein remembered Wolverine and threw him into the mix of what became known as the ‘All New All Different Uncanny X-Men.’

Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum took over the creative reigns of the X-Men from Wein and developed Wolverine into a bloodthirsty and angst-ridden killing machine. The character gained new facets as John Byrne joined Claremont as co-plotter and artist, bringing a dark history to the character’s background and a killing instinct that caused him to lock horns with his teammates.

The rest is history.

Actor Hugh Jackman, who has played the character of Wolverine in the three top-grossing X-Men films, has made many fans of the character happy. The Broadway entertainer has played the character with the ideal mixture of Clint Eastwood grit and cocksure devilish attitude similar to a young Jack Nicholson.

It was quite a surprise that director Bryan Singer made the complex and long-running comic book series into a cohesive and entertaining film franchise.

Thanks to the films, Hugh Jackman has become a household name and he’s not about to let just anything happen to his alter-ego. Acting as producer of the third X-Men film, X-Men: The Last Stand, Jackman took the first step in controlling the contributions he has made to the comic book franchise and it looks like that will carry over into the long-awaited Wolverine spin-off.

Speaking on the film’s director, Jackman has said, “I have long been a fan of Gavin’s work and know he will make a masterful film with the character intensity and action beats the fans expect.”

If the Wolverine spin-off is a hit, I’m sure there are many directions that can be taken. I just hope that the actor who has fleshed a 2-Dimensional comic book character into a fully-realized person will be involved.

Recommended reading/viewing:

X-Men Trilogy (X-Men/ X2: X-Men United/ X-Men: The Last Stand)
Wolverine by Claremont & Miller (Marvel Premiere Classic)
The Best of Wolverine, Vol. 1
Essential X-Men, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential X-Men, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)