Wolverine #58

Wolverine #58

(Note to the reader. This review is in two parts. Don't stop reading if you find you don't agree with me.)

A beautiful cover by Suydam conceals a beutifully told story by Guggenheim. I'm glad to see him back on this book, after so many months of CRAP, and this issue is the second of his exploration into what actually happens to Wolverine's soul when he dies. Sure, it may sound hokey, but it's actually a Wolverine story that's never been done before. Especially with the atrocious AWFUL garbage that Daniel Way inflicts on us every month, which purports to be new explorations of Wolverine's past, but are actually nothing but retreads, or continuity messes, combined with what Loeb did to this title for several months by dragging it downwards into the same morass, a story such as this one comes as a breath of fresh air.
And Chaykin was made to draw Wolverine. Or Wolverine was made to be drawn by Chaykin. Either way, this story is shaping up to be something special. Sure, it's not the finest Wolverine story ever told, but it combines GOOD writing with GOOD art, and that's definitely enough for me. And, for once, a Wolverine comic incorporates a flashback to Wolverine's time in World War One that actually hasn't been done before.

Or perhaps I'm COMPLETELY wrong.

Paul O'Brien wrote a scathing review of this book that prompted me to take another look at it. And you know what? He's absolutely right. It does suck. Sure, it's still got GOOD art, but that isn't enough to salvage an AWFUL story premise. Sure, the story may be told well enough, but that doesn't exuse the fact that it's one of the most poorly conceived Wolverine stories ever. And what's up with calling a German soldier a Nazi? In World War I? And explaining the concept of anagrams to us as if it were a completely new concept that possibly noone who hasn't studied Kabbalah would understand? That just makes me feel pissed off, as if Guggenheim thinks I'm an idiot, so he needs to explain to me why water runs downhill, or some such bullshit. So, in summary, I'm extremely torn.
On close inspection this story is AWFUL. But if you read it with your brain turned off, it's GOOD. Or perhaps, it's merely the realization that Howard Chaykin is possibly the best damn artist to ever draw Wolverine that skews one's opinion. GOOD art. AWFUL story. 'Nuff said.