All New Wolverine #9
Written By: Tom Taylor
Art By: Marcio Takara
Colors By: Mat Lopes
Letters By: VC’s Cory Petit
Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 1st, 2016
Plot
Last issue Maria Hill called in Wolverine to help her tack a few agents that had gone missing thanks to a mysterious box. Hill later drops the bomb that she had someone else track try to track down the agents before her, and that someone is Old Man Logan. This issue picks up right where the last one left off, with Laura jumping straight into the belly of the beast. She also gets a little assistance from to fellow heroes just in time for Civil War 2, wink wink nudge nudge. I’ll get back to that in a minute don’t worry.
Story
This was an action packed issue. A majority of it was the big fight against Fing Fang Foom. Marvel has really been showing this dragon a lot of love lately, but I’m not complaining. He’s always been one of my favorite Iron Man villains. You heard me right folks for those of you who are new to comics one of the villains in Iron Man’s rogues gallery is a giant fire breathing dragon. Wolverine may be the best there is at what she does but even she can’t handle a giant dragon alone, luckily back up comes in the form of not one but two avengers not just old shell head but Captain Marvel as well.
Man my inner nerd was going nuts reading this. I mean come on Wolverine, Iron Man and Captain Marvel team up to fight a giant dragon. If that doesn’t spell awesome with a capital a to you then I think you need to redefine awesome. As awesome as this is the cynical comic fan in me said the only reason these two are even in this issue is to push Civil War 2 by plugging the leaders of both main sides. When you look at it like that these cameos seem a little shoehorned but hey Tom Taylor sure does make the most of it, so I really can’t complain.
I said in my review of the last issue that Gabby and Laura are what make this series great for me. This issue is no exception. Gabby had some of the cutest moments in the issue, especially when it came to interacting with Iron Man and Captain Marvel. I always love seeing young characters geek out when they meet veteran heroes, because if I was in their shoes I would totally do the same.
After Laura manages to take care of the whole Fing Fang Foom situation she heads back to the apartment rocking an awesome Captain Marvel shirt that I would buy in a heartbeat. The two clone sisters engage in their usual banter and part of me is a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see Laura jetpacking naked on her way home, but I’ll let it slide just this once. Old Man Logan finally wakes up with some interesting info. He says he recognizes this apartment. This is where he raised her. If you guys didn’t read the original old man logan miniseries in this reality Logan had a family including a daughter. I think he could be confusing Laura for his daughter in his delirious state. When you really think about it they both could use each other. Laura lost her father and Old Man Logan lost a daughter. This plot is thickening faster than you can say awkward family reunion, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Art
I’ll be honest guys at first I thought that no one else would be able to fill David Lopez’ shoes. As far as I was concerned the man was born to draw this book. Thankfully Marcio Takara managed to put all my worries at ease with his art. Man this dude draws a mean Fing Fang Foom, every seen that featured the giant dragon was awesome. The action scenes are where Takara’s art really shines. He does a great job of showing movement, which helps bring the art right off the page. As good as the action is I’ve always been a fan of the smaller moments. Laura has always been the strong silent type so the eyes mean everything, and Takara manages to say a thousand words with one facial expression. There are very few artists that can pull that off, so I’ve really gotta tip my hat to him as an artist.
The Verdict
I feel like I say the same thing every time I review an issue of this series, so in an effort to avoid sounding like a broken record I’m gonna try and keep this section short and sweet. All New Wolverine is one of, if not the best titles that Marvel has on the shelves. It hasn’t let me down in either department yet (knocks on wood), and until it does I will continue to recommend that you pick up All New Wolverine #9.