REVIEW :: Wolverine #56

by Jason Aaron and Howard Chaykin

reviewed by Matthew Bradley

Over the years, Wolverine has been one of the most overused characters in Marvel universe. He’s been in so many titles and has been written by so many writers that Wolverine might seem to be a stale character to some. Enter Jason Aaron, who is riding a wave of criticial acclaim from his recent work, such as The Other Side and Scalped. Can Aaron make Wolverine into an entertaining character?

Wendall seems like your average guy. He drinks his coffee early in the morning, packs his lunch box and goes to work. What makes him not so average is his job: he shoots at a man in a pit for hours. The man in question is none other is Wolverine. So, how can such a simple job go wrong?

Aaron knows how to tell a story. Wendall comes off as a believable character. Aaron conveys his troubles and good traits, yet reminds the reader that he is a not-so-innocent well. All of this is not only revealed through seeing Wendall go through his daily routine, but the brief conversations that he has with Wolverine. All of Wolverine’s spot-on deductions on Wendall are handled well. He shows a great bit of intelligence by learning about Wendall through his scent and by how he shoots. This element of the story gives the reader a deeper look into Wendall’s life without coming off as forced. The ending of the story comes across as bittersweet, which is fitting for the story. This is not some “Hero fights villain, hero wins” type of story and Aaron gets it.

Backing Aaron up is Howard Chaykin on pencils and inks. Out of all of Chaykin’s Marvel work, this seems be his strongest one to date. The drawings are a little rough, but they match the story well. His panel layouts are great as well. When Wendall enters a password on a keypad, for example, Chaykin will place the keyboard to the side of the page while it’s being entered. It’s a nice little detail that makes for some clean storytelling.

At the end of the day, Wolverine #56 is worth your money. With a great story with artwork that fits the story fantastically, this comic does not disappoint. Now if Marvel can just get Aaron on some more projects.