Comics: Wolverine

Wolverine

Written by Chris Claremont, art by Frank Miller and Paul Smith, published by Marvel Comics

Overview

Collects Wolverine #1-4, the first-ever Wolverine mini-series, and the follow-up Uncanny X-Men #172-173. This features the first usage of Wolverine’s catchphrase “I’m the best there is at what I do”, which has been used (and parodied) many times since then.

The Wolverine mini-series has also been reprinted in The Best of Wolverine, Vol. 1 and Marvel Platinum: The Definitive Wolverine, and both it and the Uncanny issues are reprinted in Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1.

Art

Art is by Frank Miller (Wolverine #1-4) and Paul Smith (Uncanny X-Men #172 & 173).

While Miller’s work here is good, it’s nowhere near his best work, possibly because a) he’s not writing and drawing and b) he’s not playing with the form as he does in other works. It’s still great work, however; it just doesn’t show the brilliance that he’s exhibited elsewhere.

Paul Smith also does a decent job, although sometimes it looks like he’s trying too hard to draw like Frank Miller, and the result is neither a good Frank Miller nor a good Paul Smith. Fortunately that doesn’t happen for the entire book, and the result is two stories by two different pencilers which mesh fairly well together.