by Andrew Hurst, CMRO Contributing Writer
Wolverine
Issue #311
Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Simone Bianchi
Published: October 2012
Part two of Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi’s sequel to 2007′s Evolution opens with some classic Wolverine snikts, bubs, and blood, and never loses its exciting pace throughout the book; however, though action packed, this issue’s story has less meat on its bones than Logan after a nuclear explosion.
Superman/Batman is a great example of how well Loeb is at entering a character’s mind without it becoming the expositional crutch on which to tell the story, but, unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end. This issue reads like the second act of a big budget action movie, without all the without any of that annoy story depth, and usually I can over look something like that from a Wolverine comic, but personally, I was expecting more from a writer the quality of Jeph Loeb. I’ll go as far as saying this is not only one of Loeb’s weakest plots so far, but it’s some of his stiffest writing.
This title is quite a page turner, actually, but not so much for its script. Bianchi’s pencils are always beautiful and impactful, though just like Loeb, not the best work we’ve seen from him. Some panels fluctuated from the amazing Bianchi Wolverine we fell in love with five years ago, and some seemed very awkward and uncharacteristic of his style even.
They say sequels are never as good as the original, and so far that remains true with this story. There’s nothing wrong with a good ole popcorn comic every now and then, but with superstar creators like Loeb and Bianchi, a book like this leaves a lot to be desired. The insanely sexy and overtly mysterious female coupled with the tough, wise cracking action hero set up is just a little to B movie for me. That’s not the Jeph Loeb quality of storytelling I fell in love with.
I can’t hate this issue, but I’m obviously underwhelmed by it. It’s a lot less Martin Scorsese, and a lot more Michael Bay than I usually care for, but, hell; nothing wrong with a little Michael Bay every now and then.
