WOLVERINE #66(2008).
© Marvel Comics

Mania Grade: A
Comic Series: Wolverine
Issue: 66
Authors: Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, Morry Hollowell
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99

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WOLVERINE #66

If the 66^th issue of Wolverine is guilty of anything, it’s seriously decompressing a compelling piece of storytelling. As fast as writer Mark Millar introduces yet another bleak future for the Marvel Universe, he wraps the issue with the older versions of Logan and Hawkeye on the road together in the Spider-Mobile. In this world, the bad guys have won. Logan and his family live in one of the four kingdoms dominated by the arch-villains he once fought. In a regressive take on the future, Hulkland looks very much like the Old West. Bruce Banner’s monstrous redneck grandchildren pound their tenants for owed rent, and Logan wonders if he’ll have to sell the pigs off of his farm to make ends meet. After that same Hulk Gang comes calling, Logan knows he’ll have to find the money to pay them soon, or his family will suffer worse than the beating he took. In his younger days, Logan would’ve popped his claws and taken care of business. But now, he’s sworn off violence, and he has to come up with the cash by next month. But, all may not be lost when an old Avenger offers him a job that’ll settle the debt and provide for Logan’s family. However, that job means crossing through a lot of super-villain territory and staying alive in the process.

With Jason Aaron’s previous arc and this first issue of Mark Millar’s newest run, it looks like Wolverine may have begun an upswing of sorts. Like Millar’s previous story, Enemy of the State, he proves his willingness to take the character into left field for the sake of quality storytelling. Granted, many writers have already crafted bleak visions of the future Marvel Universe. From the Earth X trilogy to Age of Apocalypse, no one predicts that things will end well for our heroes. Millar’s future-West take seems novel enough, though—at least for Marvel.  But, its true novelty lies in its depiction of Logan as a family man and a pacifist. Readers have seen the future Wolverine as many things—few of them pleasant—but likely none as a reasonably stable family man, albeit one living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. We’ll will have to see what, if anything, Millar’s take will add to our understanding of the character. Hopefully, his contribution will be a valuable one with lasting implications, similar to Origin.

Steve McNiven returns with inker Dexter Vines and colorist Morry Holloweel to collaborate with Millar after their run on Civil War together. McNiven remains, simply, one of the best artists in print, making Wolverine #66 a gritty visual masterpiece. His mastery of detail is nearly unmatched, making the fantastic appear all the more believable in every panel. And, the future never looked so brown and desolate as it does here, thanks to Morry Hollowell’s colors. Vines’s inks bring out the nastiest details of this future ruled by villains. To be sure, this is an outstanding looking comic book.

This 66^th issue of Wolverine begins a new arc by the creative team of Civil War. It could easily have told a longer story in its 22 pages, but that’s its only real flaw. It occurs in the future, and likely out-of-continuity. As such, it’s a perfect place for new readers to jump on. Pick this one up.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@mania.com.