WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #1(2008).
© Marvel

Mania Grade: B+
Issue: 1
Authors: Fred Van Lente, Andrea Di Vito, Laura Villari
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

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WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #1

Wolverine: First Class #1 achieves that rare balance between nostalgia and all-ages thrills in a lighthearted short story. Marvel milks the X-Men for nostalgia value an awful lot lately, with an unusual amount of stories set in the team’s past. In this case, writer Fred Van Lente shows veteran X-Man Wolverine and newcomer Kitty Pryde on their first mission together. In this issue, Kitty Pryde narrates in her journal, typed in the appropriately 1980s computer in her dorm room at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. She describes her excitement at attending the school, but wonders about Logan. Despite the usually positive atmosphere on campurs, the gruff Canadian mutant keeps to himself and rarely smiles. Professor Charles Xavier sends the two on a mission together to locate a powerful mutant presence in a town in West Virginia. Needless to say, Logan cares very little for this. Kitty is excited to finally see action, but her efforts to warm up to her partner are only marginally successful. It is only when the two realize that their “mutant presence” has thrown an entire town into a panic that they must work together.

This issue stands about as far from “grim and gritty” as you can get. No one dies, no one is raped, Wolverine’s troubled psyche is only touched upon, and everyone’s friends by the end. First Class #1 reminds you of reading comics as a kid, when superheroes provoked a sense of awe and wonder, with just enough humanity to keep them relatable. Laura Villari’s colors shine brightly from Andrea Di Vito’s crisp, appropriately exaggerated art. Though essentially a children’s story, this issue maintains a tone of youthful optimism to which anyone with a heart can relate. “All Ages” doesn’t have to mean “Strictly for Kids.” And, while children will certainly enjoy this, adults will likely be reminded of their earliest experiences with the X-Men. 

The only real problem with this book is that in its effort to maintain that incredibly positive tone, it softens the edges a bit too much. The real culprit in the West Virginia town turns out to be more of a misunderstanding than anything else. The X-Men have always fought ignorance, and the ignorance in play here comes off as less of a threat than an accident. Though the story certainly wouldn’t improve with Wolverine decapitating angry townspeople, one hopes that stories aimed at children could acknowledge the reality of bigotry in the world. Then again, most prejudice results from misunderstanding of one kind or another, so perhaps this is more appropriate than it appears. Still, people are rarely short of reasons to hate one another. Denying culpability in favor of a more science-fiction explanation seems unnecessary. 

This first issue of Wolverine: First Class hearkens back to a gentler time in the history of Marvel Comics. It’s just the kind of thing kids should start with, and it will remind adults of those summer days spent rereading stacks of back issues under a tree. It comes off as a bit naïve, but it’s still a lot of fun. Pick this one up.

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