WOLVERINE: SOULTAKER # 1
© Marvel

Mania Grade: B-
Issue: 1
Authors: Akira Yoshida, Shin "Jason" Nagasawa, Katsuya Terada
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

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WOLVERINE: SOULTAKER # 1

I'm always glad to read about Wolverine in Japan. He's always fits really well there for some reason. SOULTAKER brings Logan back to Tokyo to visit his adopted daughter, Amiko (remember her?). Except, his friend Yukio has discovered a six hundred year old necklace called the Mark of Mana that a bunch of ninjas are after. One of Wolverine's old friends is killed by said ninjas, and he and Yukio set out to discover the Mark's secrets and to get revenge.

This all seems painfully familiar. Marvel seems to be in the habit of inventing friends for Logan for the sole purpose of killing them off shortly thereafter. But, SOULTAKER isn't bad it features some good action and shows Logan in more civilized form than we've seen him lately. However, it also just smacks of more of the same that we've seen already. I like Wolverine a lot, but I'm worried that Marvel may not really be sure what to do with him at this point (although I'm lately reassured by Mark Millar's run on his solo title). In a way, this is both the weakness and strength of ongoing characters they're always there and that's comforting, but writers have the burden of trying to find stories to tell with rarely an end in sight.

It's probably obvious to you at this point, but Shin "Jason" Nagasawa's pencils are more or less Manga-style, albeit with less exaggeration than I've seen in some Japanese comics. His characters and backgrounds are clean and sharp, and not over-the-top in their "Manganess" (yes, I just made up a word). Nagasawa draws the Hugh-Jackman-as-Wolverine a little taller and less scruffy and feral. My only real complaint about the art is that Nagasawa sometimes employs one of my worst pet peeves blank backgrounds and speed lines. I hate to beat up on artists for this because I realize that drawing isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I like to think of a comic book as a movie on paper. Imagine watching a movie and then having shots littered throughout the film where the background is just orange, with no scenery whatsoever. It's annoying and I wish artists wouldn't resort to shortcuts like that. However, Katsuya Terada's cover is just gorgeous. I want that image framed and on my wall. The last page of the book has a thumbnail of next issue's cover as well, and it's also very nice.

If you hate Wolverine, this isn't going to change your mind. If you love him, this is familiar stuff, competently executed. I'll keep reading, but my wife won't have to listen to me rave about it when it's over.