Wolverine (comic book)

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Wolverine
Cover of Wolverine #1 (September 1982)
Art by Frank Miller
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format
List
Publication date
List
  • (vol. 1)
    September – December 1982
    (vol. 2)
    November 1988 – June 2003
    (vol. 3)
    July 2003 – August 2009
    (vol. 4)
    November 2010 – February 2013
    (vol. 5)
    March 2013 – March 2014
    (vol. 6)
    April – October 2014
No. of issues
List
  • (vol. 1): 4
    (vol. 2): 189 + 6 Annuals + #1/2 + #-1
    (vol. 3): 74 + 2 Annuals + 2 Giant-Size
    (vol. 4): 20 + #5.1 + #300-317 (return to vol. 2 numbering)
    (vol. 5): 13
    (vol. 6): 12 + 1 Annual
Main character(s)Wolverine
Creative team
Written by
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
List
Letterer(s)
List
Colorist(s)
List
Editor(s)Louise Jones
Collected editions
WolverineISBN 978-0-7851-3724-5

Wolverine is a number of Marvel Comics comic book series starring the X-Men member Wolverine. As of April 2013, 323 issues and 11 annuals have been published. It is the original flagship title created for the character.

Publication history[edit]

Volume 1[edit]

Frank Miller (left) signing a print of his artwork for the cover of Vol. 1 #1 at an appearance at Midtown Comics. Beside him is artist Greg Capullo.

The first Wolverine was a four issue limited series (the company's second-ever limited series), written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Joe Rubinstein, letters by Tom Orzechowski, and colors by Glynis Wein. Marvel Comics published the series in 1982, cover dated from September to December. Highlighting Wolverine's time in Japan, this story arc covers his battle with the yakuza, The Hand ninja organization, and his engagement to Mariko Yashida.

Volume 2[edit]

An ongoing series started publication in 1988 and lasted until 2003 when it was relaunched after issue #189. The original creative team consisted of writer Chris Claremont and penciler John Buscema. Claremont described the series as "high adventure rather than super heroics, sort of a combination of Conan meets Terry and the Pirates."[1] As a visual manifestation of the series' break from the traditional superhero genre, throughout Claremont's run, Wolverine wears either civilian clothes or a mask-less, all-black outfit instead of his superhero costume. Costumed characters in general were few and far between.[2]

The second volume carries ties to both the "Apocalypse: The Twelve" and the "Ages of Apocalypse" story arcs. The volume is also tied to the "Phalanx Covenant" story arc as well. Nearly half of the volume's run was written by Larry Hama. Other writers on the series included Peter David, Archie Goodwin, Jo Duffy, Warren Ellis, Todd Dezago, Erik Larsen, Steve Skroce, Rob Liefeld, Frank Tieri, Matt Nixon and Daniel Way. Marc Silvestri penciled Wolverine from 1990 to 1992.

Volume 3[edit]

Volume 3 shares large ties to the "House of M", "Decimation", and "Civil War" story arcs, which made a large impact to the Marvel universe. "X-Men: Divided We Stand" and the alternate timeline "Old Man Logan" story arcs are also prominent in the third volume as well. Volume 3 is also notable for beginning of the Wolverine: Origins story, which introduces Wolverine's son, Daken. And as part of the "Dark Reign" storyline, the series was renamed Dark Wolverine in 2009 with issue #75 giving more focus on Daken. The third volume began in July 2003, and ended in August 2009 with issue #90. Volume 3 featured arcs written by Greg Rucka, Mark Millar, Daniel Way, Marc Guggenheim, Jeph Loeb, and Jason Aaron. Wolverine: Origins and Dark Wolverine (Vol. 3 #75-90) were also by Way.

Volume 4[edit]

A fourth volume was launched in September 2010 with a new #1. Consisting of the "Wolverine Goes to Hell" and "Goodbye Chinatown" story arcs, the fourth volume also carries ties into the X-Men: Regenesis story arc as well.

The fourth volume ended after issue #20, and the series returned to its original ongoing numbering as issue #300. How Marvel reached issue #300 is like this: Volume 2 (#1-189), Volume 3 (#1-90/#190-279), and Volume 4 (#1-20/#280-299), with Volume 4's issue #21 ending up as #300.

The fourth volume was primarily written by Jason Aaron, and was concluded with issue #317 in December 2012 in the wake of the Marvel NOW! initiative.[3]

Volume 5[edit]

As part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, Wolverine Vol. 4 was cancelled as of issue #317 and a fifth volume was launched in March 2013, with the creative team of Paul Cornell and Alan Davis.[4] The fifth volume consists of the "Hunting Season" and "Killable" story arcs of Wolverine's life, with a brief run of 13 issues. Volume 5 serves as one of the preludes to the "Death of Wolverine" story arc.

An additional series titled Savage Wolverine debuted in January 2013. The title features team-ups between Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil, as they try to survive The Savage Land, and various encounters with other Marvel characters.[5]

Volume 6[edit]

A sixth volume of Wolverine by Paul Cornell and Ryan Stegman was launched as part of All-New Marvel NOW! initiative in February 2014, featuring a changed Wolverine, who has joined a group of minor supervillains as an attempt to simplify his life.[6] Consisting of the "Three Months to Die" story arc, the sixth volume ran for thirteen issues, and also served as a prelude to the "Death of Wolverine" story arc.

Volume 7[edit]

The seventh volume of Wolverine was released as part of the Dawn of X, Reign of X, and Destiny of X relaunches. The first two relaunches took place in the year of 2020, being overseen by Jonathan Hickman. The volume is written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Adam Kubert.[7] The sixth and seventh issues are the tie-ins to the "X of Swords" crossover storyline of Dawn of X, while issues #8–19 are connected to the "Hellfire Gala" crossover storyline in the Reign of X relaunch. Issue #20 ties into the "X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine" story event, along with the Destiny of X relaunch that will follows the event. Issues #24-25 tie into the "Judgement Day" crossover event. Issues #41-50 consist of the "Sabretooth War" story arc, and a connection to the Fall of X relaunch. The overall seventh volume concludes with issue #50.

Volume 8[edit]

Volume 8 of the definitive Wolverine title will begin in mid-to-late 2024, as part of the upcoming X-Men: From the Ashes relaunch. Following the tragic end of the Krakoan Era, Wolverine finds himself dealing with the hostile human-mutant conflict once more.

Prints[edit]

Issue Publication date Writer Artist(s) Colorist(s) Comic Book Roundup rating[8] Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month) Notes
#1 February 19, 2020 Benjamin Percy Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic Frank Martin and Matthew Wilson 8.3 by 23 professional critics 190,568[9] None
#2 March 25, 2020 Adam Kubert Frank Martin 7.9 by 15 professional critics 74,228[10]
#3 July 22, 2020 8.1 by 9 professional critics Data not yet available
#4 August 19, 2020 Viktor Bogdanovic Matthew Wilson 8.2 by 10 professional critics
#5 September 2, 2020 7.4 by 6 professional critics
#6 October 7, 2020 7.8 by 11 professional critics X of Swords tie-in
#7 November 11, 2020 Benjamin Percy
Gerry Duggan
Joshua Cassara Guru e-FX 7.9 by 10 professional critics
#8 December 30, 2020 Benjamin Percy Viktor Bogdanovic
Adam Kubert
Antonio Fabela
Matt Wilson
8.1 by 10 professional critics None

Contributors[edit]

Vol. 1 (1982)[edit]

Writers[edit]

Years Writer Issues
1982 Chris Claremont #1–4

Pencilers[edit]

Years Penciler Issues
1982 Frank Miller #1–4

Vol. 2 (1988–2003)[edit]

Writers[edit]

Years Writer Issues
1988-1989, 1998 Chris Claremont #1–8, #10, #125-128
1989, 1990, 1991 Peter David #9, #11-16, #24, #44
1989-1990 Archie Goodwin #17-23
1990 Jo Duffy #25-30
1990-1997 Larry Hama #31–43, #45–53, #55-57, #60–109, #111–118, Annual ‘95; #-1
1992, 1998, 2000 Fabian Nicieza #54, #132, #146
1992 D. G. Chichester #58-59
1996 Dan Slott #102.5
1997 Ben Raab #1/2
1997, 1998 Tom DeFalco #110, #123-124
1997-1998 Warren Ellis #119-122
1998 Todd Dezago #129-131
1998 Brian K. Vaughan #131
1999 Marc Andreyko Annual ’99
1999-2000 Erik Larsen #133-149
1999, 2000 Eric Stephenson #142-144, #154-157
2000 Steve Skroce #150-153
2000 Rob Liefeld #154-157
2001 Joe Pruett #158
2001-2003 Frank Tieri #159-176, #181-186, Annual 2000, Annual 2001
2002 Matt Nixon #177-180, #183 (second story)
2003 Daniel Way #187-189

Pencilers[edit]

Years Penciler Issues
1988-1989, 1990 John Buscema #1–8, 10-16, #25, #27
1989, 1990 Gene Colan #9, #24
1989-1990 John Byrne #17-23
1990 Klaus Janson #26
1990 Barry Kitson #28-29
1990 Bill Jaaska #30
1990-1992 Marc Silvestri #31-46, 48–50, 52-53, 55–57
1991 Larry Stroman #44
1991 Gerald DeCaire #47
1992 Andy Kubert #51
1992 Darick Robertson #54, #58-59
1992 Dave Hoover #60
1992-1993, 2001 Mark Texeira #61-63, #65-68, #163
1992 Mark Pacella #64
1993 Steve Biasi #68
1993 Dwayne Turner #69-73
1993 Jim Fern #74
1993-1996 Adam Kubert #75, #77–79, #81–82, #85, #87–88, #90, #92–93, #95–97, #100, #102
1993 Tomm Coker #76
1994, 2000 Ian Churchill #80, #156-157
1994 Bob McLeod #82
1994 John Nadeau #83
1994 Ron Wagner #84
Yancy Labat
1994 Ron Garney #86
1994-1995 Fabio Laguna #88-89
1995 Duncan Rouleau #91
1995 Chris Alexander #94
1995 Luciano Lima #96
1996 Ramon Bernado #98
1996 Val Semeiks #99, #101, #103-106
1996 Mark Buckingham #102.5
1996-1997 Anthony Winn #107-109, #111-112
1997 Joe Bennett #110
1997-1999 Leinil Francis Yu #113-122, #125-127, #129-130, #132, #139-143, #145
1997 Joe Phillips #1/2
1998 Denys Cowan #123-124
1998 Carlos Pacheco #127
Mel Rubi
1997, 1998 Cary Nord #127, #131; #-1
1998, 1999 Jeff Matsuda #127, #133-138
1998, 1999-2000 Mike Miller #127, #144, #146
1998 Stephen Platt #128
Angel Unzueta
1999 Walter A. McDaniel Annual ’99
2000 Roger Cruz #147-148
2000 Graham Nolan #149
2000 Steve Skroce #150-153
2000 Rob Liefeld #154-155
2001 Sunny Lee #158
2001-2003 Sean Chen #159-162, #164-166, #170-176, #181-185
2001 Barry Windsor-Smith #166
2001, 2002 Dan Fraga #167-169, #177-178
2001 Jorge Santamaria Annual 2000
2002 Matthew Marsilia Annual 2001
2002 Ethan Van Sciver #179
2002 Jorge Lucas #180
2003 Ryan Bodenheim #183 (second story)
2003 Terry Dodson #186
2003 John McCrea #187
2003 Staz Johnson #188-189

Vol. 3 (2003–2009)[edit]

Writers[edit]

Years Writer Issues
2003-2004 Greg Rucka #1-19
2004-2005, 2008-2009 Mark Millar #20-32, #66-72
2005-2006, 2009 Daniel Way #33-40, #73-74
2006 Stuart Moore #41
2006-2008 Marc Guggenheim #42-48, #57-61
2007 Rob Williams #49
2007 Jeph Loeb #50-55
2007-2008, 2009 Jason Aaron #56, #62-65, #73-74

Pencilers[edit]

Years Penciler Issues
2003-2004 Darick Robertson #1-6, #12-19
2004 Leandro Fernandez #7-11
2004-2005 John Romita Jr. #20-31
2005 Kaare Andrews #32
2005-2006 Javier Saltares #33-40
2006 C.P. Smith #41
2006-2007 Humberto Ramos #42-48
2007 Laurence Campbell #49
2007 Simone Bianchi #50-55
2007 Ed McGuinness #50 (second story)
2007-2008 Howard Chaykin #56-61
2008 Ron Garney #62-65
2008-2009 Steve McNiven #66-72
2009 Adam Kubert #73-74
2009 Tommy Lee Edwards #73-74

Dark Wolverine (2009–2010)[edit]

Writers[edit]

Years Writer Issues
2009-2010 Daniel Way #75-90
Marjorie Liu

Pencilers[edit]

Years Penciler Issues
2009-2010 Giuseppe Camuncoli #75-77, #81-84
2009-2010 Stephen Segovia #78-80, #85-86, #88-89
2010 Paco Diaz #80, #88-89
2010 Mirco Pierfederici #87, #90

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

  • The story arc from Volume 1 has been adapted into the plot of the Japanese series Wolverine, a part of the Marvel Anime anthology miniseries.
  • Some of the details regarding the story arc detailing Logan’s Japanese adventure in Volume 1 has been adapted into an episode of Wolverine and the X-Men.

Film[edit]

  • The story arc from Volume 1 concerning Logan's exploits in Japan has been loosely adapted into the 2013 live-action film, The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold and starring Hugh Jackman as Logan, with Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada and Rila Fukushima,[11] being the sixth installment to the X-Men film series.
  • The out-of-continuity "Old Man Logan" storyline from the solo title's third volume served as the primary inspiration for the live-action film Logan (2017), again directed by Mangold and starring Jackman in the title role. However, the film's adaptation of the narrative is loose, removing plot elements such as the conquering of the world by various supervillains and repurposing an ailing Charles Xavier in the support role originally occupied by Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the source material.[12]

Reception[edit]

IGN gave the trade paperback collection of the first Wolverine series a "Must Have" rating.[13]

Collected editions[edit]

See List of Wolverine collected editions.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Marvel A to Z". Marvel Age Annual. No. 4. Marvel Comics. 1988. p. 28.
  2. ^ Zimmerman, Dwight Jon (November 1988). "Bob Harras". Comics Interview. No. 62. Fictioneer Books. pp. 5–7.
  3. ^ "Marvel Comics Solicitations for December, 2012". Comic Book Resources. September 19, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
  4. ^ "Cornell and Davis Tackle "Wolverine" For Marvel NOW!". comicbookresources.com. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. ^ Wheeler, Andrew (8 October 2012). "Marvel NOW! Q&A: Savage Wolverine". Marvel.com. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Cornell & Stegman Relaunch "Wolverine" With Some "Payback"". Comic Book Resources. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  7. ^ Wolverine (2020) #1
  8. ^ "Wolverine (2020) Comic Series Reviews at ComicBookRoundUp.com". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  9. ^ "February 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  10. ^ "March 2020 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  11. ^ Marshall, Rick (2009-08-10). "Hugh Jackman Offers 'Wolverine 2' Update: 'We're Starting To Work On It Now'". MTV. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  12. ^ Riesman, Abraham (March 2017). "The History of the Comic That Inspired Logan and Revolutionized the Marvel Brand". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  13. ^ "Wolverine TPB Review". IGN. May 19, 2006.

External links[edit]