Rating: 3/5 – Jock’s amazing art and his first time writing.
Savage Wolverine has been a showcase for some really strong talents including Frank Cho, Joe Madureira and for the storyline starting in issue nine, Jock. For the first eight issues of this series I haven’t always been a fan of the writing, but the book has always looked pretty. With this being the first chapter of a new storyline, I’m not sure if my opinion has changed yet.
To be fair, this is Jock’s first time writing in comics. This is not a bad or poorly written issue, but it feels like part of a longer story, and on it’s own doesn’t feel as satisfying. Wolverine is dropped onto an alien planet where he encounters some of that world’s alien life forms that include small “starro-like” creatures to a mountain size tick. Along the way we’re introduced to a young boy who’s tracking Wolverine for unknown reasons, and who also provides the underwhelming cliffhanger. This issue is a very quick read with extremely sparse dialogue throughout. Depending on how this story goes this may read better collected, but as a single story it fell short. Where the story doesn’t fall short is with Jock’s pencils and sequential art.
Jock has such a unique style that his art is instantly recognizable. His art seems as though it moves as he uses quick lines and great form. Jock is able to give the viewer a great sense of scale on this planet which can be seen in the scene with the “tick” mentioned above. His Wolverine isn’t pretty, or overly muscular. He’s a Wolverine that you’d almost expect to see if meeting him in real life. He’s rough looking with some defined and pronounced facial features and he uses shadows to provide some great depth. The book is all colored by Lee Loughridge. The book goes from reds to greens and Lee is able to make the alien world seem…well…alien. This combination sets this book apart from the other books that guest star Wolverine, in a good way.
I’ll be back for the next issue as seeing Wolverine done in this style feels fresh, and I want to see how Jock handles his first storyline. If you’re looking to pick this up you may want to wait for the trade, or understand that right now you’re probably buying this issue mostly for the art.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas – shawn@comicspectrum.com
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…And Jock came from 2000ad!