Wolverine: Black, White, And Blood #4
It’s time for the last four bloody Wolverine tales in Wolverine: Black, White, And Blood #4 by writers Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, and Steven S. DeKnight, artists Khary Randolph, Leonard Kirk, and Paulo Siqueira, inker Oren Junior, colorist Andres Mossa, and letterer Clayton Cowles. The stories in this final volume of the series are consistently good, but the art in the last two isn’t as good as what’s in the first.
The first story, by Thompson and Randolph, picks up after Mariko left Wolverine at the altar. He’s been drinking and fighting his way across Tokyo when he’s confronted by Mystique, who wants to know where Rogue is. Both hurt by their present circumstances, the two fight it out, with Wolverine getting the better of the Mystique but sparing her. Storm joins Wolverine, and the two go off together. This is probably the strongest story of the bunch, Thompson capturing Wolverine and Mystique’s mutual sadness at their situation and the two of them dealing with it is the only way they know how- by fighting. Randolph’s pencils are also the highlight of the issue, capturing the fight in all its bloody glory. It’s the most kinetic fight of the issue as well, really standing out.
The second story, by Brisson, Kirk, and Mossa, takes place after the X-Men’s initial fight with the Reavers. Wolverine hunts down some the team missed, tracking them to a stolen yacht. The Reavers get the upper hand, bloodying Wolverine and dumping him in the sea, attracting sharks, but he turns the tides on them, killing them and avenging those they killed. Brisson’s story in this one is pretty good, but Kirk’s art isn’t up to snuff. It’s not bad, but there’s too much black sometimes, and it makes things hard to make at times.
The final story, by DeKnight, Siqueira, Junior, and Mossa, is the weakest of the bunch. It sees Wolverine in the Savage Land, battling Sauron. Tyrannosaur attacks, and Sauron tries to take control of it and fails. It head-butts him and eats Wolverine, who rips out of its head. Sauron is surprised that he couldn’t hypnotize it, and Wolverine reveals why- its brain is petrified. Sauron leads Wolverine to Garokk, the Petrified Man, who tries to use his control of the dinosaurs to rally the Savage Land’s people to him. Wolverine and Sauron take him out and continue their battle. This one isn’t bad, but it feels like a bit of an afterthought. The twist is okay, and the whole thing feels really short and undercooked. The art is aggressively okay- there’s nothing that looks bad, but it just seems off.
Wolverine: Black, White, And Blood #4 isn’t the weakest issue of the mini, but it’s not the strongest either. It’s pretty good all in all, with the last story bringing down the curve. The idea behind this series is sound, but it’s kind of been a case of diminishing returns since the first issue, which was just about perfect. It’s presented some fun Wolverine stories in a novel way, though, and this issue succeeds in that as well without too much trouble.
