Smoke me a kipper.... (Wolverine Comics in general)

Member Name: Diaz

Product:	Wolverine Comics in general
Date:	16/10/01 (104 review reads)
Rating:

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As superheroes go Wolverine really does stand head and shoulders above the rest for sheer force of character. He is a total bloke, his idea of a good night out is beer and babes which I have to agree goes pretty much along with my ideas too, shame I’m married.....



Wolverine’s basic premise is he is a mutant, like a lot of the heroes in the Marvel universe, his mutation is a super enhanced ability to heal and fight disease. His backstory though I’m not sure if it has ever been truly confirmed just hinted at, is that a secret government (?) cabal used his healing ability as a way to lace his bones with Adamantium, an indestructible metal alloy, oh and they gave him retractable claws which shoot out of his knuckles, nice touch. This resulted in an agent almost impossible to destroy, it also made him pretty mad. If you haven’t seen the X-Men movie, watch it, Hugh Jackman gets Wolverine down to a tee and does a much better job of describing him than I could do.



“Inner Fury” details an attempt to destroy the Wolverine, an impossible task at the best of times. Written by D.G. Chichester and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz the book is gorgeous, the story is intelligent and well written and the art is a wonderfully erratic, deeply detailed and rather lush. These solo character projects are often a little vague, they attempt to explain or pad out the history or background of a character, at worst they simply knock out a solo comic to cash in on a characters popularity and Wolverine is certainly very popular. Whether or not Inner Fury is a cynical cash in or if it will stay part of the Wolverine cannon storyline, it is very good.



The story revolves around a character called the Whale, an ultra-intelligent nano-engineer. The Whale has an uneasy relationship with his masters, another one of those secretive cabals, Hydra. The Whale bolts his stable at just about the same time as Wolver
ine is attacked by Hydra agents. Hydra’s agents are the disposable variety and so Wolverine obligingly disposes of them, the twist is their weapons, swords, are enhanced with nanotechnology. For those who don’t know what that is they are microscopic machines capable of simple tasks. The task these ones are to perform is to remove the Adamantium from Wolverines bones molecules by molecule, so the indestructible Wolverine could become vulnerable. Can Wolverine confront the Whale in time before the Adamantium poisons him??



Considering this is blatantly an action comic Chichester’s plot is intelligent and suitably convoluted not only relying on wordplay to develop plot and character but also the graphic elements. Sienkiewicz’s art work is eccentric, erratic and downright gory in some parts and matches the Chichester’s plot and the character of Wolverine completely. It particularly comes to the fore during a nightmare scene induced by Wolverines Adamantium poisoning where Wolverine assumes the role of Melvilles Captain Ahab hunting the Whales Moby Dick; inspired lunacy.



Although the majority of Sienkiewicz’s art is awash with chaotic caricature he displays a draughtsman’s eye in the portrayal of the nanotechnology, placing an almost foetal nanite in the centre of a diagrammatic heart surrounded by technical data. The images adeptly mix the technical and the visceral qualities of their subject material.



Inner Fury as a fine addition to the Wolverine mythology and although it is a little gory, I’d recommend it for teens upwards. It’s a fine story and its smart plotline and literary references raise it above the usual entries in the genre, however it’s graphic violence and shortness make it a little disposable. I enjoyed it I’m not sure it would be everyone’s cup of tea, comic fan or not.

Wolverine inner fury is a trade paperback and
is currently out of print, but can be bought for about $5.00 on comic auction sites

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