Death of Wolverine
by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven
collects the 4-issue miniseries
Wolverine is dead. Long live Wolverine! Well, at least Wolverine will be dead, after you finish this paperback. See, he's lost his healing factor, and now somebody's hired a laundry list of his greatest foes (and any foe, really) to bring him in.
Steve McNiven (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), and Justin Ponsor just kill it on the art. The lines are precise and a joy to look at. These guys justify the price of admission alone.
Soule parades a wide knowledge of Wolverine comics, that I never ventured into. It's a tour through Wolverine's past, in other words. He spends one issue undercover in Madripoor with a black market Iron Man helmet, to talk to Viper with whom, surprise, he has history with. In that same line, he meets up with Lady Deathstrike, and right after, Kitty Pryde! Then, in the next issue, he goes to Japan, while in the prior issue he had built up an island bulwark in Canada! There's a lot of globetrotting in this miniseries, but you'll never get lost with how tight the plot is.
One unique thing I noticed was that, in Wolverine's feral state, he still narrates -- but it's just his notes about his current environment. It makes for an interesting read that adds another layer to the story.
Wolverine dies a hero's death, and that's all this story really needed to deliver. For those who are familiar with Wolverine and for those who've just seen the movies, it'll make you want to reread the classics or discover them for yourself.
by Jonathan Maberry and Goran Parlov
collects the 4-issue miniseries
Don't confuse this with "The Punisher vs. the Marvel Universe," which, apparently, is also its own collection. This one is 104 pages and collects the 4-issue miniseries. That one is 458 pages and contains much more along with this miniseries. Today we're just reviewing the miniseries.
You could easily binge-read this miniseries within an hour. That's not exactly a bad thing. The cover promises you, "Punisher vs. Marvel cannibal monsters (zombies)" and that's exactly what you get. Five years ago, some kind of virus took over Spider-Man, and ever since he devoured the Rhino's body at a football game, it's spread all over New York City. Now, Frank Castle (the Punisher) is the only man left, waging a one-man war on
Maberry gets what makes Frank click, and he nails his grim, dour narration. There's this same strain of humor in that Frank has to constantly kill Deadpool, due to his healing factor. I have a particular affection for Parlov's pencilling/inking. His bold, straightforward lines convey emotion and action in a concise, effective manner.
There's kind of this backdrop of a very classic Spider-Man story -- the story of Spider-Man vs. Kingpin, with the fate of his non-zombie wife (and unborn child?!?) at stake. But it's told through the lens of Frank, who after all is said and done, it's hard to distinguish him from the actual monsters. A fun, light binge read with the Punisher when you're in the mood.
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