Continuing a mini-celebration of the X-Men’s 60th anniversary.
Here’s a perfect (or as perfect gets) Wolverine cover by underrated artist David Williams. It features a pissed off Wolverine (actually, that might be redundant) and a shocked and terrified Kitty Pryde dynamically heading into — or out of — trouble.
Great background detail (nicely adapted from from photo reference) provides extra depth and interest while still setting off the foreground. Overall, a very nice use of shadows and light. (The digital coloring on the published cover handles it less effectively.)
And cliche’s are cliche’s for a reason: Every time I examine the expression on Kitty’s Face I do indeed think one picture is worth a thousand words.
Continuing a mini-celebration of the X-Men’s 60th anniversary.
Spider-Man and Wolverine. Team-up or rivalry? Peanut butter and chocolate — or Coke vs. Pepsi?
Doesn’t really matter. Two of Marvel’s most famous icons in one story typically means chaos and fun, especially when a talented artist like Chris Bachalo takes charge.
Bonus points for snow, at least for me. Issues #47- #49 of Amazing Spider-man were the earliest issues I read, and yep, Spidey must ultimately deal with snow. Not to mention the flu. Oh, and he gets his butt whipped by a different kind of dynamic duo: Kraven the Hunter and The Vulture.
Concluding — for now — our two-week series celebrating a few important X-Men anniversaries in 2020.
A full-page splash of an iconic superhero… on the phone?
Well yes, why not, if done well?
And here in Alpha Flight it’s done very well, by the talented June Brigman and Whilce Portacio.
I love the look on Logan’s face. And, his coif reminds me of
the line from great Warren Zevon song “Werewolves of London:”
“His hair was perfect.”
Wolverine is not self-quarantining here. I double-checked. He’s just chilling at the moment. Also, note there are two things you won’t see anymore in a Marvel Comic. A phone cord and a cigar; old technology and a bad influence on kids, in the order.
But Snik?!? Someone
apparently forgot the “t” in Snikt? That’s an odd one. Chris Claremont first used
“Snikt” way back in X-Men #116. And, apparently it’s become a legit trademark
for the sound of Wolverine’ claws.
Fun fact: The story continues — with Wolverine — in Alpha Flight #53 and, while also inked by Whilce, its penciled by none other than Jim Lee, whose very first Marvel work was two issues earlier, in #51. But this time, he draws Wolverine, a sign of things to come.
Fun fact #2: Whilce
and I bumped into each other —- both of us with unscheduled visits — on
Free Comic Book Day a few years ago. Pretty fun and random coincidence — its
not like San Diego is a small county, or only has one comic book store.
Fun fact #3; If for
any odd reason you have not read the Power Pack series by Brigman and Louise
Simonson, well, stop what you’re doing and get to it. Brilliant. And fun!
More X-men and Wolverine related posts late in the year. Stay tuned.
Claremont and Byrne introduce “Snikt” as Wolverine’s trademark claw sound effects in X-Men #116, December 1978
Beginning on the last page of Incredible Hulk # 180 and continuing through the now iconic (and ultra–expensive) Incredible Hulk #181 the introduction of Wolverine foreshadowed the “new” X-men a few short months later.
(FYI, he also appears on the first page of #182, where get’s
forced to leave by the Canadian authorities he works for. Remember when it was
a big deal that Wolverine was “Canadian?” But I digress…)
Since that moment 46 years ago, Hulk and Wolverine have crossed paths more than a few times. And why not? Feels like a reasonable match-up.
This commission jam piece by Ken Lashley on Wolverine, and Paul Pelletier on Hulk — with Mark Morales on inks — captures he dynamics of this battle perfectly.
The original commissioner had a very specific vision in mind —- and obviously realized it — but then chose to sell / trade it shortly thereafter to a comic art dealer. Apparently, the original collector has MANY pieces featuring Hulk vs. Wolverine.
I don’t normally collect commissions (unless it’s a
recreation or re-imagination) with some notable exceptions by comic art
veterans, but this one called it out to me, and it ended up in my possession as
part as a larger acquisition.
All three artists knocked it out of the park.
Which, based on the scene itself, is about to happen to ether Hulk or Wolverine — or both — in a millisecond.
The commission reminds me of this great cover of World War Hulk by Ed McGuinness— up close and personal.
It all starts here. The Incredible Hulk #180 and #181. The Wolverine definitely strikes MORE than once.
Two different Hulk #181 re-imaginations by John Byrne, and one by Art Adams are among the many versions of this cover in existence.
As noted earlier, John Byrne had returned to X-Men with X-Men: The Hidden Years.
His original collaborator, writer Chris Claremont, returned much later on in 2010 via a more direct route, in X-Men Forever.
Basically picking up after he left off in 1991 — and then immediately diverging — Claremont quickly killed Wolverine and had the remaining X-Men team deal with the ramifications of his death.
Tom Grummett’s character-packed cover deals with the team laying their fallen comrade to rest. Grummett was the many artists on the Forever series, which also included X-men mainstay Paul Smith on this issue, and others.
It’s an interseting choice — and a good one, commercially — to leave Wolverine’s uniform on top of the coffin. Contextually, of course, it makes little sense.
Sean Chen’s variant cover takes a look at an imaginary one moment later — when “zombie” Wolverine breaks out of his coffin(In uniform). This event is not in the series. Wolverine in fact stays dead. This image seems a tribute to the popular (and multiple) Marvel Zombies series.
It’s a clever set-up, and one of the few times a main cover and a variant are done in this manner. Kudos to editor Mark Paniccia — or whoever came up with the imaginative idea.
