Brian Wood with artists Roland Boschi and Mark Brooks bring you Wolverine out of his element. Quentin Quire has engaged the voracious furball in a battle of minds and that brings us to the forefront of Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega.
Wood opens up with Quentin running an external monologue, allowing new readers to see just how smug Quire can be. Woods nails Quire in the issue, having him come across as self confident, a bit of an asshole, and a bit insecure; especially once he knocks out Armor and Wolverine. Quentin makes a good foil for Wolverine since he can neither slice nor dice him and does his best to piss Logan off at every corner. Wood handles Quentin the student well, even the whole idea of a Psychic War comes from the class he is skipping. I'm looking forward to seeing how Wood handles Logan the teacher going forward, since we didn't get to see much of him in that role this issue.
That look…
The art team does a great job. Both worlds come across as drastic differences. Reality is crisp and full of color. The construct world is full of browns and grays, giving the feeling of smog and a smothering atmosphere which works well in the world Quire is trying to build for Armor and Wolverine. The subtle changes between the characters and how they're drawn plays a part as well. Wolverine looks crisp, almost youthful for a guy his age while sparring with Armor in reality, but in the Construct his face is rougher and more wrinkled. Same with Armor. It isn't a big detail but adds to the feeling of two drastically different worlds. The art changes a third time, when Wolverine wakes up in a locked shed screaming out Quire. The world is shades of purple, and it somehow manages to portray a pure rage emitting from Wolverine.
Wood does a decent job setting up for the next four issues, but it does feel a bit light. Wolverine seems to have woken up from the Construct by the end of issue one and I honestly expected it to take a few issues. Quentin had the world set up wonderfully, controlling their powers and keeping Wolverine's healing factor in check. If Wolverine is actually awake then I don't really see how it'll go for four more issues. I trust Wood as a writer though and I imagine this really is just the beginning. I'm expecting some character growth for Quire, he has such potential as an X-Man that I'd like to see it develop some, he will always be an asshole but as we saw in the first three issues of Wolverine and the X-Men he has the capacity to care about his compatriots. It'll be good to see a character grow a bit and have it stick.
Dylan B. Tano is a relatively new reviewer powered by a love of bacon and constantly distracted by a kitten who would rather use his laptop as a bed. He grew up idolizing Spider-Man and can’t believe he gets to review comics all day.