Long running plot threads come to a head as The Vampire Nation positions itself against Krakoa. Benjamin Percy, Scot Eaton, JP Mayer, Matthew Wilson and Cory Petit deliver Wolverine #11.
TT: Hello Pierce! I am very excited to discuss the foundation of a new nation with you! Have you heard the gospel of Dracul?
PL: I have, I have. It looks like Benjamin Percy is really raising the stakes with this long running B-plot. But this issue did leave me a little cold. Are you ready to sink your teeth into this one?
TT: Let’s take a bite out of it!
PL: Just call us the pun-dead!
Logan, Vampire Hunter
TT: I love this opening scene. Remember a few months ago? When the vampire plotline was dropped suddenly for X of Swords? Well, it turns out that Logan remembers, and in his off times, he’s been taking trips through portals to slay bloodsuckers.
On a superficial “hell yeah” level, I like this quite a bit. It’s a fun action opener, even if Eaton’s art is a bit stiff. And it gives us a quick refresher of where the plotline dropped off.
However, on a practical level, this plot is such a step down from the past few issues.
These vampires were turned and then unleashed in these cities, and now Logan is killing them. That just doesn’t feel right to me. What did you think of it Pierce?
PL: Are vampires compelling forces in fiction anymore? As much as I like Omega Red, Wolverine and Benjamin Percy, I’m not sold on this Vampire Nation arc.
Wolverine’s got a lot of autonomy on Krakoa – that tracks – but the business of putting all these pieces on the board is fairly dull. However, it is pretty funny that Hugh Jackman played Wolverine and Van Helsing. I know we’ve seen Logan tangle with the Vampire Nation before but are we just heading toward making “What If?… Wolverine Became Lord of the Vampires?” canon?
TT: Yeah, and after the really strong emotional arc of the last couple of issues, this didn’t quite have the punch they did. It’s a fun action story, and I think it’s way better than the other big Marvel vampire story happening right now. But this issue is about as hollow as an empty coffin.
Omega
TT: So this next section shows us a day in the life of Omega Red. And it’s kinda horrifying?
PL: I mean, if I was a kid on Krakoa, I’d be pretty scared of Omega Red. Should he have snapped one of the kids up with a tentacle? Probably not but Mr. Red doesn’t seem like he’d generally be great with kids.
I do like that Percy is braiding X-Force and Wolverine together. The most powerful part of this issue is the juxtaposition of those panels of Dracul and Omega Red and then Wolverine and Beast. Power is at the center of this story and the ways in which all four of these men wield it is very different. And while it might be a little too blunt, I do like Wolverine calling out the idea that Beast might feel like he has no one to answer to.
TT: I think this is the strongest part of the issue for exactly that reason. The vamps and Arkady are genuinely ranging from creepy to outright terrifying, while the Logan/Beast conflicts are such a high point of Percy’s X-Line work. My biggest issue with it is Logan calling out Hank’s morality while himself just acting as a butcher with the vamps. He literally just slaughtered a bunch of people who were turned against their will, then lectures Hank on how he’s turning more immoral the more he doesn’t have to answer to anyone.
I struggled with Eaton’s art here again. I really remember Eaton’s past work as stronger than average Marvel house style. Here though it’s stiff, faces look off and then there’s that panel of Logan pinching Hank’s cheek. It really isn’t up to snuff for me.
PL: Not a fan of Eaton’s work in this issue. I hate to say that art looks rushed because I couldn’t draw any of this stuff half as well in twice the time but this issue seems to fit the bill. The line work is inconsistent. The paneling isn’t dynamic. It doesn’t feel like Eaton put a lot of himself into the work but hey, sometimes that’s the job.
I would be curious to see the raw pencils because I don’t know that JP Mayer’s inks are the best fit for Eaton’s pencils or Matthew Wilson’s colors. I think that the initial couple of pages featuring Omega Red are the best in the book, largely because Wilson gets to open up the color palette but everywhere else the muddy darkness brings down the whole art team.
TT: Yeah, it’s an issue full of interesting ideas, and almost-there art. I definitely don’t hate this one but it’s such a step back after the XOS issues and the Maverick arc.
Type E
PL: Tony, how many times do characters in this issue explain why the Vampire Nation needs Wolverine’s blood? It really seems like they don’t want us to forget it. Think that might be important?
TT: I’m so curious about that plot. Logan is literally not the only character with the healing factor, and it makes me wonder why they’re spending so much time focused on him. He has three actual kids running around Krakoa, and I’m sure there’s more out there, as the Red Right Hand arc way back revealed.
In the first issue of this volume, we learned that Logan has “Type E” blood. It’s super silly comics super-science, but I think my problems with the vampires’ motivations are that they’re so centered on Logan himself, that it’s a short sight story.
Who else has Type E blood? Why isn’t Dracula after them? What motivates the entire vampire to go on such a vendetta against Logan and only Logan? It just doesn’t make much sense.
Without answering those questions, this arc just feels like Curse of the Mutants, except only Wolverine.
PL: I think that’s just it, Tony. No one else in the Marvel Universe is Blood Type E. But considering that Blade is a daywalker, there’s got to be an easier way to survive in daylight than trying to make Logan an endless blood bag.
But truthfully, shame on the Nightguard for letting the vamps get the jump on them and where is Elsa Bloodstone in all of this? I think the reason that this arc feels so unsatisfying is that the rise of a Vampire Nation should alert more than a few characters in the Marvel Universe – including ones that Wolverine likely has on speed dial.
What do you think of Louise?
TT: I literally had to go back and read the second half of Wolverine #1 because I looked at Louise and thought “Why is the Magdelena in this book and what happened to Louise?” I think this is exactly the problem with this arc coming out in short chunks between other stories. It’s not rewarding sticking with the story or encouraging a re-read. It’s just drawing the story out long enough that we don’t remember what’s going on.
That’s not even getting into the problem you mentioned. Logan shouldn’t be letting this warrior nun be his only ally in this fight. I guarantee he has Blade, Elsa, Cullen, Hannibal King and more in his rolodex [Ed. note: I legitimately don’t know if Wolverine has met Hannibal King but I’ve not read a ton of Midnight Sons comics], and that’s not even getting into Krakoans who would be fantastic monster hunting allies. The first arc of the volume served to show us that Logan isn’t the lone wolf any more. So why is he not recruiting Magik, Sunfire, Spyral and Havok to go stab the hell out of some vamps? Or even just his blasted kids- who wouldn’t want to see Logan, Akihiro, Laura and Gabby kill some vamps?
PL: I appreciate how much you just want Logan to be a good dad – a good, vampire hunting dad. Maybe we’ll get some of that “necks” issue.
TT: And on that note, we’ll put a stake in it until next issue!
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Eaton just putting Sage in a blouse and jacket is a crime.
- I’m surprised a whole page was dedicated to that mosquito bit. We get it! Bloodsucking! Vampires! We get it! I promise!
- How we’re getting a Wolverine vs. Vampires arc without Storm and/or Bloodscream is beyond us.
- Oh wait, yeah. Where is that jerk also named after the best Jean Claude Van Damme movie? (Bloodscream’s other alias is Bloodsport, kids.)
- At least Xarus isn’t making a comeback here. However… He very well could. He last appeared in Jason Aaron’s Avengers. Blade chopped off his head but it remained responsive after being removed and his body was salvaged by the Legion of the Unliving.
- This is just that second arc of X-Men ‘92 with more steps
- Krakoan reads: Blood in the Bank
Pierce Lightning is a longtime comics journalist and critic, singer for a band called Power Trash, and staving off the crushing heel of capitalism with every fiber of their comic book loving being.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
