We’re back at it with Wolverine, and pirates, and diamonds (Oh My!). Here’s one of the strangest detective stories this side of the Lucky Tiger Casino from Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert, Frank Martin, and Cory Petit as Wolverine #15 gets down and personal with Sevyr Blackmore.
Pierce Lydon: Hey Zachary! Nice to have our former editor on the other side of the snikts and snakts. Shall we?
Zachary Jenkins: I’ve decided to live my life as a Wolverine fan from now on. No discourse, no theories, simply vibes and knives. Let’s get into the pirate adventure that is Wolverine #15!
Solem’s Origin
Pierce: I think one of the things I’ve liked most about this era of X-Men is the relatively slow burn of some of the antagonists. Hickman has always been doing his thing – introducing unknown histories for characters and locales in the Marvel Universe – but he’s let the exploration of those explanations linger. I guess what I’m saying is that I appreciate his recognition that his X-position is that exposition should follow in the mighty Marvel tradition of slowly building fiction.
So I guess what I’m saying is, “I like that it’s taken this long to find out anything concrete about Solem’s history.”
Zachary: His history isn’t exactly a shocking one. He’s a rogue and a classic one at that. In all the ways, Wolverine is a strong, traditional masculine hero who drinks whiskey and thinks about the moral ambiguity of his actions. Solem is a foil. Solem is carefree, rapturously chasing whatever desire crosses his mind. That makes him more interesting to me than a character like Sabertooth, written as “Evil Wolverine”.
Pierce: I hear you. Solem could similarly be written as little more than “Evil Nightcrawler”. I think it’s too early in the character’s history to write him off like that. I’m certainly not shocked by Solem’s origin, but I’m glad it took this long to find out that he’s kind of chaotic evil Jim Hawkins. Is the pirate stuff a bridge too far for you, or do you enjoy it?
Zachary: Oh, the pirate angle works for me a ton. The Arakki have always felt intentionally different. They are warriors, conquers and brigands. They plunder. And pirates? Pirates are the most charming form of thief there is. Giving Solem that romanticized profession works for me.
To your earlier point, I love that Solem has been out of the picture just long enough for us to be excited when we circle back to him. Percy has spent his time on Wolverine and X-Force jumping between tales and threads. Giving them a bit of space helps the books feel balanced. We can swing from espionage to vampires to pirates to world building and get a sampling of what this line can be. It’s a ton more satisfying to have two to three issue mini-arcs instead of the trade-sized ones.
Pierce: Absolutely. While I don’t think the quality of these stories has been consistent, a lot of the downfall of the vampire arc rests on the art team’s shoulders. It’s been fun to see Percy remind us of how malleable Wolverine is as a character. On some level, you always know what you’re getting from Logan, so you might as well put him into unfamiliar situations just to see what happens. But there’s still a good bit of synchronicity with the rest of the line as his adventures can’t help but tie back to X-Force and Marauders along the way.
Face/Off
Pierce: Take one part Wolverine, one part Sevyr Blackmore, add a dash of whiskey, and you’re fixing for a brouhaha. It seems almost inevitable these two would come to blows, and the cover spells that out. While I don’t think it’s Kubert’s prettiest fight in terms of choreography, it does effectively show how formidable Sevyr can be.
We already knew the Arakii were not a joke, but Sevyr proves he’s got brains and brawn. The magnetic flooring is a nice touch too. The Muramasa Blade is one of the few artifacts in the Marvel Universe that piques Wolverine’s interest. I know it’s a relatively ho-hum panel, but I’m a sucker for Kubert drawing Wolverine with a furrowed brow during the blade’s reveal.
Zachary: The panel isn’t dissimilar to a Bishōnen protagonist in the medium shot. As Kubert zooms in on Logan’s eyes, we see the grit and blood splatter that defines his character. It is a compelling moment.
Also effective in Wolverine #15 is Kubert breaking out the vertical double-page spread. It’s a technique often wildly overused, but here, it stands out. Pages like this work because they are intentional disruptors in the reading experience. Comics reading can be a nearly automatic experience, but layouts like this stop that. They force a reader to physically reorient their relationship with the work—compelling new reader interactions with comics makes moments where impact is essential land harder.
Pierce: Couldn’t agree more. I think many folks forget what a big impact paneling and layout can be when the creators aren’t mainly known for it. We always hear about that godforsaken nine-panel grid as if that’s the only way to play with form and structure, but there are other ways to force a reader to engage with a work. I think, unfortunately, it’s lost a little bit when reading digitally. Though obviously, digital comics potential to provide other alternative avenues to explore the relationship between the reader and the work.
I’M READY TO MAKE DEATH!
Zachary: Wolverine #15 closes with what seems like a pedestrian data page but truly works to add a gut punch to the cliffhanger. Solem has been galavanting around Earth in hedonistic joy, and we get Sage’s clinical descriptions of the escapades. As Wolverine ponders in his room, he realizes the truth. Solem has been there. He stole Logan’s Muramasa blade, and he’s toying with him.
I’ve been critical of Percy’s prose-heavy data pages in the past. His prose tends to tell when showing would be far more interesting, but here, it works. We know Solem has been having fun around the world, and we know he has messed with Sevyr, but that’s not personal to us. It’s just a rap sheet. The Summers House? The connecting bedrooms? The fact he has been there, and no one noticed until it was far too late? It makes the reader feel almost guilty for giggling at his previous escapades. The reminder that Solem is a right bastard helps balance the character for me.
Pierce: Solem is fun! And I like that he’s messing with Logan like this. Wolverine is a pillar of the mutant community both on Krakoa and in readers’ minds. But I like that this isn’t the typical “newer character defeats our protagonist to show how powerful he is” deal that we see all too often. For a character as psychologically tortured as Wolverine has been throughout his history, it’s almost like Solem knows that there’s a better way to get to him. For a member of X-Force to have his privacy violated is a solid little detail by Percy.
I don’t think Percy’s data pages have been home runs every time out, but the Sage one works to set that scene well. However, it’s the final one that got me. The sort of approach does a lot to highlight Wolverine’s emotions. This ronin is out for blood, and he’s going to make sure Solem obliges. I’m all the way in.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
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.
