Broken Frontier

Gorgon continues putting his plans in motion, as the Hand goes through the process of kidnapping supers while S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to undo the brainwashing of Wolverine.

Last issue saw the end of Mark Millar’s first arc on Wolverine. In it, Wolverine was kidnapped, murdered, and brainwashed. This was all done by the new alliance between Hydra and the Hand. They brainwashed everyone’s favorite Canadian hero and turned him into their own personal killing machine. They sent him out after numerous other heroes in an attempt to get more super-powered brainwashed killing machines to fight for their cause. Finally, the heroes were able to reclaim Wolverine, but not before Northstar was killed by Wolverine and the bad guys were able to capture Elektra. In this issue we learn more about the new Hydra leader Gorgon as his minions have now shifted over to kidnapping super-villains. Meanwhile, the X-Men try and pick up the broken pieces that Wolverine has caused and S.H.I.E.L.D tries to undo his brainwashing so they can put him to work for them undoing the damage he inadvertently caused.

Mark Millar is an incredibly fun writer. His dialogue can sometimes seem off and his stories can leave you with some questions of validity, but it never matters. The dialogue is always spoken with a sharp wit and the pace is frenetic. Oftentimes when a writer begins his second arc on a book, he will be tempted to slow down the pace. Not Mark Millar. He goes from a style similar in feel to an ancient Japanese myth, to lovers at a castle, to something it sounds like Rod Serling would be narrating. It’s almost as if Millar grabs you by the hand and runs you through all these things making funny comments along the way. The reader may be tempted to slow it down; don’t, you’ll ruin half the fun. This is a great ride.

John Romita, Jr. likewise is exceptional. But then, that isn’t anything you don’t know already. This is a man who has been drawing different Marvel comics for quite some time. He draws characters in the quintessential Marvel fashion. He captures all the facial expressions and body language; and he goes from autumn leaves falling in a forest to the complexities of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. All of it done marvel-ously. And his action scenes are brilliant. He has a real sense of movement and fluidity. Best of all, his artwork never falters behind with Millar’s pacing. If Mark Millar could be seen as the captain, John Romita, Jr. is the navigator, perfectly following Millar’s orders to get us where we’re going.

Millar has said that with his run on this book he was trying to put Wolverine through the worst thing that could ever happen to his character. There’s been a lot of that going on in Marvel lately. And while it can be up for debate whether or not he has or will succeed in doing so, no one can deny that Millar has written an exceptional superhero book, filled with interesting characters, witty dialogue, and a good supply of action.

-Sam Moyerman