Broken Frontier

Namor enters the fray, keeping Wolverine from doing to Nitro what he does best.

After all the trouble Wolverine went through to track down the villain responsible for the deaths of so many innocent lives in Stamford, Connecticut—thereby responsible for initiating political action that lead to the superhero Civil War—Namor shows up, seeking vengeance for his cousin Namorita’s death. Being outnumbered and outclassed, Wolverine succumbs to the Atlantean attackers as Nitro is ushered to the underwater kingdom to be dealt with their way. But Wolverine refuses to be denied his vendetta, and calls one of his friends in high places for a little help.

These tie-in books to Civil War have been quite enjoyable for the most part. Some, including this title, have been more enjoyable than the Millar/McNiven series mainly because of the more narrow focus on individual characters and how they are dealing with the fallout (so to speak) of the events at Stamford and the Superhero Registration Act.

Marc Guggenheim was primarily known for writing television procedural dramas like The Practice and CSI: Miami before coming on board Wolverine several months ago. Those shows typically embraced twist-and-turn storytelling, and although Wolverine has been a pretty straightforward revenge tale, Guggenheim throws in a few pleasant surprises this issue. I also liked that he chose to give Namor a more human personality than he has typically exhibited, while maintaining the definitive air of superiority that makes him a king.

Humberto Ramos is not for everyone. I wasn’t a big fan of what he did on Spectacular Spider-Man, however, I’m loving his work here (And I’ve got a friend that shares a directly opposing view). Despite making Logan look somewhat like a chimpanzee in a few panels, I enjoy the angular designs he’s given most characters—particularly his version of Iron Man—and their exaggerated expressions that carry through the action and dialogue. Speaking of action, Ramos delivers in spades. As one might expect, this book has had its fair share of brawls and explosions, all of which have come to life on the page. While he’s far from a perfect artist, this might be his best mainstream work to date.

Don’t let the Civil War tie-in fool you--this is a very good title right now. The end of this issue alone has me thirsting for more. Just when it appeared as though Wolverine’s vendetta has reached its conclusion, a blast from the past pulls him right back into it.