The Virgin Read: Nobody Tell Her That The Husky Voiced Japanese Woman Doesn't Have A Chance At Survival

Wolverine: Noir # 1

Written by Stuart Moore

Art by C.P. Smith

Published by Marvel Comics

I kinda love noir. Well, that’s not an entirely true statement. I haven’t necessarily explored noir or anything. I just run into it from time to time, and I almost always enjoy it. I do love the idea of noir. I once did a radio play on stage, a performance where they hand everybody old radio scripts and have us stand at pre-war microphones and read it in an "old-fashioned" way. These plays are performed at this great bookstore in Greenwich Village called Mystery Booksellers--the back wall of books opens up to a separate, hidden room with a tiny stage, and that's where the plays happen. I loved (and still love – they do these shows monthly) the whole idea of those shows. One time, I got to be the assistant, the standard Girl Friday to the detective. It was great.

It seems like the people who write these “noir” comics that I’ve read--Criminal was one, although Powers sort of touches on it too--they like the comfort of noir too. All the classic cinematic shots are here in this comic as well – the dark detective agency, the high class sexy woman with glossy red lipstick, the scruff of the detective’s beard. It's harder than those radio plays, but maybe that's because I'm looking at it, maybe it's because I have to sound this out without a cast. Either way, this has the same taste to it that I like.

This book holds onto that darkness, even though the cinematic aspects become a little more of the superhero-focused...and yet, I still found this a totally enjoyable story. Still, and I don’t mean this as a criticism, just an observation--did this have to be a Wolverine comic? That’s not rhetorical. Feel free to respond and let me know if the characters in this story--Dog, or Rose, or Smitty--are these long time characters in Wolverine stories? Or is this a backstory created specifically for Wolverine Noir? I don’t mind either way. I think it’s interesting that they’ve used the idea of him being taught all about knife fighting to cover the whole fighting thing, I liked that his "claws" looked more like hand-held blades. I know one of the Wolverine background stories, the one in the movies that showed those claws came out of some kind of government experiment involving a magic bathtub--I think I like this a little better. Is it possible that they will change the origin to match up with this story?

Again, these are just questions, and honestly, they aren't ones that came up until after I was finished reading. They didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. I spent my reading time wanting to know--like, right now know--the whole story of Dog. How this guy used to have perfect speech and a whole lot of chutzpah in his youth and then turned into Lenny from Of Mice and Men, looked after and tolerated by Wolverine. I want to know why Wolverine owes him, and what he owes him for. I want to know what happened to Rose. Most of all, I want to know what the Japanese woman at the beginning of the story has to do with all of this stuff, all of this violence and lies. I have to give the comic credit for that--this wasn't a story I want to read in chunks over a few months. I want to know what's coming next. You win, Wolverine. I'm intrigued.

The art in Wolverine Noir is gorgeous. My favorite pages were the ones when the Dog character has gone to the hotel to "find Creed."  Whatever it is on those pages, whether it’s the color scheme (dark purples, reds, blacks, all cool and warm at the same time) or a particularly technique to the drawing I don't know the name for – I love it. It acted on me in a very similar way that the art in Powers does, and I love the art in Powers too. I also love that the flashback pages are washed out in browns and yellows--it's attractive in a grimy way, and it totally works to make them different than the "present day" stuff.

Of course, you’ve got your good-old-fashioned-Wolverine-style killing. I assume that's a requirement--the knives aren't for cutting birthday cake, I can understand that. But it did kind of cement my only overall negative feeling about the whole comic--did this have to be a Wolverine story? The knife fight was great, and it would have been just as great if it had been with somebody who wasn't, you know, Wolverine. It could have been a new character all together. I don't have anything particularly against Wolverine--I don't understand why he keeps coming up as option for me to read, he doesn't really seem that big of a deal--but I don't particularly dislike him. I was 100% satisfied with this story, this comic, this art--it was engaging, I got lost in it, I ended it wanting more--but not because it had an important superhero character in it. That didn't mean a thing. I'm not even saying that it would be better without him.

I guess--and maybe you can help with this--I just don't get the point. Is it really just because of that movie that's coming out? Because if that's it, if that's the only reason--I guess that's okay. But it seems like the people who wrote and drew this--they didn't need Wolverine at all. They would've been just as great without him. I hope they get the chance.

-Nina Stone, 2009

Comments

[LurkerWithout]

I think it had to be Wolverine, simply because thats the concept Marvel is going with. Noir versions of their regular books. X-Men, Spider-Man, this one. Even Daredevil. Which, as everyone has pointed out in reviews already, is odd since Daredevil has pretty much been the poster child for noir super-heroes forever now...

[Matthew J. Brady]

It had to be Wolverine because Marvel barely realizes comics not starring him exist. Other characters they publish, like Spider-Man or Daredevil, take place in the same "universe", so they could potentially guest-star Wolverine. The thought of Wolverine not being a few minutes away at all times is terrifying to them. "How can we survive in a world without Wolverine? I know! Let's imagine if he was real and inspired great artists, like the guy who did that painting of dogs playing poker. Then it will be like he's always been there to keep us safe. Thank you for loving me, Wolverine. I'll never leave you."

[Matthew J. Brady]

By the way, this one did actually look kind of neat, due to the quirky art. I'm liking what I see of this CP Smith guy.

And I totally want to participate in one of those radio plays. Maybe I can adapt this Wolverine comic and do it as a podcast. "I'm the best there is at what I do, see?"

[Guy Smiley]

Marvel thinks Wolverine is the thing that makes everything else taste better. (They're wrong -- it's cinnamon.)

Marvel knows that someday they'll think of a way to have Wolverine guest star with himself, in a Very Special Issue of his own book, and then they will get all the moneys forever.

[Dave]

To answer your question, Nina: Dog and Rose are basically the principal supporting cast of Origin, the Paul Jenkins/Joe Quesada miniseries that finally established Wolverine's backstory, and I believe Smitty was a major character in the second half of the series as well.

I haven't checked this out yet, but from what I've heard it borrows quite heavily from Origin in terms of story beats. I'll probably check it out at some point for Smith's artwork, though.

[Tucker Stone]

Thanks Dave, I didn't actually know the answer to that question myself. There was a look of shame and disgust in Nina's eyes when I admitted that, too.

[plok]

Ah, Origin...that's the one where it's finally revealed that Wolverine is Just Some Guy, isn't it?

Is that still going on? Have they gotten to the part where Chris Claremont falls asleep with a D&D manual on his chest while watching General Hospital?