REVIEW: Savage Wolverine #1

Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil star in a new series full of dinosaurs, Cthulhu looking statues, Neanderthals and a leopard bikini that is just barely hanging on! Does Frank Cho’s newest title thrive or will it have to fight to survive? Major Spoilers find out! Snikt!

SAVAGE WOLVERINE #1
Writer: Frank Cho
Artist: Frank Cho
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Colorist: Jason Keith
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Publisher: Marvel Comics, Inc.
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Savage Wolverine: New Wolverine title!

WOLVERINE AND SHANNA: BUDDY COPS

After their plane goes down, Shanna the She-Devil and a crew of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are stranded in the Savage Land trying to figure out the nature of a strange Cthulhu statue-like machine in their midst. Almost immediately after he poofs on scene, Wolverine finds himself brawling with a dinosaur and several Neanderthals before he happens upon Shanna, the last survivor of the plane wrecked crew. Then again, as the only big name on a ship full of generic S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, was there any ever doubt she’d survive?

While this book is fun to read, there’s one question that’s always prevalent in the back of the mind: Why is Wolverine here exactly? Save for a quick narration about a bright light and then waking up in the middle of a field, there is absolutely no explanation as to why Wolvie is here at all. It’s a very deus ex machina explanation, one that will undoubtedly be revealed later but for now, it’s kind of odd and clunky.

Other than that, there’s very little else that makes this book stand out. The dynamic between Shanna and Wolverine is fun and the romp through the Savage Land makes for a good old-fashioned adventure, but that’s about it.

SHANNA SHOULD BE PLAYED BY RAQUEL WELCH

In addition to making an entertaining book, Frank Cho is also a great artist. His illustrations are very crisp and clean. Cho is also very adept at creating a fluid scene, giving each panel a sense of movement. With killer dinosaurs, Neanderthals and a scantily clad Shanna, one thing to be said about this book is the retro feel. There’s a definite seventies and sixties ambiance within these pages and Cho has touched on an earlier era for comics. Then again, anything with Shanna the She-Devil running around in her leopard bikini seems like a throwback to an earlier time but that’s beside the point.

The only problem I have with the artwork is a very minor one. In about two panels, there are two S.H.I.E.L.D agents of African American descent shown. What gave me pause about it was that their features had a very similar composition to the features of the Neanderthals. This may just be an innocent coincidence on Cho’s part, but I couldn’t help but notice the similarities.

BOTTOM LINE: S’OKAY

Discounting Wolverine and the X-Men, this is my first foray into a Wolverine-centric series and so far, it’s okay. Frank Cho is a great artist and he writes an entertaining book. Is this title a life changing experience? Not really, but it is fun. It’s definitely not the strongest title out there with Wolverine as it’s main focus, but it’s worth a quick flip-through if one has the time.

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