For anyone who has read all, or the majority of Jason Aaron’s work with Wolverine, his finale issue which came out today was the perfect ending to everything that he did. Let me break down a bit of why that’s true…
Aaron, in his extensive and somewhat scattered run, wrote ten main story arcs for Logan, which are chronologically as follows:
- Get Mystique
- Wolverine: Manifest Destiny
- Weapon X - The Adamantium Men
- Weapon X - Insane in the Brain
- Weapon X - Tomorrow Dies Today
- Wolverine Goes to Hell
- Wolverine Vs. The X-Men
- Wolverine’s Revenge
- Goodbye, Chinatown
- Back to Japan
Most of those were pretty standalone to begin with, each having it’s own conclusion that kind of left off with a hint that whatever Logan was facing would probably come back to haunt him later on, presumably in Aaron’s run with the character. The only ones that weren’t standalone were 6-8, which acted as one long story made up of three parts. Also, Get Mystique was continued in an issue between parts 6 and 7, and Manifest Destiny was continued in the Goodbye Chinatown arc.
In the final issue, #304 (pictured left), of Aaron’s run, he included, along with the main story of Wolverine fighting against Sabretooth and many other old foes of his, vignettes that tied up or elaborated on each of the ten arcs of Aaron’s Wolverine run. Aaron leaves not one stone unturned, making sure that the readers who have followed him since the beginning are satisfied, if not completely then at least enough to know there’s a plan for everything. Whether it be expanded upon in Aaron’s currently ongoing Wolverine and the X-Men series, or by Cullen Bunn as he takes over Wolverine starting with issue #305 (pictured right), there is indeed a plan for everything.
Ryley’s Pull List 4/11/12 - Marvel Comics
- Avenging Spider-Man #6 - I don’t usually pick up Avenging Spider-Man, but this month the series starts off the three part event, Omega Effect, which is running through this, Daredevil, and Punisher. Readers of Daredevil will be more familiar with the elements of this story than ASM and Punisher readers as it deals with the Omega Drive that Matt Murdock acquired back at the beginning of this current series. Being that the three-part crossover is being written by both Mark Waid and Greg Rucka, with art by Marco Checchetto, this story is sure to be great.
- Fantastic Four #605 - Jonathan Hickman finished is F4 epic last month, but we still have about six more months of his high concept stories. This month we’ll be seeing the Four travel one thousand years into the future. What will they find? I don’t know, but I really can’t wait to read it!
- Journey into Mystery #636 - The Terrorism Myth ends here! Will Loki be able to stop Nightmare? Probably, but the exciting part is seeing just how he deals with him in this Sandman-esque tale of Dreams, Nightmares, and Fear Gods.
- Secret Avengers #25 - Rick Remender’s first arc on Secret Avengers ends here, and it’s all out war as the Avengers go up against Father’s group of machines. Plus, it’s the first time Venom will be active with the Secret Avengers. Will he be okay out there, because he’s kind of been going through some symbiote withdrawal as of late… we’ll just have to read on to see.
- Uncanny X-Men #10 - After a prison-break in the SWORD space-needle, a mysterious, genocidal alien called Unit has come down to earth, and he has some sort of draw towards Hope. Just why does he want the mutant messiah?
- Winter Soldier #4 - I shouldn’t have to say much more than the fact that there’s a gun-toting gorilla on the cover of this issue to get you to read it, but some people just aren’t sold on stuff like that… so I’ll just tell you that Ed Brubaker’s doing some of his best work here in his return to writing Bucky Barnes. It’s an espionage story full of intrigue and it’s just going to lead to more things that are more awesome. Maybe more gorillas with guns, but probably different things… don’t let that discourage your purchase, though.
- Wolverine #304 - Jason Aaron’s run on Wolverine ends here, as he tells one final tale of Logan and Sabretooth going head to head. Hopefully he gives us a proper conclusion to his story before Cullen Bunn takes over next issue. I’ve loved Aaron’s work with Wolverine thus far, so I have high-hopes for his finale.
Ryley’s Pull List March 21, 2012
[Usually I split this into Marvel and DC and other stuff, but I’ll put them all on one big post this week since I only have nine books.]
- Amazing Spider-Man #682 – It’s the beginning of the End… ‘s of the Earth! The next Spidey “event” begins this week in which Dan Slott will be continuing upon plot threads he’s laid down since issue #600 when it was revealed Doc Ock had a limited time to live. Now we have Otto in his final days trying to pull off one more big evil mission in which he and his Secret Six which he has recently reformed will take control of the world! Pretty standard villain stuff, but seeing all these classic villains back in one place should prove to be a lot of fun, and just like Spider Island I’m sure this arc will bring forth big developments for Spidey and the crew as they move forward towards the 700th anniversary at the end of this year.
- Batman #7 – The last issue before Batman takes on the Court of Owls head to head is here! The build-up to the big Bat-event is over, and it can only mean big things for Bruce Wayne. There will be secrets to uncover and things to learn about both Gotham City and the Court as we move forward, and knowing Scott Snyder and his track record, it’ll be well worth the read.
- Fables #115 – The new North Wind has been chosen, but her trials seem to have just begun. The cub Therese goes on a trip to Toyland with the boat she received as a gift for Christmas, but this boat isn’t exactly the nicest seeming toy out there… which just means we readers get an interesting story involving a new area of Fables myth!
- Invincible Iron Man #514 – Matt Fractions sort-of-kind-of Armor Wars story continues as all of Tony’s armor clad enemies have banded together alongside The Mandarin to take Iron Man down once and for all. After a couple of weak stories it seems that Fractions Iron Man is back to regular form here, and we’ll be moving forth into another arc in the future that teases the death of a friend and a new character taking on the Iron Man mantle (in a spiffy new suit as well).
- Kick-Ass 2 #7 – The long awaited conclusion to the second Kick-Ass story is here. It’s an all out war on the streets as Kick-Ass and his hero friends are about to go head to head with the league of villains lead by none other than Red Mist (who is now going by the “Motherf***er”). Though the second series hasn’t been nearly as impressive as the first I’m certainly excited to see how it wraps up, and what it could lead to.
- Thunderbolts #171 – One more issue before the current Thunderbolts go head to head with the original Thunderbolts! In this issue we take some time to look at Songbird’s character. As one of the Thunderbolts who has been on the team since the very beginning, she’s a fan favorite and a very interesting character, so this issue should prove to do some nice work focusing on her.
- Uncanny X-Men #9 – The X-Men are done in Tabula Rasa but now they’re going to team up with the Avengers… for the last time? This seems like kind of a in-between issue that fills some time before we head into the Avengers VS X-Men event next month, but it should give us some good stuff knowing Gillen as a writer, and it might lead into the event itself.
- Wolverine #303 – The conclusion to Wolverine’s current arc and the penultimate issue of Jason Aaron’s tenure on the character. It’s been a wild ride so far, but it’s not over just yet. Pretty much everyone and anyone you could think of Wolverine fighting against is right here in his face, and he’s sure to go through a lot of hell in this one issue. I’ve been loving Aaron’s Wolverine so I’m truly curious to see how he’ll wrap up his long run with the character.
- Wonder Woman #7 – She’s met up with Hades and Poseidon, and now she’s going straight into hell to find someone she loves. Whatever happens in this issue, it’s going to be superb. Azzarello and Chiang have been crafting a fantastic story for a character I previously cared very little for. I love the inclusion of Greek mythology as well, and highly recommend the series for any fan of comics. Simply great storytelling.
Ryley’s Pull List 3/7/12 - Marvel Comics
- Amazing Spider-Man #681 - What they thought was a simple search and rescue mission turned out to be much more when Peter and Johnny got to the space station. Doc Ock’s Octobots had turned everyone into zombies! But seriously, last issue started this story on a hilarious and awesome foot, and this weeks issue is sure to end it that way before we head into the big “Ends of the Earth” event.
- Uncanny X-Men #8 - Things aren’t looking too great for the X-Men in this arc as they’re caught amidst a civil war between the dominant species in Tabula Rasa. Before we head into Avengers Vs. X-Men we’ll see how our heroes solve this problem and exactly how the world is going to deal with this strange new ecosystem, Tabula Rasa.
- Venom #14 - The conclusion of Circle of Four is here, and after the end of last months issue it’s sure to be a bloody fun ride. Remender is channeling 90’s comics into this arc with no reservations, and it’s completely awesome for that. If you haven’t been reading along, next issue should be a great jumping on point!
- Winter Soldier #3 - Bucky’s current mission has lead him straight to the clutches of Doctor Doom. While I could question how Bucky will make it out of this one, I’m more curious as to how everyone will react to another major player in the Marvel Universe knowing the fact that Bucky Barnes is still alive. Did I mention that this series is fantastic in every way?
- Wolverine #302 - Everything is coming to a head in Jason Aaron’s final story on Wolverine. Ninja, samurai, and all other crazy baddies are in place, and now some snikt’s are going to be happening and some blood will definitely be shed. We’ve got a triumvirate of Logan’s greatest villains right here with Silver Samurai, Sabretooth, and Mystique… so how’s he going to deal with them?
