Review: ‘Wolverine’ #5 Drains Logan Dry

Wolverine has found himself in some tough spot before. However, none have been quiet as tough as becoming a human keg for a bunch of bloodsuckers. But here we are.

Though some of the basic set-up is old news, this is a pretty fun and unique spin on the mutants versus vampires idea. It does have some hiccups along the way though. It comes to us from Benjamin Percy, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matthew Wilson, Cory Petit, and Tom Muller.

Unfortunately for Logan, his blood is literally a one in eight billion rarity- type E, which also has the ability to allow vampires to daywalk. It’s put him in the crosshairs of Dracula himself. Without a little bit of help, he might be doomed.

This is a fun popcorn story. It doesn’t have the tough character reflection that last issue did, but it does have Wolverine turned into a vampire’s keg (on ice!), snowmobiling punk vampires, and ice road vampires. There’s a lot of fun to be had here, mixing fun concepts with really solid action from both Percy and Bogdanovic.

It does have some flaws. There’s a LOT of concepts introduced here, almost too many, and the story ends on what feels like a cliffhanger, but we get “Next: X of Swords!” instead. I’m guessing the pandemic might have changed some things, but it’s a bit of a let down after the build-up over the entire issue.

Percy still shows how well he understands Logan though. This arc has shown that he gets the character on a fundamental level, first with Logan’s psyche last issue, and showing what happens when he’s put in a corner here. It’s strong work overall, even with the minor letdowns I mentioned before.

Bogdanovic’s line is a little light for the story here – this is a savage warrior versus vampires, and it probably should be dripping with inky blackness. Instead we get thin and light characters, with not a lot of weight to the lines. Wilson does step up a LOT to create atmosphere around the story, elevating everything we see. And Bogdanovic’s linework gets better towards the end of the issue, when he gets to cut loose in the action scenes, including some fun designs and innovative action.

I definitely enjoyed this issue, even if ‘X of Swords’ is going to leave us hanging until year’s end to give us a resolution. It finds its identity more with each issue, and is really trying to give readers something unique.

Wolverine #5 is available now from Marvel Comics

Rating: 7/10