Wolverine #305
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Paul Pelletier [Pencils], David Meikis [Inker], Rain Beredo [Colorist]
The first issue under new writer Cullen Bunn, Wolverine #306 sees the return of an antagonist from previous scribe Jason Aaron’s Wolverine: Weapon X run.
Feds are investigating a cross-country killing spree, when a child who witnessed a New York slaying from a second-story apartment window draws a crayon sketch of the killer he saw–and the killer looks a lot like Wolverine. Cut to California and we find Logan in a bar, drowning his sorrows and shunning the advances of a server–because, you know, it’s never been that safe for “normal folks” to be around him.
He exits the bar reflecting upon this, as well as the fact that he’s been waking up in strange places, covered in gore and with no clue of what he’d done. Only one person could be responsible for this (well, maybe a few), but Logan somehow instinctively knows that Dr. Rot is behind it.
See, back in Wolverine: Weapon X, Dr. Rot operated a mental hospital known as Dunwich Sanitorium where he had a machine powered by dozens of disembodied brains that used to control the patients. Using this machine, he “strip-mined” Logan’s brain, leaving him unable to remember who he was or how he got there. He wanted to use Wolverine as his own personal killer, so he could, in turn, get even more brains.
Now, Rot is at it again, and as Logan heads to the now-vacated hospital to search for answers, the feds come calling at the Jean Grey School–where Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey are looking for answers of their own.
Too often, a character’s solo book and any team books they might be part of seem to exist in parallel universes. Bunn begins his Wolverine run on a strong note by continuing to keep Wolverine tied to Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men by doing one of the things that Aaron did best–acknowledging that Logan’s solo adventures don’t exist in a void. Additionally, his decision to use Dr. Rot allows him to deliver the visceral ultra-violence Wolverine is known for without just relying on that to carry the book.
The detail of Paul Pelletier, David Meikis, and Rain Beredo’s art isn’t to be overlooked, either. The Dunwich Sanitorium is as creepy as ever, and the blood and gore pops off of the pages.
Seeing one of your favorite writers leave one of your favorite books is never easy, but if this a precursor of things to come from Cullen Bunn, I think I’ll be fine.
STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10
