All-New Wolverine 3 review

December is always a weird month for pull lists, especially the week between Christmas and New-Years, and it’s even worse when there’s 5 Wednesdays in that month. This week I only had one comic on my pull list … well, two if you count Deadpool and Cable: Split Second 1, but that released more than a month ago in Infinity form so it kind of doesn’t count. As such, I’m skipping the first impressions and writing my full review, and I’ll also talk about Split Second a bit later on.

All-New Wolverine 3, written by Tom Taylor, is awesome. Like the first issue, this is more action than it is not, but there’s also a lot more story development in the breaks between the action. The opening fight between Laura and Taskmaster is kinetic and showcases how awesome both characters can be. That said, it’s over a bit too quickly for what should have been a major fight. The following chase scene with heavily armoured vehicles is even more intense. Mixed in with the action is some great dialogue between Laura, the sisters and the mercenaries chasing them.

While the action is fun, it’s the story development that really makes this issue work. We learn more about the Sisters and what Alchemax did to them. We learn exactly how the mercenaries found Wolverine and the sisters so fast, and the solution to that problem is amusing. The sisters continue to be interesting characters, and each unique reflections of who Laura used to be before she overcame her programming from the facility. Zelda is the tactician of the three, Bellona is the aggressive, merciless one, and Gabby is the touch of innocence Laura always had hidden inside. Laura’s intimidation speech toward the end of the issue is perfect.

The art by David Lopez and David Navarrot is great. The opening fight scene captures Laura’s fury after Taskmaster shot the sisters in the previous issue, while showing off both of their fighting skills. The chase scene feels fast, while it’s easy to follow even if a few panels would have benefitted from a different viewing angle. Facial expressions capture characters’ emotions well, whether it’s Laura’s fury in the opening, Bellona’s cold stare when she aims a gun at Captain Mooney, Gabby’s smile when she brags about their armour and the Captain’s look of surprise when Laura jumps into his vehicle.

The backgrounds in the streets are complete with well-detailed buildings, billboards and the occasional streetlight, and there are occasional things in the foreground that adds to the storytelling. Watch for the squirrel. The unique scars on each of the sisters not only gives them an interesting look, but it makes it easy to tell everyone apart when they otherwise look exactly like Laura. And it’s great that Laura is drawn with actual muscle on her arms and legs, which you’d expect for a woman who’s always been portrayed as strong and athletic. The colouring by Nathan Fairbairn is also good. Although some pages are appropriately dark, the comic is colourful and it’s never hard to see what’s going on.

All-New Wolverine 3 is probably the best issue in the series so far. The first issue is mostly action, and the second issue is mostly story. This one is packed with both, yet it never feels rushed save for the Taskmaster fight. The dialogue is great and perfectly captures Laura’s voice and the mystery of the sisters continues to be intriguing. This story could go in a number of directions at this point, which only makes it more exciting. Long-time X-23 fans should enjoy this comic and should certainly pick this up, and those who want to check her out should at least give this a read.

9.5/10

And now to briefly talk about Deadpool and Cable: Split Second 1, written by Fabian Nicieza and Reilly Brown, drawn by Reilly Brown and coloured by Jim Charalampidis. It’s a fun comic and does a great job at updating us on these two characters in case you haven’t read either of them since Cable and Deadpool from 7 years back, while not sacrificing its own story. The dialogue is rarely not entertaining, the action is fun and the story is interesting. The art is also fantastic. If you’re a fan of either character and haven’t checked out the online version of this story, you should make sure to pick this up.

9/10