Woverine #20-22 Millar, Romita Jr. and Janson

It been a while, but Wolverine is finally back. Millar and company have really nailed what the character is all about. This run of issues reminds me a lot of the original Chris Claremont and Frank Miller Wolverine mini series, minus the pretentious over done narration. Oh, come on. I loved that series and it still holds up okay, but it was very pretentious even back in the early '80swhen pretentious overwritten comics were the norm. Try re-reading it now. For every great character bit or set action piece you also have to put up with, "My name is Wolverine. I'm the best at what I do, only what I do isn't very nice." Ugh.

Millar also does the Wolverine internal monologue/narration thing, but it's not nearly as overblown here and it actually has a fuction in the story. Through the internal conversation we see Wolverine's conflict with the programming the Hand has pumped into his head versus his own motivations. It's still a contrivance, but it doesn't bother me as much as it usually does in comics.

This is also the first time in long time I really feel and see just how good Wolverine is at his job. For so long we've been told over and over how good he is. Millar and Romita Jr. are showing us. Speaking of John RomitaJr., the art is beautiful, dynamic and visceral. Klaus Janson does a great job finishing the art. The pages really flow.

The star of the show really is the writing here, though. In three issues Millar has brought Wolverine back to his roots while giving him a more contemorary feel. He's also made the Fantastic Four more interesting than they've been in years. Great take on the family dynamic and the outside world's view of super-heroes. Sue is just plain scary here and I really buy it. Other writes have played the "Sue Richards is the most powerful and dangerous member of the FF" before, but Millar pulls it off.

More reasons to read these books. Nick Fury. Hydra. The Hand. Elektra. Mark Millar is really mucking with the Marvel Universe here and the result in a much more intersting place visit.