Origin: The True Story of Wolverine

It was almost inevitable that the "Origin" of Marvel's most popular character - for so long an unknowable mystery - guarded fiercely by Marvel management - would be told the moment he finally appeared on the silver screen. Of course that was a while ago now, the X-Men film was originally released in 2000, the comic series then following in 2001/2.

Since his creation by Len Wein, John Romita Sr and Herb Trimpe, Wolverine has been one of Marvel's hottest properties, arguably as important to the self-styled House of Ideas as Spiderman. Yet, unusually of their main properties, he's one of the few not created or even devised by Stan "The Man" Lee. That alone makes him unique and since his first appearance, he has gone from strength to strength. The very fact that he now has a film speaks volumes about his popularity, coming in way ahead of signature characters such as Thor, Captain America, and even the Avengers. That the short, hairy and irascible mutant fills Marvel's coffers cannot be in doubt.

Wolverine first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180, in October 1974. Since then his origin has largely been clouded in mystery, but we have always had a sense that he's older than he looks. Over the years clues have been dropped - the fact that he fought in WWII along side Captain America (despite him being a Canadian) gives us one clue, but the story had never been definitively told until this six issue mini-series.

Given the history of the character, there are inevitable reservations about putting the X-Man, Samurai and New Avenger's origin to paper and I have to admit I was initially personally sceptical about it. Apart from anything else, Wolverine is over-exposed for me, and thus doesn't always hold my interest. That said this collaboration works surprisingly well, and the collection is beautifully put together. Even more surprising, the concept was clearly put together by a committee and yet it has worked. The top brass of Marvel, Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada put the concept together along with Paul Jenkins, who also handled the script. Credit has to be given to Marvel that they readily admit, in the introduction to the collection, that Marvel had to tell the story of the world's favourite X-Man, rather than some corporate Hollywood studio. Justice prevailed over the fast buck it seems.

The story takes us back to Wolverine's boyhood in the late 19th century Canada, and introduces us to a young lad, James Howlett, a sickly child who has already experienced family tradgedy. From there we follow his fractured family, his first love, the trauma of discovery of his mutant ability and cover a period of roughly three or four years of his earliest, formative years. It's a humourless origin, unlike some - in some ways dark and depressing, setting the scene for the creation of the dour, no-nonsense edgy anti-hero character we already knew and loved. Given the tragedy it involves, one is left wondering at the end of it how Logan aka James Howlett becomes even vaguely heroic, and yet we know he inevitably does. Despite his crusty, no-nonsense exterior we know that Wolverine is one of the good guys - and to be fair we see the primal side of him but no malice. Our introduction is via the main narrator, Rose, a young girl of Irish extraction - and a redhead (tellingly if you know your X-History) who relates the story via her diary.

One of the better - and perhaps most surprising aspects of this book is the amount of mystery that continues to remain - his heritage, his affinity for the wild, and his ruthless streak. Marvel certainly leave plenty of scope to continue the Wolverine saga, and no bad thing. We get glimpses of much is what to come, but very little is set in stone, not even the creation of his arch-nemesis Sabretooth -do we see him in protean form in this short series? Is the cover of Issue IV a clue?

For those who have seen the X-Men films there are a couple of huge nods to that. The cage fight being one and a reworking of some the Wolverine/Rogue scene in Xavier's mansion - they leap from the page but not in a hackneyed way. This book, after all, owes its existence to the movie, and so rightfully acknowledges it. There is also a scene later in the book that to me, was very reminiscent of Citizen Kane although I'm not sure that was the intent, but I'll leave you to see if you can discover it.

The beauty of this book however is not the script, which although it passes muster is not of the quality or scope of Alan Moore, Brian Bendis or Frank Miller. It's far more journeyman-like than those but perhaps I'm doing Jenkins a disservice comparing him to such greats. One thing that did leap off the page at me was the artwork. Unusually this is not a "pencil and ink" comic, but is digitally painted beautifully by Richard Isanove, over Andy Kubert's layouts, and I have to say the art did strike me from the first. I have always enjoyed Andy (son of Joe of Comic School fame) Kubert's pencils and although I was not familiar with Isanove's work the combination works wonderfully, rich, warm colours and textures adorn every page, and leaves the reader with a striking impression of rich bronze and gold colours that perhaps take the edge off of the pain of the story - which is aimed at a general audience of all ages, after all, and I'd say this book is worth it for the art alone.

If the interior art is excellent, then it's time to find a new superlative for the covers which are presented in the collection at the top of each issue, unspoiled by banners, headers, bar codes and prices. this allows the reader to see something we don't often get to check out, Joe Quesada the artist putting his everything into a single page, again garnished and finished by Isanove's digital paints. Personally I'm a fan of Quesada's art and have been since I first read Guardian Devil his collaboration with Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith.) Quesada has a knack for imagery that has always whetted my appetite and although stylised, his pages are full of detail. His attention to the finer points is reminiscent of maybe George Perez in his pomp. His image of the Man Without Fear clutching the cross whist protecting the city, became for many the definitive "poster" of Ol' Hornhead - a symbol for the new DD and indeed the Daredevil movie. To get back on track however, we have in the Origin some wonderful graphics to savour (and a couple of bonuses that the regular issues didn't get.) But the covers, for me at least, really completed the book, each telling a tale in their own right.

There are three people for whom this book is a must have: Wolverine fans, who love the character (but I suspect the die-hard Wolvie fan would be harsher than I with the story.) The Completist, the person who wants to own the signature issues of a heroes life - and like it or not, this is now Wolverine Lore. It is canonical and is the Rome to which all Wolverine paths lead. Finally the lover of great art, the person who may not be a Wolverine fan, or a completist but loves the art of graphic novels. But this also has value for the casual reader. It is relatively inexpensive and collects an interesting tale that as I write, given that the Wolverine film is doing so well on general release - it is a good opportunity to compare and contrast if nothing else.

This is not the first book I would point someone with a passing interest in graphic novels at, but if you have even a smidgeon of curiosity about Wolverine and where he came from then you can do far worse than pick this up - and if you've any more than passing curiosity then I'd suggest you do really need to check this out and at under £10 you should.