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by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey   Cover Date- September 1982 Price- 60c Writer- Chris Claremont Penciler- Frank Miller Finisher- Josef Rubinstein Letterer- Tom Orzechowski Colourist- Glynis Wein Editor- Louise Jones Supervisor- Jim Shooter Publisher- Marvel Comics synopsisLogan boards a jet to Japan after fears for his true love, Mariko Yashida are raised when she becomes completely incommunicado. However, upon arriving in the land of the rising sun, the reasons for her silence become painfully clear and as he seeks explanations, Logan finds himself caught between giri and ninjō. Dave The first issue of this solo mini series. First of all, what do you make of the cover? Kev It's a pretty iconic image of Wolverine and it makes for a great cover. Dave It certainly does. It has a playful feel to it, coupled with the dangerous edge to this character. Great artwork. Kev Is it a Frank Miller & Joseph Rubinstien cover? Dave Yeah, it looks like it's a two hander this one. Kev The first page is great too. The opening lines are fantastic. There's an awful lot of the character revealed in those three lines. "I'm Wolverine. I'm the best at what I do. But what I do isn't very nice." Notice how he refers to himself as "Wolverine" and not as Logan? There's also a distinct mixture of pride and shame within Logan regarding what he's the best at. Dave It's a great, trademark opening. In most of these reviews we have covered, there’s a full page panel to entice the reader into the story. Kev That's a good point. I hadn't really noticed that. This is a great page for establishing the character for those readers who may not be familiar with the him through 'The Uncanny X-Men.' There's enough here to pique the interest of the reader and to make them want to turn the page and read on. Dave Yeah. The next panel, with Wolverine climbing the Canadian rockies is also striking and again, it is cleverly narrated through the next three panels and quickly gets the reader up to speed within two pages.  Logan was doing this shit way before Tom Cruise. Kev Yes indeed. There's lots of that inner monologue narration that you like. Claremont is using it very effectively here, as an efficient way to introduce the character, as well as his skills and abilities. Much in the same way that Steve Grant did with Frank Castle in 'Circle Of Blood.' Interestingly, these were both mini-series featuring popular characters that were used as springboards to launch a regular series for them both. I wonder if this was an editorial mandate at Marvel at the time. It also gives us an insight into Logan's sense of honour too. He feels sorry for the grizzly bear, but has nothing but disdain for the inept hunter. Dave It does explain a lot as to why he is hunting this bear. The battle with the bear is also setting the tone for a gritty and brutal story. Kev Definitely. It sets up the themes of duty and honour too, as well as making us aware of the holes in Logan's backstory. "Me, I know my father--That's as far as it goes." Dave That’s another great panel, where Wolverine enters Josie’s Bar and Grill, the one taken from an aerial viewpoint, it’s full of rich colours. It’s a throwback to the classic western saloon which, in a way, I suppose Wolverine is a kind-of a western character. The lone hero. Kev You're right, the character certainly lends himself to stories within that genre, you can almost hear the piano stopping as he comes through those saloon doors. Plus, westerns are to America what the Samurai stories are to Japan and the 'Logan' movie was very western inflected. Dave It's a natural genre for this type of character. "The bear lasted longer.....But I let the man live," is a good line. Plus, there is no need to show the carnage he causes in the bar after his display against the bear. Kev Definitely. Even at this early stage in the story, we can guess how this scenario plays out. Claremont's style here is lean, no nonsense, very much like the character. I'm getting Harry Callahan, ‘Dirty Harry’ vibes off of Logan here. Which, through Clint Eastwood, provides another link to the western genre. Dave Yeah, I think there is a homage put in here to ‘Dirty Harry’ and also the ‘Man with No Name.’ Kev For sure. Do you think, at some point in time, Eastwood could've been cast as Logan? Dave Maybe. This version of Logan has many Eastwood elements, but certainly not height. Kev Definitely not height, no. But Jackman was always way too tall as well. Dave True. This really does have plenty of narration in the early pages. Kev It does, but it's really well written. It's drawing you into the story and the character. Dave I noticed a little in-joke on the panel when he is flying to Japan on Airlines 007. I wonder if that was an homage to ‘You Only Live Twice,’ when Bond went to Japan? Kev It's got to be, I reckon. There's definitely a huge James Bond influence here as well, yes. More of which is on show in the later issues in the series too. Dave There are some great panels in the early stages of this issue. From the Canadian Rockies, to the office scene in Toyko and also the ones with Asano Kimura and the bright, neon lighting.  "Life can be cruel….in Tokyo. Certainly congested, I'd love to go." Kev Yeh, there's some excellent contrast of geography and location here. Like you said, the harsh Canadian mountains against the concrete, modern, urban sprawl of Tokyo. This also ties into the east versus west culture clash and nature versus nurture themes of this story. This is all in addition to it being a fish-out-of-water story, with Logan traveling from his home country of Canada to the stranger environments of Japan and it also being a James Bond-esque globe trotting aspect of the story. Dave Also, Logan is clouded by his desire for Mariko, which is causing him to behave irrationally again. Kev Yep. There's definitely a bit of a classic Romeo & Juliet, star-crossed lovers thing happening with her and Logan. Dave That is another good half page panel, the kind of which has been used a lot in our previous reviews, of the hero in full costume.  Logan's cosplay game is on point. Kev Totally, man. You've got to have that big reveal, money shot. I love that panel on the previous page as well, the one in which Logan is told that Mariko is married. His facial expression is great and the colour is literally drained from his features in the image. Also, once again, Logan's affinity with animals is shown with the guard dogs. He seems to deal much better with animals than he does people and with nature better than he does society. Dave Yeah, I like that line where he comes across the dogs, "They let me pass. I'm glad. I got no stomach for guttin' animals. People, though...That's another matter." Japan really lends itself to some great locations. This is a very cinematic story, don't you think? I mean, check the next panel where he is looking upwards at the Yashida ancestral home. Truly visually powerful. It's great artwork. There's so much attention to detail in that one frame. Kev Yep, definitely. Frank Miller is nothing if not an excellent visual storyteller. Another example of this is the absolutely superb choreography of the fight between Logan & Shingen. Logan's inner monologue, play-by-play commentary of it is great too. The two go hand in hand & work beautifully. Claremont & Miller really are a bit of a dream team at this point, particularly on this character, with this kind of story. Both bring their love of Japan and Japanese culture to the table. I hadn’t realised until I read it recently that Miller was co-plotter on this series, but you can tell, alright. His fingerprints are all over it. Dave Also the Buddha statue where he comes across Mariko at night time is beautifully coloured. Kev Yeh, man. That beautiful Glynis Wein, moonlight blue. The reveal of Mariko's bruised face, in colour, is a fantastic contrast to the black & white image of her in all her unscathed beauty a few pages earlier as well. Dave Yeah, both of them are good panels. The Japanese aesthetic of the piece allows for this type of artwork to flourish.
Kev Definitely. The following four panels are also fantastic in that they show the building of Logan's berserker rage, only to have it be calmed by Mariko herself. Excellent example of comics storytelling there within that sequence of images. Dave Good use of that half page panel that’s dominating the page as well actually, as Logan picks up her husband. "Bub, you've just signed your death warrant."  "Slice and dice." Kev That's a classic Wolverine line, right there. The panel layout on the page is great also. Mariko is portrayed as having obligations that are more important to her than love and there's a duty over love theme here as well. "A tradition of duty and honour." "Giri." Dave Yeah. The pace of story flows well. It’s a case of out of the frying pan of Mariko and her husband and straight into the fire of the next scene, which sets-up the confrontation with Lord Shingen. Kev The pacing of this issue is superb, yes. Like you said, it flows so well. There's not a wasted panel, never mind page, and it's just drawing you further and further into the story as it goes along. It's like being pulled into a spider's web, where at the centre, Lord Shingen awaits. Dave Actually, upon looking at the panels with close up of Logan’s face, I can see a certain element of Clint Eastwood in Wolverine’s features. Kev You think Miller modeled his Logan on Eastwood, maybe? Dave Possibly. Eastwood’s persona would certainly suit the tone of this story and around the time it was written, Eastwood was one of the biggest movie icons going. Kev Definitely. I had completely forgotten that this was as old as it was. In my mind, I had it mid 80s, not early 80s. Dave Me too. 1982. Kev Oddly enough, Jackman's vested Wolverine is reminiscent of Eastwood's character of Philo Beddoe in 'Every Which Way But Loose' & 'Every Which Way You Can.' "Right turn Clyde." Dave Also, the genre of martial arts and ninja movies were breaking through in Hollywood in a big way around this time, which was probably another influence upon Claremont and Miller. Kev That's a good point. Bruce Lee had kicked those doors down in terms of martial arts movies making their way to Hollywood. Dave And Lord Shingen has shoulder pads that would make Joan Collins turn green with envy. Kev Ha, ha! Dave Just before the showdown between Logan and Lord Shingen, we have the classic, old western close-up of the eyes. Which is a throw-back to the 60s and something that was used a lot in old martial arts films as well, in order to build the tension before the action erupts. Kev I love that exchange between Shingen & Logan, ".....your tone is rude, your manner, disrespectful." "Yup." Ha, ha! Classic Wolverine right there. Dave It’s a great fight scene between these two. It's bloody and brutal, but highly skilled. Kev Yeh, man. It's superb. The choreography is fantastic and the narration fits it superbly. The two go hand-in-hand and work beautifully. The Robert Downey Jr. voiceover during the fight scenes in the 'Sherlock Holmes' movies reminds me of this. "And he cheats. So much for "honour."" I really like this theme of honour. Especially honour as a fluid, insincere concept.  "Let's dance. Put on your red shoes and dance the blues. Let's dance. To the song they're playin' on the radio." Dave This is a story of self-discovery and realisation for Wolverine and certainly a real, defining, turning point for the character in the comics. Much like Frank Castle in ‘Circle of Blood,’ it gives so many layers and dimensions to the character, creating a flawed hero. Kev Definitely. It's all right there on the page. From the opening lines to, "An animal cast in the semblance of human form." This is a creative team at the top of their game, taking the character and building upon what came before. Dave I love that brightly coloured panel of Logan waking up in the alleyway with those glaring lights shining down on him. Kev Yeh. That panel is brilliant. Such a good contrast between the darkness of Logan's unconscious state to the vibrancy of the neon-lit Tokyo at night. Dave Yeah. Also the plain white background works perfectly. Kev Definitely. It really makes it pop off the page. I really like the end of the fight scene with Shingen, where Miller has the panels reading in a column from top to bottom. Traditionally, not the way you read a comic at all, but in the context of that fight sequence, in which the action is moving from high to low, as Shingen's heel plummets towards Logan's face, it works superbly. Mariko's "No" to the question of whether or not Logan is worthy of her love must sting for him. Despite her being untruthful. Again, this contrast between honour and truth versus duty and lies.
Dave Tradition and honour are themes that are placed here against self doubt and self worth. It's a real clash of values. Kev Yeh. The clash of values and tradition is a big concern in this story. Also, we end on a nice little two page set-up for what is to come next issue, which introduces us to a major new player. Dave Yeah, again, the last page has Wolverine being helped by this mysterious female assassin. This is your standard size issue, so there’s not really a lot of pages, yet it manages to cover a great deal. Especially for an opening issue. Kev It really does. It's certainly aided in that respect by Claremont's script being so lean and muscular, as well as Miller's economy with the visual storytelling. It’s a cracking opening issue that sets the table for the rest of the series. Dave Yeah, it’s a nicely gritty, visually striking and character driven story for Wolverine. (D) & (K) 
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