Wolverine Retrospective #3- 'Loss.'

by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey

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​Cover Date- November 1982
Price- 60c

Writer- Chris Claremont
Penciler- Frank Miller
Finisher- Josef Rubinstein
Letterer- Tom Orzechowski
Colourist- Glynis Wein
Editor- Louise Jones
Editor-In-Chief- Jim Shooter

​Publisher- Marvel Comics

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synopsis

Logan deals with Mariko's rejection of him in the only way he knows how, by drinking and fighting.  However, Asano is unwilling to let the Wolverine check-out quite so easily and neither are The Hand.  With Yukio caught squarely in the middle, things rapidly become fatal for some and in the aftermath of the chaos, Logan has an epiphany.  (K)

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Dave
What do you make of issue 3's cover?  It's very basic.


Kev
It may be basic, but it's still a very effective, striking image.  Logan's body language says it all here though.  It was probably still unusual, at this point in time, to see him looking so forlorn and dejected.  He's shrouded in his own darkness, literally and metaphorically.


Dave
It is very much a reflection of how he is feeling, isolated in darkness, on his own and trapped in his mind.


Kev
Definitely.  This is, in many ways, Logan hitting rock bottom in this issue.  Once again, we start off with the "I'm Wolverine.  I'm the best there is at what I do."  It's almost like Claremont is introducing, or reintroducing, him each and every issue.


Dave
Yeah, the narration is important here, it is showing where he is emotionally.  It is also good to see the internal thoughts of this character.

"Just dance. Spin that record, Babe."

​Kev
Yeh, the "I used t' be a hero," says it all about where he is emotionally.  Especially considering that it's followed by, "Now I'm drunk.  An lovin' ev'ry minute of it."  


Dave
Definitely.  Wolverine has some strength on him, grappling with a sumo wrestler while totally drunk.


Kev
He's looks strong alright, in the fight with the sumo, Takahashi.  Is he dancing with Takahashi over his head?


Dave
Yeah, it's like he's dancing a jig in that half page panel.  "Sucker ain't laughing anymore."


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh.  That's what I thought too.


Dave
The guys in the background don't look very Japanese.  They look like throwbacks to the 1950's though.


Kev
They do a bit actually, yeh, and they look pretty drunk themselves.  It would seem that Yukio is officially Logan's lady now.  How much time do you think has passed since last issue?


Dave
It looks like there has been a period of time that they've spent together, yeah, as this opening looks like a typical night out for them.


Kev
Yeh, it would seem that they've been doing this for a while now.


Dave
When Wolvie chucks the Sumo through the window and Asano Kimura is waiting by his car, notice the nod to Akira Kurasawa with the hanging neon signs?


Kev
I did notice the neon signs, yeh, I didn't realise they were a nod to Kurasawa though.  It makes sense now that you mention it, right enough.  It's a great image, with Asano looking cool, leaning on the car, just smoking a cigarette.


Dave
It's such a great panel.

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Defenestration.....in Tokyo.

​Kev
It's interesting that when Asano displays some concern for Logan's behaviour, Logan's reply is, "Just doin' what comes naturally."  Again, this theme of nature and natural instinct, versus nurture and institutionalised constructs like honour.  The conflict of going against your natural instincts in order to be a better version of yourself.


Dave
It is a pivotal issue in this story for Wolverine, in having to come to terms with his inner struggles.  The title page of 'Loss' is a great full page panel.  It's very ninja-esque.


Kev
Yeh, man.  It's a great splash page, featuring all those members of The Hand with their arrows pointed squarely at Logan and Yukio.

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​Dave
Oddly enough, this is the cheeriest we have seen Logan in this series.  Even if he's totally plastered.

"Shoot that poison arrow to my heart."

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Kev
Logan's definitely drinking himself into a stupor in order to forget his problems.  I love how he just passes-out, right in the middle of Yukio's 'live life to the full' speech, yet later, he still groans Mariko's name. Obviously this doesn't go down well in Yukio land, and you know what they say about a woman scorned.


Dave
Do you think Yukio was trying to kill him off on the train tracks, knowing a bullet train would be near by?


Kev
No, I don't think she was trying to kill him here.  I honestly think she was just getting her sexual kicks out of the adrenaline rush of the two of them almost being wiped-out by the bullet train.  I love that panel of them doing the train jump, it's so stylised.  It's like a piece of communist propaganda art almost.  I also think that Yukio might have a death wish, due to her feeling trapped because of her involvement with The Hand and Shingen.


Dave
True, but I think she wants to take Logan with her.


​Kev
Ah, that's an interesting point actually, yeh.  She's certainly between a rock and a hard place alright, but even when The Hand jump her and remind her that Shingen demands that she off Logan, she takes THEM out, rather than Logan.  It's not until he drunkenly mutters Mariko's name instead of hers that she decides he must die.  Basically because she's been made painfully aware that he does not love her as much as she loves him.  So if she can't have Logan herself, then no-one else can have him either.  It's a classic love triangle.  Logan, Mariko and Yukio.

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Woosh!!!!!

Dave
Yep, ole Wolvie's on the rebound.  That's quite funny when she kicks him straight in the chin.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, definitely.  That was a big "Screw you!" alright.  It's interesting that the archers in Logan's dream mirror The Hand who had their arrows trained on him.  His subconscious and his instincts are clearly trying to tell him something.

"Shoot that poison arrow."

​Dave
Yeah, that's some tormenting dream Logan has.  It's an attack of low self-esteem and a feeling of worthlessness through rejection.


Kev
Definitely.  "My love is for a man.  Not a beast clad in human form who knows nothing of honour, or duty, or any of the beliefs I hold most dear......You are not even worthy of life."  That's Logan's self-esteem, right there, alright.  The "loss" of Mariko, the "loss" of himself, the "loss" of hope.  The dream also illustrates how Logan sees himself as a Ronin.  "Her arrow pierces his soul, casting him screaming back into the abyss out of which he had struggled so long ago."  He sees Mariko as his chance at love, at life, which he now feels the "loss" of.  His past truly is an abyss.  A darkness pieced by fragments of memory.  Kind of how the cover is.  And of course, if you stare into the abyss, it stares back into you.  That idea of transference.  And never truly being able to escape your past.


Dave
Yeah.  Yukio certainly proves herself a worthy warrior, single-handedly taking on the Hand.  "My kind of fight."  She is a real adrenaline junkie.


Kev
She definitely loves the challenge and she's more than got the skills to rise to it.


Dave
I like the silhouette panel of Yukio accepting that Logan still wants Mariko, it's a real turn in their relationship.  Well, if you can count it as that, as he seems blind drunk most of the time.  Then of course, the killing of Asano with a spike through the neck and Logan discovering this.  It's very brutal.


Kev
Yeh, this definitely forces her to embrace her nihilist sensibilities.  "Well, thanks to him, my death should be everything I've yearned for."  She gave Logan her heart.  He gave her his penis.  Not quite the same, that, is it, Logan?  It's Mariko who has his heart.

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Put the big light on, Yukio.

​Dave
At this point though, Logan's realised he's been used from the start by Yukio.  Now all bets are off.


Kev
Oh, definitely.  "I'm a loner -- by nature, by choice."  There's that word "nature" again.  That's a great panel of Logan crouched over Asano's body.  Another fine example of the use of light and shade in Miller's work.  It's very bold.

Dave
There's a nice combination of colours here, such as the blues and the yellows in the panels before Yukio kills Asano.  I like the colouring in this series.  It's very stylish and enhances the mood of the piece.


Kev
Glynis Wein's colours are excellent in this, no doubt.  As you pointed out before, the neon-like glow of some of the colours in this series contribute so much to the overall atmosphere.  Those reds, blues and yellows totally sell us on the chase through neon-drenched Tokyo.  I like that Yukio partly "sobs" as she runs from Logan.  It clearly shows the inner conflict and turmoil she is experiencing.


Dave
It's a good little set piece of action, with the chase and they are like a couple of freerunners taking flight across the rooftops.  "She's poetry in motion, a tigress....But I'm a tiger."  Claremont takes us back to the animal inside comparison here.

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Kev
That's a good point, man.  And you're right, they are like a couple of freerunners, aren't they?  "Out of the atmospheric soup that passes for Tokyo's air....."  That's a good line.  I like that line.  I especially like the use of "soup" there.  It really gives us a sense of the smells and tastes and textures, as well as the sights and sounds of Tokyo.


Dave
Yeah, and again, great use of the blue and yellow background.  Both colours work well together, adding to that atmosphere and coupled with not too much detail in the background.  It's quite a stylised form of telling the story.

Yukio and Logan freerunning in Tokyo before freerunning was even a thing.

Kev
Yes, definitely.  It's incredibly stylised, and I agree, it's very effective.


Dave
Even when Logan catches her, they are still raw with their feelings towards each other.


Kev
Yep, Yukio's still messing with Logan here.  ".....who make our own rules in a society wherein we have no place.  And which has no true place for us.  I love you, Logan-Chan--as you love me!  Kill me, and kill yourself."


Dave
She also still believes they are meant to be together, talking about "soul mates" and "two of a kind," but The Hand, as usual, just show up.  That's a good panel of him being surrounded by them from an aerial view.  And no sound effects either.  Those background colours are also muted so as not to overpower the action sequence.

Kev
Definitely, and they contrast with the much warmer reds and browns of the figures of Logan and The Hand ninjas.


Dave
Yeah, and in the seventh panel, the silhouette of Logan's face, he really does have animalistic features there.

​Kev
Yeh, with only the whites of his eyes peering out.

Logan's "smell the fart" acting technique.

Dave
However the final two pages are a real voyage of self-discovery, where Logan becomes very self-aware, accepting his mistakes and realising that it's not all about being the winner or the loser.  He's finding an answer he never realised before now.


Kev
Yes.  Lots of realisations here.  Order from chaos.  Yukio and Mariko both representing and drawing-out the conflicting elements of Logan's personality.  Mariko, the Logan side, Yukio, the Wolverine.  ".....I am a man,.....Not a beast.  A man!"  This is a huge scene.  This is what we've been building to and it sets up the conclusion perfectly.


Dave
That half page panel of Logan reflecting, he almost looks content and at ease for once, certainly more focused.  But yeah, this sets up the final chapter of this series well for the inevitable showdown with Lord Shingen.


Kev
He's certainly having a moment of clarity here.  After the chaos of Yukio and the battle with The Hand, all that remains is the calm serenity and oder of the zen garden.


Dave
Yeah, this is another good issue in this mini-series.
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(D) & (K)

Next: 'Honor.'