Wolverine: Netsuke #1 takes us back to Wolverine and Japan.  There are probably two schools of thought on Wolverine and Japan.  One says "Oh good, another chance to enjoy this interesting dimension of a complex character, which hasn't been used much in the last few years."  Mine says, "Oh christ, not Japan again."

Incidentally, I can understand why this series has been used as an example by critics of Marvel's solicitation policy.  Shoved out there with no real explanation and bugger all publicity, Wolverine: Netsuke has been left to sell on the name alone.  Mind you - you see that cover art up to the right?  You know the sort of book that makes you expect?  Well, it's like that.  Not much else to be said about it, really.

Here's the plot.  Plagued by dreams of Mariko Yashida's ghost, Wolverine visits her ancestral home, has a couple of odd mystical experiences, performs a tea ritual, and then finds a magic netsuke (a sort of ornamental toggle) which transports him back to feudal Japan as an amnesiac.

Given the plug for Usagi Yojimbo on the inside back cover, something tells me that we are in for several issues about how much creator George Pratt enjoys feudal Japan.  I wish him well in trying to convince me to share his enthusiasm, since god knows nobody else has ever managed it.

The book has painted art, hence the high price tag.  It certainly looks wonderful, and the splash page of Mariko's ghost over Logan's bed is beautiful.  Pratt does some pretty good swordfights as well.  However, the book falters on the script.  Although Pratt has the right general idea on Logan's character, the dialogue has some nasty purple patches.  ("Hard memories, sharp memories... each one a cold, thin sliver of pain tapped into my heart."  "Your spirit runs in my veins with more raw power than the steel welded to my bones.")

Perhaps the worst spot for this sort of thing is a less than gripping four page tea-making sequence, in which Wolverine performs a tea ceremony while delivering an inner monologue containing lines such as "It was tea that poisoned you, Mariko, and death has placed the ultimate detaining stone between us."  The scene lacks the context that would make it meaningful to anyone not already familiar with the underlying philosophy of the ritual.  Besides which, my admittedly limited understanding is that the point of the exercise is to focus entirely on the ceremony, which sits a little uneasily with Logan's four page accompanying inner monologue about his dead girlfriend.  Maybe this is a deliberate and very subtle piece of irony, but I'm not convinced.

Japan isn't my thing to begin with, but even so, this deadly serious exercise in cultural referencing leaves me cold.  It is beautifully painted, though, and those who do have some interest in the subject to start with might be a little more forgiving towards its flaws.

Rating: B-

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