Wolverine: Netsuke is another book continuing the same rather disappointing course.

There's really not much to say about this that didn't come up in previous issues.  On the bright side, Pratt's painted art is certainly excellent.  The book looks wonderful, no doubt about that.  If all you're looking for is some slightly unusual eye candy, you'll be quite at home here.

But when it comes to the writing, there are problems.  Admittedly, I start off fairly negative towards this series because it's a historical Japan story, a subject which does absolutely nothing for me.  It's a theme that's been done to death with Wolverine, and I really don't get the sense that Pratt has much more to add.

Nor do I get the sense that he has all that much grasp on Wolverine's character, leaving aside the key plot point that he loves Mariko.  The speech patterns are a million miles off.  "The world outside is bustling by, unnoticed by the frozen past in here."  He's a knife-wielding violent bastard, not a sixth form poet!  You'd be hard pressed to come up with a line of dialogue that sounded less like the lead character, and unfortunately it's all too typical.

This really isn't working for me, and I don't think it's working as a Wolverine story at all.  At best, if you're interested in medieval Japan you might like the historical love story elements if you're prepared to take Logan and Mariko as totally different characters.  And yes, it's very pretty.

But overall, this story just isn't happening.

Rating: C

back | continue