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Do you want the good news or the
bad news?
OK: the good news is that
Wolverine #179 is a decided improvement on the Catholicism
story. The bad news is that it still isn't much good.
This is Matt Nixon's third
fill-in issue, and unlike the previous two, it does at least
make sense. There's nothing here to compare with the insanity
of brainwashing New York to become Catholic - instead, it's a
perfectly straightforward story about a demon taking over the
Alpha Flight compound and Wolverine being called in to help.
Also, while the last two issues had Dan Fraga on art, this
time we have Ethan van Sciver, which is a quantum leap up the
scale.
The problem is that it's still
utterly inconsequential, even by fill-in standards. As with
the previous story, there's a general sense that this story
isn't actually about anything. There's a villain. The heroes
fight him. They win. All of this is just the standard template
for any superhero story, and you need something more.
The story does provide van Sciver
with some decent visual material, and he makes the most of the
insect motif that runs through the story. He does struggle
with the swarms of flies, although in fairness most artists
seem to have trouble getting insect swarms to work in comics,
where sound and movement are unavailable, leaving something
that tends to be indistinguishable from a cloud of smoke. But
generally Sciver seems to be enjoying himself with the giant
insects, not to mention Sasquatch.
The other point in common with
the previous two issues is that Wolverine is being used here
as an interchangeable protagonist. This is always more
frequent in fill-in stories, where the writer is unable to
really develop the lead character in any significant way.
Still, we've now had "Wolverine fights corrupt Catholics" and
"Wolverine fights an evil shaman", neither of which have got
anything to do with Wolverine as a character. The first is, if
anything, a plot for characters who have some kind of
established view on religion. The second is a Shaman plot, and
that's pretty much how it's treated here - an Alpha Flight
story with Wolverine making a gratuitous guest starring
appearance.
Although this is a step forward,
it's still a forgettable fill-in, helped somewhat by some
unusual imagery.
Rating: C
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