At least there's one good thing about the launch of Wolverine: Origins - it leaves the way clear for somebody else to write Wolverine.

Not that any sort of long term plan seems to be in mind.  Coming up next is a lengthy Civil War tie-in.  But this month's issue is a double-sized one-shot by Stuart Moore and CP Smith, who previously collaborated on a Wolverine short for X-Men Unlimited.  (It's the one that consists entirely of Wolverine healing in a snowdrift.)  Given the scheduling context, I have a strong suspicion that this was originally destined to be Wolverine Annual #1 until Daniel Way was given his own title, leaving them with a month to fill.

"The Package" is a one-act action story, which comes as a blessed relief.  The plot is extremely basic.  Zwartheid, a third world African hellhole, is about to degenerate into another civil war.  Wolverine has to rescue the baby daughter of the President so that she can eventually return as an inspirational figure to try and reunite the country.  And that's pretty much it.  He rescues the kid on page 5, and the rest of the story is Wolverine running around trying to escape.

There are glimmers where the story seems to think it's saying something awfully profound.  It isn't, really.  The big message is "Boy, these third world hellholes sure do suck."  Still, it makes the point well enough, and the vast majority of the issue is written for what it is: a meat and potatoes action story where Wolverine does cool stuff and is generally heroic.  CP Smith's artwork gives it an unusual visual style with powerful use of slightly artificial colour to build an unsettling mood. 

It's a good example of its type - enough content to make it more than just a random issue-long fight scene, but still essentially a well-executed action story.  It helps that the creators nail the character to a degree we haven't seen in a while.  I'd be more than happy to see these guys do some further Wolverine stories.

Rating: B+

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