Hama, Larry
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
2 out of 5
(2 books)
TOP PICK:
Wolverine: Patch
Wolfpack
(Art by Ron Wilson, Whilce Portacio and Kyle Baker)
A Marvel graphic novel in which a group of teens in the Bronx become caught up in an ancient battle against the evil organisation known as The Nine and become a team of martial arts warriors known as the Wolfpack.
This book is every bit as dumb as the blurb I just wrote suggests. Whilst technically part of the Marvel Universe, this book has nothing to do with the larger world of Marvel (except for a brief mention of Spider-Man) and The Nine are a painfully obvious rip-off of all of the other psuedo-Asian secret societies previously established therein, not least The Hand. But is this ancient organisation trying to take over the world? No, they're too busy recruiting low-level street thugs and convincing them to rough-up old men. Still, they do send out two ninjas who are simultaneously the most talented ninjas ever (appearing out of thin air and able to climb vertical walls like Spidey himself) and the most inept (they're outwitted by almost-equally incompetent teenagers).
What makes it all worse is how painfully earnest and on-the-nose this book is. The Wolfpack themselves consist of a grocery-list of minorities; a big black guy, a poor Puerto Riccan, a wheelchair user, a mixed-race American-Asian girl and a Jewish guy. I'm not saying its a bad thing for those minorities to be represented, but they feel so cynically chosen that it reeks of out-of-touch middle-aged white editor. I could be wrong, of course, but that's just the vibe I got.
The most painfully on-the-nose, and totally unnecessary, moment of all was when two super-cute Hispanic children are run over and killed by a drunk white guy who says to himself "What if somebody remembers my license number? Naaah! These people can't read! Their brats must get run over all the time!". If it weren't so horrifically banal, this scene would be absolutely hilarious in how it's so un-selfconsciously unsubtle.
All that said, and despite objectively being complete garbage, I actually found this book kind of fun to read. It doesn't quite hit the 'so bad, it's good' level, but it definitely falls into the 'so bad, it's comedic' category. It reads like one of those taking-itself-too-seriously episodes of a sitcom in the 80s or 90s, usually about drugs or paedophiles, that postmodern commentators will get great mileage out of making fun of now.
This is a bad graphic novel and you shouldn't read it. But if you do, be prepared for the hilarity of seeing the hero in the wheelchair throwing his cat at bigots.
2 out of 5
Wolverine: Patch
(Art by Andrea Di Vito and Le Beau Underwood)
Set during Logan's days as an underworld figure in the shady nation of Madripoor, this book sees him taking on Yakuza enforcers, Chinese soldiers, Madripoorian mercenaries, Russian Special Forces and SHIELD Mandroids in an attempt to protect a family of fugitive mutants wanted by the KGB.
This is a retro story, harkening back not only to Hama's run on the Wolverine comics of the 80s but also to the Cold War era in general. Mostly it's perfectly fine, if somewhat bland, Wolverine action but it has two elements which spoil the enjoyment overall. The first of which is simply that the idea of the short, hairy guy with adamantium claws not being recognised as Wolverine due to wearing an eyepatch and calling himself 'Patch' is ridiculous.
I would've rated this book as a 3 out of 5 for being bland but largely inoffensive if it weren't for my second gripe, however. The final scenes of the story have Logan losing his memory of the entire event which leaves you with the distinct feeling of 'Well, why the hell did I waste time reading it then?', since this tale can have no impact on Logan's life after this point. It's almost obnoxious in how it covers for being a previously unknown prequel tale by having the main character not remember it anyway.
2 out of 5
Collaborations & Anthologies:
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive Wolverine (here)
Onslaught 1: The Awakening (here)
Return To The Amalgam Age Of Comics: The DC Comics Collection (here)
Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... - Resurrection Of Evil (here)
The Amalgam Age Of Comics: The DC Comics Collection (here)