(Marvel Comics, 2013)
Review by Shawn Warner
WRITTEN BY: Frank Cho
ARTWORK BY: Frank Cho
COLOR ARTWORK BY: Jason Keith
LETTERING: Cory Petit
Shanna The She-Devil lies mortally wounded upon a stretcher carried by two natives of the Savage Land. She is accompanied by a native priest and freelance science genius Amadeus Cho as they make their way across The Savage Land to an organic root formation that by all outward appearances is Man-Thing but it does not move it is rooted in place where it remains silent and still. Shanna is placed before the twisted monstrosity in a shallow grave while the priest performs a ritual incantation. He then plunges his dagger deep into the face of this Man-Thing like formation releasing a glowing green liquid which flows forth filling the shallow grave and covering Shanna. She is submerged in the bright green fluid for a time before rising from her watery burial completely healed. Far from grateful she immediately grabs the priest by the throat demanding to know what he has done to her. Amadeus Cho intervenes on the priest’s behalf telling her it would be bad karma to kill the man who has just saved her. The priest explains that the life force of the Savage Land now runs through her and has bonded with her, so as long as The Savage Land lives she will live. Furthermore all things of The Savage Land are open to her, its languages, history and people. She would also have the strength and stamina of ten men. This is all very interesting to her but all Shanna really wants to know is where Wolverine is.
Amadeus Cho begins to question her about how she came to be there. She tells him that she was in fact a guide for S.H.I.E.L.D. who was surveying the region. During the conversation it is discovered that Cho also knows about the machine housed in the temple that they believe is keeping them from leaving the island. According to the Chief priest that same machine is also being used to power a jail cell that is holding a powerful and ancient alien. Cho is interrupted midway through further explaining the machine by the sounding of a war horn. Someone had breached the temple gate. It is of course, Wolverine who is outside the temple cutting through guards like a hot knife through butter, piling bodied like stacked firewood until there is but one remaining, a female warrior. In a chivalrous act, Wolverine offers her the chance to run away. Instead she lets loose The Great Apes of The Temple. Three giant silver back gorillas are set upon Wolverine who in turn dismembers the huge beasts, severing limbs and skewering heads. Wolverine is far from unscathed at the end of the conflict. He is left with a laundry list of injuries including a dislocated shoulder, ruptured eardrum, two hyper-extended knees and a torn hamstring to name just a few.
Shanna is racing to the temple fearing that Wolverine will get to the machine thus setting off the bomb before she can stop him. When she reaches him he is about to engage the machine. She shouts his name and launches a spear piercing him clean through the abdomen. Suffice to say this gets Wolverine’s attention. He turns from the machine to face Shanna. She explains that this drastic measure was the only way to stop him from setting off the bomb. Wolverine is surprised not only by the spear now protruding from either side of his body but by the sight of Shanna whose death he had witnessed now standing before him very much alive. At this point Amadeus Cho catches up but before he can fully explain to Wolverine who he is another completely unexpected guest pops in, The Hulk!
This sets up the final issue in the first story arc and I cannot wait to see how this one turns out. Frank Cho is inspired. Everything from setting this story in The Savage Land to teaming Wolverine up with Shanna The She-Devil is truly inspired. Allow me to state the very obvious here and say that Frank Cho is an amazing artist. He has filled this book with all the things he loves to draw beautiful statuesque pin-up models, dinosaurs, gorillas, action-packed fight scenes and a battle damaged Wolverine. This one has it all. And no one is more capable of bringing it to us then Frank Cho. Where this story fits into continuity doesn’t matter this is just a really fun exciting adventure story filled with witty dialogue and just the right amount of humor. It’s not over the top hilarious like Dead Pool but the laughs are in there. For those of us who are old enough to remember the television show “Moonlighting” the dynamic between Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis is mirrored here in Shanna and Wolverine’s volatile relationship minus the sexual tension. These two are not the least bit attracted to one another. Their chemistry stems from a camaraderie steeped in peril, a mutual desire to overcome their present circumstances. They are each others only hope to escape this island. Now add an oddball science genius, a sort of Asian Sheldon Cooper in the person of Amadeus Cho and you have the most unlikely trio of characters in comics today but also one of the best scripted, quirky and endearing in the way the Seinfeld cast was. Wolverine is George Costanza with adamantium claws and more hair. That’s a bit of a stretch but that kind of “Island of Misfit Toys” paradigm can be aptly applied in both cases. Whatever it is it works. Frank Cho has created one of the most fun-filled thrill ride gorgeous to look at comic books currently on the racks. I can’t say enough good things about this book and it’s extremely talented creator. It’s not Jason Aaron or Frank Miller; it’s a different Wolverine but no less worth reading.
So until next week, see you at the comic book store.
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Follow Shawn Warner on Twitter: @shawnwarner629
BAG & BORED 