Wolverine tries to find somewhere to relax, but the past won’t let him go in Wolverine #4, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Victor Bogdanovic, colorist Matthew Willson, and letterer Cory Petit. Once again, Percy knocks it out of the park, combining his perfect knack for writing Wolverine with some great storytelling.

Wolverine is called in front of the Quiet Council to answer for stealing Magneto’s helmet. He and Magneto have words before Xavier tries to have one of his talks with Wolverine about respecting authority, but Wolverine is having none of it and says he’ll continue to do things his way. Using a hidden portal plant, Wolverine goes to a bar in the extreme north of Canada to unwind. He gets into a bit of a fight with a patron, but something seems very off about the others, all of whom feel familiar in strange ways. He starts feeling a bit woozy, so he goes to the bathroom and finds the man he got into a scuffle with, dead with a hole through him. He gets hit with a tranq dart and comes to tied up and finds out why he remembers them all- they are all people he’s encountered in the past one way or another, and they’re going to dump in the ice where he’ll drown for crimes. As he sinks into the icy water, he smells someone familiar- Omega Red shows up and kills Wolverine’s attackers, pulling him out of the water. Above the ice, Dracula and his minions await…..

It sometimes feels like Percy is showing off just how well he knows Wolverine in every issue he writes. As much as Wolverine is happy to have a place like Krakoa, he’s constantly waiting for the shoe drop. Wolverine has lived the kind of life that has taught him that happiness is fleeting, and that home can be taken away, so he can’t trust Krakoa, not really. It makes perfect sense for him to have a way to escape the island and head to a place where he can be surrounded by what he’s used- broken lives, bad country music, and cheap booze.

Of course, this being a Wolverine story, it all goes wrong, and this is another place where Percy shows off his Wolverine knowledge, as each person in the bar is someone who would have a reason to hate him. On one of the patented infographic pages the Dawn Of X books is known for, Percy outlines a mutant trauma group- where people who believe they were wronged by mutants can get together and talk about it, something similar to the DOX page over in New Mutants. It’s all very well done, and it’s almost disappointing when Omega Red shows up and “saves” the day… almost.

Victor Bogdanovic’s art is pretty good, but he’s got a tough act to follow, as Adam Kubert’s three issues were outstanding. He does an outstanding job with the script, his artwork giving Wolverine’s attackers a creepy vibe that they would have been missing if Kubert had drawn the issue. His Omega Red looks great, a bigger than life villain, the bear in the wilderness eyeing his next meal.

Wolverine #4 is another excellent Wolverine story from Percy and company. Wolverine has been ambushed before but never like this. It’s an exciting way of doing an old type of story, and it plays into the way the Internet would be used against mutants, much like is being done in New Mutants. It will be interesting to see how the whole Dracula and Omega Red thing plays out as well. Bogdanovic had a tough act to follow, but he pulls it off well. Wolverine #4 keeps up the quality that this book is coming to be known for.


Grade: A