Beast’s game with feral Wolverine hits a huge and deadly snag in Wolverine #28, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Juan Jose Ryp, colorist Frank D’Armata, and letterer Cory Petit. Percy and the team give readers another banger of a story.

Beast retrieves Wolverine for a mission to assassinate a US military officer. Instead of waiting for Beast to shut down the security, Wolverine rushes in and kills the guards and the target but is recorded. Beast dresses down on Krakoa as everyone asks what happened, and Beast comes up with the perfect cover story. Meanwhile, Krakoa allows Wolverine to escape from the place where Beast kept him. He saves a young mutant from a waterfall, but everyone thinks he’s a monster. After slitting his wrists, Krakoa pulls him into the Pit, where the nightmares begin.

Percy opens the issue with a basically feral Wolverine trapped in the darkness, only leaving when Beast brings him out for a mission. In just a few panels, Percy gets readers to feel terrible for Wolverine. Even though Beast has made him into what is basically a guard dog, there’s still a part of him that knows that what he’s doing is wrong. That’s why him saving the young mutant is a sign to readers that Wolverine is still in there.

The issue also makes it a lot easier to hate Beast. If Wolverine is his guard dog, he’s a terrible owner, talking down to him and getting mad at him for following orders. Percy has spent a while transforming Beast into the monster he is right now. Percy does a brilliant job of showing the difference between the two types of monsters - Beast and Wolverine - that are in the issue. Beast is doing it all because he wants to. He believes that his monstrous acts are right. Wolverine is broken by what he’s doing. He wants to be in the light but isn’t allowed. It’s wonderfully done, as Percy proves just how great a Wolverine writer he really is.

Ryp and D’Armata are excellent. Ryp has gotten better at drawing Wolverine with every issue, and this is his best so far. He captures the ferocity but also the sadness. Getting the emotions right in this chapter is very important, and Ryp nails it. His detail is amazing, as well. The panels are feasts for the eyes, and D’Armata’s colors really bring that out. The two artists work together beautifully to bring this book to life.

Wolverine #28 is fantastic, and that’s all there is to it. Percy has excelled in this new story, really capturing the pain and despair of Wolverine and the monstrousness of Beast. Ryp and D’Armata do an awesome job on the art. Without their terrific work, this chapter wouldn’t hit nearly as hard. Wolverine has always been good, but this issue is a real killer.

Grade: A