The Wolverine: 5 Essential Books You Must Read

By Noel Thorne /

It€™s Wolverine season! With the new Wolverine movie opening this week and lots of talk this week of the forthcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past where it€™s been revealed that Wolverine will play the time-travelling lead, it looks like we€™ll see more of everyone€™s favourite Canadian superhero for a long time yet. Wolverine goes by many names €“ Logan, James Howlett, Weapon X, Wolverine €“ and has become one of Marvel€™s most popular characters since his first appearance in 1974. He€™s been on nearly every superhero team from the X-Men to the Avengers to SHIELD, and his mutant powers include a healing factor, enhanced senses, and his signature claws. The latter went from bone claws initially to adamantium coated (a fictional unbreakable metal) when a secret government agency abducted Logan and turned him into Weapon X. His healing factor not only keeps him from dying of any serious injury but also slows his aging so that despite being over 100 years old, he still only looks to be in his 30s. If you€™re a fan of the films or maybe just want to pick up some good Wolverine comics to read, you can€™t go wrong with any of the titles on this list. Read on, bub€

5. Astonishing Spider-Man And Wolverine

Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Adam Kubert Jason Aaron has had a spectacular last few years. His debut comic The Other Side was critically acclaimed while his creator-owned Vertigo series Scalped is a stunning modern masterpiece of crime noir. His run on Punisher MAX surprised everyone by being of as high quality as Garth Ennis€™ defining run on the character. He then turned his attention to one of Marvel€™s flagship characters, Wolverine, and wrote a series of books for the character, as well as this team-up mini-series with Marvel€™s best loved character, Spider-man. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine is a time-travel story with Wolverine and Spidey hurtling through the ages from the Jurassic era to the far future (which is bizarrely populated with numerous mini-Logans!). While the story ricochets from one baffling sequence to the next, it€™s the chemistry between the two superheroes that makes this book a success €“ Wolverine€™s grizzled, surly, no-nonsense attitude contrasts perfectly with Spidey€™s colourful cheerful chatterbox, cracking jokes constantly. This book also has the added benefit of being instantly accessible to casual comics readers. It€™s a self-contained book with no backstory necessary to jump straight in, just a cursory knowledge of the characters and their powers (which are briefly explained at the start anyway) and you€™re off and running €“ but then who doesn€™t know who these characters are at this point? Aaron nails Wolverine and Spidey€™s voices and the rollicking, rollercoaster of a story, coupled with Adam Kubert€™s bright and snappy illustrations make this a very fun superhero read featuring Marvel€™s biggest flagship characters.