Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Review: Wolverine Road To Hell One-Shot


I know it's a week late..but ehh.

Around a week before this one-shot was released, I tried to ask around if this one would have sort of a prologue to the 4 "Wolverine" books (Wolverine, X-23, Daken, Uncanny X-Force) or it would just contain previews of what will be inside those books. Most told me to stay away from the book since it'll just contain previews, i went with my gut feeling and ordered it anyway. I'm happy to say that these are actually separate prologues..There are a total of FIVE different stories so i'll review them separately..

FALLING
Writer: Jason Aaraon
Art: Renato Guedes
The art is going to be different from the one in the regular Wolverine book. But it fits in nicely with the dark tone of the story. I also give props to whoever drew Wolverine without the adamantium claws, this sends the message that his actual body isn't really the one that is falling. We get to find out here that Wolverine has NO IDEA how he started to fall. We also see some flashbacks of him doing the thing he does best. The dialogue is minimal though the monologue is plenty. There's also an appearance of two characters from his past: a major wolverine baddie and someone who might or might not be his relative. This prologue does the job done of making you want to read and get the Wolverine book. As a bonus, we also get some sketches of Wolverine and other characters in the end of this chapter.
Score: 4.5/5

BRACE FOR IMPACT:
Writer: Dan Way/Marjorie Liu
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli/Onofrio Catacchio
There are two writers here since the prologue is a combination of Daken's and Laura's. The artwork for both parts are also different, which isn't really that noticeable until you get to the last page. I think that one was a nice touch. In the story, both Daken and Laura are going after the same person but for very different reasons. The plan for both of them goes down the drain. I'm not sure if this chapter sets up the first storyarc of the same book since the previews for both of them don't really seem to be related to this one. I think the main point of this chapter was to entice those who plan to get Daken to also check out Laura and vice versa. It certainly got me thinking if I should add Daken to my regular list. Daken sketches were also found after the story, Daken's new look really looks bad. Dan Way is contradicting himself here, he said around a year ago that Daken doesn't need a costume since he never really shows himself. Ehh..
Score: 4/5

THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Leonardo Manco
Hmm, I was so used to Kyle/Yost's action packed X-Force that I'm a bit surprised that not a lot happened here. Sure, there was a short action sequence on the end but it was mostly filled with them talking. Not really a bad thing since the dialogue is nice. It also got me curious about the Archangel/Psylocke dynamic. The prologue also shows how they plan to use Deadpool, though I don't think it'll work if we found out that Deadpool found out about Apocalypse unintentionally or that it wasn't supposed to happen but it might be the case. It's probably the least exciting among the three prologues but it's good enough, it'll get you curious but not as much as the other two.
SCORE: 3/5


As a bonus, we also get actual previews of Namor's book and the Generation of Hope book. They're pretty much the first few pages of the actual 1st issue. The GoH part isn't colored yet, it did get me curious about the book though but because of a limited budget, I won't be getting it anytime soon. the Namor part is already colored since it's coming out sooner, it's a tie-in with the Curse of the Mutants event. I'm not a fan of that current story so I'm going to pass on Namor too.

Overall, the three main stories are pretty good. This is a nice introduction and filler if you're still waiting for those books to arrive. Plus the added bonus of having two more previews wouldn't hurt since it's basically priced as an average comic. I suggest to go get this one if you're on the fence about whether or not you want to get one of the four books included so you'll have a good feel as to how it'll be.

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