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.

the x-men's direction according to e2c2.

It's been a while since i posted anything new here so here i am, blogging..again. Though i seriously doubt anyone's reading.

I live in a far far away land where it's impossible for me to just go to Chicago and go to the expo personally so i rely mostly on Comic Book Resources for my updates on what's happening. This is no different.

Here are the new news about the X-Men which is arranged from least to most important for me..the site is still being updated as of right now so i don't know if this will be up to date or not. In general, most X-books will start over and go back to #1 around September or October.

X-Men #1 - "Mutants Vs. ________"

X-Factor - "When 'X-Factor' #207 comes out, fans are going to go nuts," he continued. "The last page will get us as much attention, if not more, than since Madrox ate his baby."
The only reason this is here is because i don't get this book. I'll try to grab the Second Coming supplemental reading and we'll see how it goes from there. From what i know they're like the P.I.s of the mutants, right?

New Artists - Whilce Portacio will be the new artist on "Uncanny X-Men" beginning in July, Singh announced. Leonard Kirk will be the new artist on "New Mutants," while Chris Claremont and Milo Manara's "X-Women" one shot will also ship in July and Claremont's "New Mutants Forever" begins in August.
Meh, I don't really have any preferences in terms of artists as long as they make the artwork clear and not Dillon-ish. But then again this is good news since Whilce is a kababayan if i'm correct.

Daken: Dark Wolverine- "Dark Wolverine" will become "Daken: Dark Wolverine" in September, with Liu, Daniel Way, and Giuseppe Camuncoli returning. "The key words are intrigue, violence, exploitation, sex—more of the same." So that means this book will continue even with the end of Dark Reign, huh? Let me just say that I'm very close to dropping this title, nothing really happens here. The entire Seige tie-in didn't really matter that much. I guess, whether or not i drop this will depend on how good the tie-in with Wolverine Origins will be. The writing is good, this book really makes me hate Daken (which is good) but it's just that it seems nothing will be different during the Heroic Age.

drop or contitnue?

We Are The X-Men - Singh said that, following "Second Coming," the X-Men will be much more integrated into the Marvel Universe, which will explain why Spider-Man, She-Hulk and others are in the X-Men promotional images.gambit and elektra?!

Ah, so that explains having Elektra, Spidey, and the Savage She-Hulk in the we are the X-Men, i think it's a welcome addition that they'll be able to freely interact with the others again but PLEASE don't make every single hero an x-man. Though that doesn't explain Blade and vampire Jubilee..

X-Men #1 - "Mutants vs. Vampires" begins in a new "X-Men" #1 by Victor Gischler and Paco Medina.

Jubilee will once again make sparks. Now through her perfectly carved marble hard granite perfect vampire skin.

What the hell? VAMPIRES? are they trying to cash in on Twilight? Maybe get a few new readers? Hopefully they won't make Jubilee sparkle. WAIT!! her powers are sparks, right? Will check this out but i hope they make this good.

X-23 ongoing - X-23 series begins in September, written by Liu with an artist to be named later. "She's basically on a journey of self discovery. It's going to be very dark, intense book, but hopefully along the way there will be a ray of light that she'll be able to find her place in the world," Liu said.

emo-23.

A new X-23 ongoing? hmm, I'll try to get that one. Though the one-shot was a bit too "emo" for me,but i know X-23 is kind of like that. Even slashing her wrists and all that, though i hope this will have a great positive impact on Laura's character. From what i understand from the interview with Marjorie Liu , she'll be away from the X-Men for a while. I hope that she comes back though.

Wolverine - "Wolverine: Weapon X" will be ending, with a new "Wolverine" #1 by Jason Aaron and Renato Guedes, with covers by Jae Lee shipping in September. In it, Wolverine goes to Hell. "His soul goes to hell, andwWe're going to see what happens when he's not around to be in control of his own body," Schaefer said.

Wolverine: Possessed by demon chiken.

I don't know why they have to stop the Wolverine: Weapon X title, they should have just continued it on that one. Then again maybe not being the "main" Wolverine book is hurting the sales a little, either way as long as Aaron's writing the book that means it's going to a good read. I believe he's writes one of the best Wolverine stories right now. First story arc seems to be about Wolverine going to hell, how? I don't really know yet. Let's wait and see when it comes out.

New X-Force - "X-Force" will end after Second Coming, to be relaunched in October with Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña. "When Wolverine is put in charge of X-Force, it's a totally different team than Cyclops would put together," Schaefer said. "They're going to be taking on Apocalypse."

new x-force is very stealthy.

Reading the interview with Remeder got me pumped up and excited to get this one. I hope that it'll be as good as the one during Yost's run, it was a short 2 years but it was a great ride. The end also showed some closure too, as Warpath won't be a part of the team since he was able to get his revenge. Wolfsbane wasn't really supposed to be there (and she really wasn't other than the first and last story-arc) and Wolverine telling Cyclops she doesn't want Laura there. I really like that, Wolverine not wanting Laura to do what she was born and trained to do, wanting her to have a better life. Anyway, the team will be new "With the exception of Wolverine this is an almost entirely new team,” Remender remarked. “Only one other has any previous connection to X-Force, but they're all A-list character" Marvel provided us with the same thing they did with Ultimate X and the Avengers things, characters which are censored. My guess is that Psyclocke(extreme left), Fantomex (extreme right) and Archangel(flying).

there you do, hopefully this will be a good year for the X-Men. Nightcrawler was also an untouchable during the panel. I really think he'll go byebye in Second Coming. I can also see Wolverine having this inner monologue about how happy he is that the elf isn't where he is at the start of Wolverine #1.