All-New Wolverine #15 Review - Marvel Monday

Claws Out

Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Djibril Morissette-Phan, Michael Garland and Cory Petit
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

I love All-New Wolverine, but I have to admit that the Enemy of the State II story arc is not really
doing it for me.  The premise of someone fucking with Laura is pretty good and Gabby is solid gold whenever she shows up, but the whole thing is still just meh.  Last issue was just a forced setup issue to find out that Team Wolverine is heading off to Madripoor.  So, now that we have a direction to point X-23 in, does the book pick up and start kicking ass again?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with a reminder of what Wolverine has done and who is after her.  In case you are unaware, she killed an entire town and she is on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury.  They have made the calls to the usual suspects, but Laura is smart enough not to just call Angel for a date night, right?

Of course, the answer to that is a big, old "yes" as we see Laura and Gabby on a boat on it's way to Madripoor.  The scene is quick and a bit odd, as we get a TMI moment followed by Laura's story almost ending before it really got started.

Speaking of ending...their little pleasure cruise suddenly becomes a lot darker as we find out that Laura has been sold up the river (seriously, what do you expect from pirates?!?) and that a rogue Wolverine isn't the only thing of interest on the ship.  Things go from bad to interesting, however, as Roughhouse and Bellona show up, capture Wolverine and make sure that the "other cargo" is returned to where it came from.  It's a little odd aside that really felt like filler even as it shows that Bellona is not all bad.

The issue ends with the reader seeing who is behind Laura's problems and it's not shocking at all.  Actually, as the issue ended, I was left wondering if this issue really pushed the story forward much at all.  I love Tom Taylor and think he is one of the better writers working today, but this is not his best work.  This issue can be skipped and really, a few sentences of recap at the beginning of next issue and you'll be good to go.  Hopefully this isn't a trend that will be continuing.

The art is another thing that is a bit far from stellar.  It's not horrible, but just kind of hangs out in middle of the road territory.  In Djibril Morissette-Phan's defense, there really wasn't a lot of exciting things to draw here.

Bits and Pieces:

I still think that All-New Wolverine is one of the better books at Marvel, but the Enemy of the State II story is making it harder and harder to recommend.  The story and art in this issue seems stuck in neutral and that's not a great place to be stranded in.  So far, this story arc is a miss that I hope turns into a hit starting with the next issue.

5.5/10