Wolverine #69

WRITER: MARK MILLAR
PENCILS: STEVE MCNIVEN
INKS: DEXTER VINES
COLORED BY: MORRY HOLLOWELL
LETTERED BY: VC - CORY PETIT
COVER BY: STEVE MCNIVEN

The cover blurb for this issue expresses my sentiments perfectly, as well as aptly describing the contents of the issue. The few weaknesses of the first three issues of this arc don't get any better. The dialogue between Hawkeye and Logan is very repetitive. With the exception of Hawkeye's exposition regarding the state of the world (which has been one of this story's greatest strengths), there's a lot of, "I can't talk about my past something really bad happened,""I love my wife and kids," and, "Nope, not going to do any violence." The cool post-heroic easter-eggy things are great though. Though there was some great action sequences, there just wan't as much plot progression as the past three issues.

The art, on the other hand, was stunning, as I've some to expect from McNiven & pals on this run. The delays that have and will certainly continue to plague this story are well worth the wait, as I believe to be the case almost always when art is this damn pretty. Even after buying all the issues, would I shell out another thirty bucks for an oversized hardcover of this work? Most definitely. This caliber of storytelling, coupled with pretty figures and scenery, is half of what I believe will maintain and propel the idea of comics as an art form in the decades to come.

Yes, the art was as good as as has been, but the forward momentum of the story temporarily slipped into neutral. I'm confident enough in Millar's work that this story is going somewhere, and I'm most definitely still along for the ride. It just would have been nice to see something more than cute (if wonderfully illustrated) one-off ideas in this particular installment.