Review: Savage Wolverine #13
‘Come Conquer the Beasts’ part 2.
Writers: Phil Jimenez & Scott Lope. Breakdowns: Phil Jimenez.
Finished Art : Jimenez, Palmer, Florea, Olliffe & Green. Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg. Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Concluding the Savage Wolverine’s brutally honest two part poaching story arc, issue 13 sees Logan having tracked a gang of rhino poachers from Africa straight to Madripoor (which is pretty much Marvel’s biggest hellhole) where he uncovers stockpiles of Elephant tusks, Rhino horns and tiger hides among many others. This is a powerful story that fits perfectly to Wolverine’s character. How it hasn’t been done before is honestly beyond me. As I said before this is a brutally honest look into wildlife poaching and the black market trade that supports it.
The characterisation in this issue couldn’t be any more spot on. The characters almost write themselves in these roles as it all just flows so naturally. With Wolvie on the track of the poachers and working his way through the black market, Kitty Pryde and Cypher of the New Mutants using his mutant abilities and cerebro to track the endangered elephant herd by reading their unique subsonic communication. For as honest a portrayal we get here it is just as informative with a powerful message woven throughout too. While we all know Wolverine is no angel, in his book hunting for sport is a big NO.
“Every two tusks represent a dead elephant. Every horn, a dead rhino. Every skin, a dead tiger or leopard. All torn up and butchered by bastards who don’t have a clue. Or don’t care.” – Wolverine.
This issue also dives right into controversial debating too, with Logan’s back and forth with Tyger Tiger when she says animals are not the same as people and certainly not worth as much. Wolverine’s reply will definitely give you pause for thought. Seeing Kitty Pryde watch in horror as each light on cerebro disappears as one elephant is slaughtered every fifteen minutes is an absolute eye opener too. The thought and research that went into creating this tale is truly commendable. It serves both as an informative and thought provoking read while at the same time never compromising itself as a truly fitting Wolverine story almost meant for the character.
I implore any fans of the mad mutant or anyone passionate about the conservation of wildlife to give these 2 issues a read. You won’t be disappointed. I for one am delighted to see mainstream comics being used to convey such an important message while remaining true to the roots of the character.
