Book Review: Ultimate Comics Wolverine: Legacies by Cullen Bunn

Ultimate Comics Wolverine: Legacies
Cullen Bunn and David Messina
Genre(s): Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes
Published: June 26th 2013
Pages: 96
Rating: 3 stars

“When the legendary mutant Wolverine died at the hands of Magneto, he left behind an incredible legacy for his biological son, Jimmy Hudson.

Hidden deep within an encrypted holographic recording of his father, Jimmy discovers a long-dormant black ops program, codenamed Project: Mothervine. With fellow mutant Black Box at his side, he must set out on a quest to uncover the devastating truth behind its existence. But it seems other factions, including the disgraced mutant speedstar Quicksilver, have their own nefarious plans for his deadly inheritance. 

Mother is calling her children home - who will answer the call?”

While I found the title of this to be a little misleading, I did still enjoy this graphic novel. I expected more of the focus to be on Wolverine himself, but then, I guess Jimmy is his legacy and it makes sense to focus the story on him and his fellow mutants. While this wasn't necessarily what I was expecting, I wasn't disappointed by it.

I did enjoy the introduction of new characters (to me, at least) such as Jimmy and Blackbox, and it was nice to see Quicksilver make an appearance and I really liked the background behind him and how he was connected with Jimmy. I did feel, however, that Jimmy lacked a personality. Quicksilver I found to be quite sly and tricky, using a bit of manipulation to get what he wanted, and Black Box I found to be quite fun in how he talked about technology being ancient.

Although I did quite enjoy the story and plot of this, and I didn't mind the jumps in time, as they were clearly labelled and featured different characters, I am a little confused about 'Mothervine'. Whether that's just because I haven't read any other comics involving it, I don't know. I do know that I would have liked a little more explanation. 

That being said, what really bothered me the most was the art. Usually, I like Marvel artwork, but there was something about it in this graphic novel that I just didn't really enjoy. It was a bit too cartoony and almost childlike for me. I prefer more realistic, less over-exaggerated figures with more shading and harsh lines. 

Other than that, I did like this. A nice, quick read.