A Short Look at Wolverine
Wolverine used to be my favorite comic character. That was back in the days when Chris Claremont [writer], John Byrne [penciler] and Terry Austin [inker] were amazing everyone with the classic comics that they were creating. At that time Wolverine was the cool secondary character that would have only a scene or two, but more likely than not, they’d be THE scenes that you’d remember.
Not much was known about Wolverine. What we did know made him an unlikely American comic book hero. He was from Canada. He was a loner. He was just a bit over five feet tall. He had a berserker rage and would actually kill those who threatened him or his friends. No other hero in comics looked or acted like Wolverine.
Of course over the years, because of the popularity of the character, he’s been over-exposed. He’s been a secret agent, a team leader, a father figure, a pirate, etc., etc. etc..
Even his look has changed. Hugh Jackman is tall and lean. Wolverine should be short and stout [no teapot jokes, please]. Robert Blake in his prime would have made a great Wolverine.
The classic Wolverine is still Byrne and Austin‘s version. Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein‘s take is also a favorite of mine. Not too long ago I talked about some new riffs on Wolverine. Joe Lisner’s Wolverine looks interesting too. All of these guys draw the shorter Wolverine, like he’s supposed to be. The funny thing is, most folks who only know Wolverine from the movies will think that he should be drawn taller.
