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Wolverine Noir
(Wolverine Noir #1-4)
by
The Bowery, 1937. Jim Logan, the fiercest knife expert in New York, runs a seedy detective agency called "LOGAN & LOGAN"...along with his useless, halfwit brother, Dog. They're the best they are at what they do. But when a swanky dame named Mariko Yashida struts into the office, she opens up a world of hurt for Logan, forcing him to revisit his painful, bloody past. The la
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Hardcover, 112 pages
Published
November 4th 2009
by Marvel
(first published 2009)
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Wolverine Noir

I love Wolverine. He's my favorite superhero. In this graphic novel, he's not a mutant and has no claws. Instead, he's a 1930's detective with knives. I hadn't read any alternate-universe stuff before but I absolutely loved this. It was pretty brutal at time but I loved every page.
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So, I'm not exactly sure if Vertigo's hard-bound crime series had anything to do with Marvel starting to publish a rash of "noir" graphic novels that moved outside the normal continuity but still relied on the character name to sell it or not, but it sure seems like it. But other than a Hellblazer crime adaptation, Vertigo let the writers and artists publish brand new stories with unknown characters. I don't know how successful it turned out, but I thought a bunch of them were damn good.
And I t ...more
And I t ...more

The best of the Marvel Noir books I've read, as a noir. (Iron Man Noir was better, but it was really a pulp story.) The art is the best part of the book by far. It's gorgeous, atmospheric, and gives a true noir feel. The storyline is pretty good, but it's very rushed in places. Maybe the most glaring example is how Logan describes Yuriko as the best friend he's ever had after she's been in only a handful of panels and had been introduced as a stranger to him. I feel like there were really six is
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The familiar elements of the Wolverine mythology are here: Japanese seductresses, ninjas, brutal older family members, but it just doesnt work well. if the story had been given more room to breathe, more space to develop, the book might have been better. As it is it felt like a cliff notes version of a Wolverine story. The noir elements were worked in cleverly but the story just felt too superficial. That and the dialogue was often stilted and awkward.

Ive read a few of the Marvel Noir series books, and this one probably comes closest to capturing the true "Noir" vibe. A very dark story, sad at times, gritty throughout. This one really catches the bleakness I usually associate with these type of stories. Probably a little dark for most, but if are a fan of Noir you'll get it. Not a bad read and one that really accomplishes what it set out to do.
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I haven't followed Wolverine/Logan in a lo-o-o-o-o-ng while, so I may have missed a number of the allusions to characters and occurrences in the 'real' continuity. But there is a swanky dame named Mariko Yashida with possible mob connections, Logan's mysterious past, and Yuriko. I never was sure who "Dog" should be aligned to in the main continuity.
I did like the darkness and mystery and the coloring here, much better than the other Marvel Noir books. ...more
I did like the darkness and mystery and the coloring here, much better than the other Marvel Noir books. ...more

Usually if I review a book, I try to have clear and concrete reasons why something didn't click with me. I have more trouble than usual with Wolverine Noir identifying why it isn't a better book. The book certainly gets the down on your luck part of noir and Wolverine right. Nothing good happens for Logan and you pretty much expect that just from the title. And yet, something about the character of Wolverine and even the characters from his series don't work that well here. Some characters feel
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This mediocre noir set in New York in 1937 with Wolverine recast as a detective. Stuart Moore starts strong the tropes he uses are increasingly predictable and don't really build on the either the superhero or noir genres, really just subsuming the former into the later in a rather obvious way. The backstory with Dog and Rose was a twist that was almost beat-for-beat predictable with the normal tragedy involved. C.P. Smith's artwork is interesting, but sometimes the line work is by "gritty" by b
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A short, bitter, alternate reality Wolverine tale. This volume seems to have a better sense of what constitutes noir fiction than other Marvel Noir titles. Private eye Logan, and his mentally handicapped partner Dog, is hired by Mariko Shoji to find a MacGuffin/red herring. Dog disappears, and Logan turns the Bowery upside down only to discover that the entire case revolves around his troubled past. A clever bit of entertainment, even though Logan's insta-friendship w/ Yukio after one meeting an
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Aug 17, 2018
I'mogén
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
series-need-to-finish
Actual rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
This was brilliant. I don't know how it works against Wolverine's origins, like is it cannon? (First time I've used that word and not sure if I used it right xD). Nevertheless, on its own it was a powerful little comic.
I really loved the dark and gritty hues of the collection. It added to the noir film and helped it come to life. It was super suspenseful and felt like I was watching a movie.
I think Wolverine is one of my favourite Marvel characters and there's still s ...more
This was brilliant. I don't know how it works against Wolverine's origins, like is it cannon? (First time I've used that word and not sure if I used it right xD). Nevertheless, on its own it was a powerful little comic.
I really loved the dark and gritty hues of the collection. It added to the noir film and helped it come to life. It was super suspenseful and felt like I was watching a movie.
I think Wolverine is one of my favourite Marvel characters and there's still s ...more

After enjoying Spiderman Noir I thought I would give this a try as it was also on offer in a comixology sale. I’m always one for an offer.
It's a very good book. A decent concept well executed. As it is an alternative take on Wolverine do not expect it to bear much resemblance to the classic character. Wolverine is now a Gumshoe in New York, working the rough side of town. The tale and the backstory intersect and it follows a single investigation. This is clearly not Hero fodder, instead it is a ...more
It's a very good book. A decent concept well executed. As it is an alternative take on Wolverine do not expect it to bear much resemblance to the classic character. Wolverine is now a Gumshoe in New York, working the rough side of town. The tale and the backstory intersect and it follows a single investigation. This is clearly not Hero fodder, instead it is a ...more

A fun retelling of the Wolverine story, now set in the 1930's and complete with femme fatales, mindless hunks and crime lords. Wolverine is of course the down on his luck private detective in the filthiest part of the city.
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Kind of a jumbled mess that doesn't offer anything new for ol' Logan.
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O think this might be my favorite Marvel Noir so far. The art is fantastic and the story is far more in line with the genre. Too bad they didn't do more.
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Could have been perfect. Needed one less woman and more relationship with the winner.
Creed's character was great for this. ...more
Creed's character was great for this. ...more

Wolverine is not defined by claws but by his healing factor. Take that away and change his backstory and it's not him anymore.
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I’ve pretty much been a Wolverine fan my entire life, mostly because we both share the name Logan. But the man’s got a wild sense of righteousness and justice, not to mention the three claws of death that spike out his hands. Yes, Wolverine has always been a favorite Marvel character of mine, and when I saw the Marvel TPB collection of Wolverine Noir, I knew I’d have to read it.
The story, written by Stuart Moore and beautifully illustrated by C.P. Smith, fits the pulpy noir style perfectly. Jim ...more
The story, written by Stuart Moore and beautifully illustrated by C.P. Smith, fits the pulpy noir style perfectly. Jim ...more

I have to give credit to Marvel for what it is attempting to do with its Marvel Noir series. After publishing stories about its iconic characters for decades, Marvel needed to inject creativity into its storytelling. And placing the Marvel characters with the richest and deepest personalities into a mystery noir setting is certainly being creative. Wolverine Noir takes everyone’s favorite gruff X-Man and puts him into 1937 New York City as a detective. Logan and his partner Dog are hired by a my
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Feb 27, 2012
Hayden
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
comics-graphic-novels
I never actually read this book. Never got to, that is. After reading Claremont/Miller's Wolverine story a year ago, I ordered this off Amazon, which is a film noir-style take on that same story. It came in the mail, and I was in the middle of a book, and didn't get around to reading this for about two weeks. After being excited and anticipating an awesome take on my favorite Marvel character (the cover is really badass), I opened it. Since it's a noir book, part of the gimmick is that it's prin
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This is the first of the Marvel Noir series I've read, and everything that I've known about the style was from Sin City and the Rugrats episode where Tommy has to find something out about the malties. In Wolverine Noir, the art and writing stands up for itself and supports the weight of Logan's guilt for his brother Dog. Logan and Dog are detectives in the bowels of New York and for a four-issue series, a lot of shit goes down when Mariko Yashida strolls into the office and vaguely asks for help
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Logan is recast as a down on his luck gumshoe from the late 30s where a dame walks into his office, offers him a case, and before he knows it he's up to his neck in trouble. Pure noir. Only here Logan isn't Wolverine, the self-healing mutant with the bone claws who becomes Weapon X, and so on; here he's just a regular guy with a chequered past who happens to be good with knives.
The Marvel Noir series is a good idea but I'm beginning to see a trend in the books: the famous character is recast as ...more
The Marvel Noir series is a good idea but I'm beginning to see a trend in the books: the famous character is recast as ...more

Logan is recast as a down on his luck gumshoe from the late 30s where a dame walks into his office, offers him a case, and before he knows it he's up to his neck in trouble. Pure noir. Only here Logan isn't Wolverine, the self-healing mutant with the bone claws who becomes Weapon X, and so on; here he's just a regular guy with a chequered past who happens to be good with knives.
The Marvel Noir series is a good idea but I'm beginning to see a trend in the books: the famous character is recast as ...more
The Marvel Noir series is a good idea but I'm beginning to see a trend in the books: the famous character is recast as ...more

This was my first venture into the Marvel's Noir comic series (outside playing as Spider-man Noir in the PS3 game "Shattered Dimentions"). As a big fan of Noir and Superheroes this is right up my alley. I like the non-comic traditioal take on the character of Wolverine. Gone are his mutant powers, adamantium laced skeleton, and bone claws. This is a realistic take on Wolverine that is refreshing. Well written, the art fits the tone of the book. Highly recommended.
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This is probably my favorite of the noir series that I've read so far. The art is dark, but I could actually see what was going on and didn't get the characters confused with one another (always a plus), and the story was pretty good too. Wolverine is lacking his characteristic claws, but that's typical for the noir series, and there's some name-dropping that long-time fans of Wolverine will likely appreciate. Altogether, one of the more solid offerings for this series.
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Wolverine never had much of a character to start with, and his immense popularity seems to have led to it being stretched thinner in a hundred different directions. This is a decent enough Sin City style tale but there's no need for Wolverine to be in it.
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The Noir series' detective format is cool but this is definitely not my favorite take on Wolverine. I would recommend it and the other Noir books to Frank Miller fans.
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STUART MOORE is a writer, a book editor, and an award-winning comics editor. Among his current writing projects are THE ZODIAC LEGACY, created and cowritten by Stan Lee and published by Disney, featuring an all-new team of teenaged super heroes in a series of illustrated prose novels and graphic novels; DOMINION: LAST SACRIFICE, a comic book series for Amazon/Jet City; and THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE,
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Wolverine Noir
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