Review: Wolverine: Patch #1

A retro return to the Princess Bar from Larry Hama?

Wolverine: Patch #1
Marvel Comics
W: Larry Hama
A: Andrea DiVito, Lebeau Underwood, Sebastian Cheng
$3.99 (Available on Marvel Unlimited)

What to know
Patch is an alias of Wolverine, when he would visit Madripoor. He’s the co-owner of the Princess Bar with Tyger Tiger. He’s close to Archie Corrigan, a down on his luck freighter pilot and drinking buddy.

The series is written by Larry Hama, who wrote the first on-going Wolverine series; he also created the Patch persona. This series is set before the on-going series Hama wrote.

Recap
The story starts in the jungle on the outskirts of Madripoor, where we see a small settlement with monkeys in cages and men with guns. The monkeys are spooked by someone coming.

We move to the Princess Bar, where Corrigan and Patch are discussing the financial struggles of Corrigan’s freighter business. Tyger Tiger brings over the mysterious Prince Baran, who is looking to hire Patch and Corrigan to run reconnaissance over the nearby jungle. Patch is hesitant, but once the prince offers enough money to help Corrigan continue working, they agree.

As they fly over the jungle, they see the wreckage of an advanced Russian plane; they also see a SHIELD Helicarrier flying above them and are called to land on it. Nick Fury informs Patch that they are running a covert surveillance op and aren’t welcome over the jungle. Corrigan and Logan decide to make one more low pass over the Russian plane and Logan jumps out.

We learn General Coy is somehow involved in the jungle, and that the small settlement from the beginning is experimenting on the monkeys. We go back to Patch, who is attacked by 2 mutant Russians. They defeat Patch, but leave him unconscious in the jungle. When Patch awakes, he starts to follow the trail the left.

Thoughts
Ah, the nostalgia. This fits in totally with the old Wolverine series. The story is pretty basic, but it’s written in that ’80s/90s style where it’s almost refreshing. It’s all pretty straight forward too. Hama knows how to write Patch, and it shows here. There have been a few writers that have tried since Hama and were not as successful.

It’s also fun to see some characters we haven’t seen in quite a while. Corrigan, Tyger Tiger, Prince Baran, and General Coy all have prominent roles in Hama’s early Wolverine run, and some have popped up here and there over the years.

The art in the book is a mix of ’80s/90s retro and modern designs; it reminds me a little of Jim Lee’s X-Men work at times. It fits well with the narrative and the time it’s set.

Rating
3.5 out of 5; a solid set up with a retro feel. Looking forward to the rest.