World Enough and Time

I'm continuing my reading of Dark Wolverine's history, again with a library book: the TPB of X-Men Original Sin, which reprints six early stories about Daken and his background.

Good stuff, on the whole. If I'd read these comics when they first came out, I'd have enjoyed them: it's the nice intense story of the rift between Wolverine and Professor X, when Wolverine learns that it was Xavier who erased his traumatic memories of his life and his past. Furious with Xavier, he uses him to try to find and help Daken - to do the same thing to his son.

Of course, none of it goes well.

If I'd read this when it first came out, I wouldn't have become any kind of a Daken fan. He comes across as a rather vacuous bully-boy, with none of the strength of character, intelligence, or charisma he shows now. The art by Scot Eaton on X-Men is serviceable but dull; the art by Mike Deodato is beautiful, and this includes some of the loveliest portraits of Daken that I've seen yet. Sadly, Deodato shows a penchant to have Daken lurking in shadows, with his face hidden.

Among many delicious panels, my favourite is this, the cover of X-Men: Original Sin #1, where Wolverine and Xavier face off over the symbolic jigsaw puzzle of Daken's shattered psyche:



( Daken's story continues... )