Prodigal Son Volume 1
Story by Antony Johnston
Art by Wilson Totosa
Lettering By Zach Matheny
Published by the Del Rey Manga Imprint of Random House, Inc.
ISBN-10: 0345505166
ISBN-13: 978-0345505163
Review By Budd
Wolverine is a fan favorite character in Marvel comic books. He was first featured in the Incredible Hulk comics and soon found himself as a member of the New X-Men. His past has always been shrouded in mystery. Wolverine: Prodigal Son is a re-imagining of the Logan character in a more youthful, modern setting with manga style artwork.
The story follows young Logan as he trains in a secluded, Canadian dojo. He was left there several years earlier with no memory of who he was or where he came from. At the school, Logan must master his martial arts skills without falling back on his incredible healing factor. Like most schools, Logan doesn’t get along with everyone but has a few very close friends.
When Logan first came to the school, he humiliated the schools best student, Morgan, in a fight. Morgan soon left the school only to let the humiliation simmer into hate. Now Morgan is back and he has brought a secret military organization with him.
This was a fun read and it completely resets the Wolverine story line. They shied away from using other established characters in this manga and stayed pretty true to what is considered cannon on Wolverine’s healing abilities. They come up with a clever reason as to why he has the nickname Wolverine as well. The story was okay, but it did emphasize that Logan’s biggest weakness is his reliance on his mutant abilities. It really hammers this home and it seems as if they are setting something bigger up.
I would recommend this to Wolverine fans that can handle this new interpretation of the character. If you aren’t familiar with Wolverine or you have just seen the X-Men movies, you should enjoy this as well. The book is rated 13+ due to some language and violence.