Wolverine #2: Patch vs. possessed!Jessica Drew
Reading old Wolverine is turning out to be a strange experience. By the time I got into the character, as a kidlet, he was already nigh unkillable, and Madripoor and the Patch identity were getting passe. Here it's... ostensibly fresh? I don't know - there's just something interesting about these pre-bone-claws, pre-Origins, pre-invasion-of-the-Logan-clones, Wolverine.
It's still Wolverine, with all the cheese that implies, but it's a much more interesting Wolverine. It's a Wolverine who still had some secrets to explore. I guess what I'm saying is that there's a cheeseball charm to it?
Also-- wha-what? Depowered, 80s Jessica Drew? In my Wolverine comics? It is Claremont, and what Claremont story would be complete without a sexy! powerful! dominant! woman, in clothing that resembles bondage gear? Of course, in this story, Jess has become a Claremont girl, via the miracle of demonic possession (Evil Is Sexy!).
Evil Is Sexy! Not so much with this art, but the point stands. Leather, cutouts, overly former language, and a lady kicking some dude's ass? Iiiit's Claremont.
So Logan is in Madripor, looking for the Muramasa sword aka the Black Blade. Somehow, Jessica Drew and her actress roommate have gotten mixed up in the Madriporian shenanigans, and been tapped as couriers for the sword. Lindsey, Jess's roommate, met up with Logan last issue, and now they've teamed up to look for Jess, who's gone missing.
I should point out here that early Wolverine seems to be a cross between Samurai and Detective fiction. It's a welcome change from today's SNIKTBUBSKNITBESTATWHATIDO malarky, that passes for Wolverine comics. Sure it's Claremont, with all his writerly tics on display, but the much reduced SNITBUB quotient makes up for the yellow box abuse.
Anyway - as I said, Logan is looking for the Black Blade, and for a missing, depowered, Jessica Drew. He leaves the roommate downstairs, in a bar, while he investigates the rooms upstairs. He finds his lead dead, thanks to the Silver Samurai. Fighting, obviously enough, ensues. Blah blah, explanation of Samurai's powers. Then who should show up, but possessed!Jesssica? Oh dear.
I think you can fill in the gaps: fighting, fighting, dramatic confrontations, way too much narration, fighting.
Then we get the big fight.
DUN DUN DUN!
Kinetic, and mercifully restrained (for a Wolverine story). I like that we're seeing his fighting skills on display, instead of the now-popular canon-fodder gorn model of fighting that so many creators lean on. Of course, this is back in the days when it took Wolverine some time to recover from running through a hail of bullets.
Final thought: slightly weird art; fun fight. y/n?