Wolverine: Prodigal Son

In this alternate, mangafied vision of Wolverine's past, we find a teenage Logan living at the Quiet Earth School in Canada and studying martial arts. Bored, restless and channeling James Dean, the young rebel worries about his upcoming graduation as well as his missing past. A trip to New York complicates things by introducing Logan's first rival, a former student named Morgan. Johnston's characters are overdramatized and flamboyant; Logan is more like an angst-ridden teen than a future X-Man. Master Mr. Elliot and daughter Tamara are caring and yet one-sided. Hopefully, subsequent volumes will provide more character development and flesh out the personalities of the cast. Tortosa's art is an interesting blend of obvious manga influence with a fluidity of movement that makes the art easy to follow. The fight scenes look natural and are not overly posed or stylized. This will hold the most amount of appeal for fans who are more into manga than comics and are not familiar with the existing nuances of Wolverine's story. (Apr.)