In November of 1997, Wolverine: Doombringer was released. A one shot graphic novel written by Doug Moench with Michel Dutkiewicz providing the pencils, and Jimmy Palmiotti on inks. The team are joined by colourists Mark McNabb, Dennis Calero and Atomic Paintbrush. 

Clocking in at 48 pages, the comic is set during the period of time after Mariko Yashida canceled her wedding to Logan in order to atone for the sins of her father and her final appearance in Wolverine #57, a comic published five years before the publication date of Doombringer. The story itself starts a millennium ago with one group of mystics trying to end the world by summoning the Doombringer, and another group trying to prevent them by freezing time using an intricately detailed piece of magic.

Fast forward a thousand years and the conflict between the two opposing mystic groups has been relegated to myth when one of those impacted by the spell is awoken and goes to seek aid from the modern descendants of his clan. Events transpire, and eventually, Wolverine gets involved.

Once that happens we get a pretty standard late 90’s Wolverine tale that won’t set your world on fire, but is the equivalent to a PG-13 popcorn action movie; an enjoyable, if unspectacular, comic that has all the action you’d expect with very little damage to Wolverine beyond his torn costume.

While I still enjoyed the comic, at the end of the day it wasn’t as good as I remembered – and that’s a bigger disappointment for me than anything else.

Story: Doug Moench Pencils: Michael Dutkiewicz Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colours: Mark McNabb, Dennis Calero and Atomic Paintbrush
Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read