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There
are actually two stories included in this One Shot.
Firebreak, and the backup story, Little White Lies.
First, we’ll look at Firebreak - because that’s why
we’re here, isn’t it? Writing duties are given to
Mike Carey (Hellblazer, X-Men: Legacy). Mike writes
a good story. Told through the eyes of a bystander,
the heroic side of the hairy canuckle-head shines
through. Dialogue is well-written, the first person
voiceover is there, but thankfully, not Wolverine’s.
Firebreak is not a Wolverine story, but more of an
incident which happens to involve Wolverine. The
story, after all, is not Logan’s. What I like about
these kinds of stories is that they show how these
four-colour heroes can influence the people around
them to carry out acts of selfless heroism. I know,
that was a little profound of me. I promise I’ll
never do it again.
On to the artist then. Scott Kolins (Avengers,
Hulk/Wolverine: Six Hours). Kolins has his own,
great style of artwork, and it suits this story. No
stranger to violent fight scenes (Six Hours was as
violent as they come), Kolins art shows the savagery
of Wolverine quite well when coupled with Carey’s
script.
The
story?
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Wolverine, a black family and a stuffed parrot
are trying to escape a forest fire caused by a
Hydra biological weapon test gone wrong. The
smoke is charged with a chemical substance which
is deadly to most humans. Wolverine, being
caught in the fire before the story begins, has
his eyes leaking out of his sockets due to the
heat, and the chemical nature of the fire makes
him unable to heal them up. Logan’s blind, and
has to rely on his companions and a stuffed
parrot to act as his eyes as he leads them to
safety, whilst trying to avoid the Hydra agents
that still frequent the forest.
One scene stands out the most here. A burning
Wolverine fights a burning grizzly. The fight is
a little short, at about a page in length, but
the image itself is a strong one, and long after
people have forgotten all about Carey and Kolins,
they will remember this story as ‘the one where
he fights a burning bear’.
So the first story is good.
Onto Little White Lies, the backup. Is it as
good? No. But it’s a short backup story, so it’s
not supposed to be. Is it a good back up story?
Well, yes and no. Macon Blair (Hellcity) is the
writer, and his version of Wolverine is great
because he can be killed from a well aimed kick
in the neck. Which beats coming back from a
weekend in the sun unscathed in my book. The
artist, Vasilis Lolos (the Pirates of Coney
Island) is a mixed bag. His artwork is great, in
that it is different, but not my first choice
for a Wolverine comic.
The story is good enough, but flawed. It starts
off as a rescue mission, with Wolverine
stealthing his way through armed guards. He gets
his to his target but trips a wire. Then
Wolverine gets attacked by a bunch of clowns
with weird powers that made me think, ‘what?’ It
goes back to normal after that. And there blood
and beheadings, so that’s nice.
Conclusion? Firebreak is worth buying for Carey
and Kolins contribution. Think of the Little
White Lies as a freebie and you’ll love it too.
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