Wolverine: Blood Hungry

Well the first thing you have to know about Blood Hungry is who the artist was. Sam Keith of The Maxx fame put his unique stylings into this work. Keith’s art is a bit edgy to say the least. Not that I’m complaining mind you, I always like his take on things as I liked Jae Lee’s earlier work with Wildcats; lots of jagged definitions and something different from every other artist out there . That being said, when you delve into Blood Hungry, you aren’t getting your standard Wolverine fare, you are getting something a little grimier, a lot edgier and bordering on the surreal.

In fact, the only reason I purchased this title was specifically because Sam Keith was the artist and I was dying to see his rendering of a classic character. It’s like seeing McFarlane’s take on Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk from around the same time period.

Though this story is nothing like you will find in any other Wolverine TPB, it’s one that is definitely worth the price of admission if you can still find a copy of it lying around somewhere.

The story opens in Madripoor – of course – and follows the dealings of a mysterious villain trying to pit the two warring underworld factions run by General Coy and Tiger Tyger – who in Keith’s rendition may just be the most voluptuous Asian woman ever — against each other in a bidding war for a very powerful hallucinogenic. A far more feral Wolverine than we are used to seeing confronts Cyber and alludes to a history of violence between the two. In their initial confrontation, Cyber doses Wolverine with his designer drug, which leads our anti-hero into the wildest trip in his life.

In his drug altered state Wolverine becomes a high-school greaser trying to make the moves on a fifties style pin-up girl named Janet. The problem is that Janet has it good for what Coach Cyber has down his pants. Apparently he’s got more of what counts down there than poor Wolverine does. There might be some historical truths in the vision, but as I haven’t read every Wolverine title ever, I have no idea if anything in the dream was from real memories, but I kind of doubt it.

In my opinion, anyone even remotely interested in Wolverine should take a look at this graphic novel. Not because it contains any historical revelations or a significant change for the character, but just because it’s a wild ride with some humor and some gorgeous artwork in a style that contrasts with what we are used to in a Wolverine story.