Wolverine has become one of the most popular superheroes ever, which isn’t bad for a character who could have easily amounted to nothing. Over the years, he’s starred in some of the bestselling comics of all time, and has been graced by many of the greatest artists of them all. The stories of the ol’Canucklehead have especially been defined by their art. The character is known for his kinetic action scenes, and made all the better by deft character acting. In the early ’90s, Logan was graced by one of the all time greats in Marc Silvestri, who had begun drawing the Canadian mutant on Uncanny X-Men before moving to Wolverine (Vol. 2).
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Wolverine in the ’90s was awesome, and for a lot of us, Silvestri’s art was the first we’d seen on the character’s solo stories. The artist’s work definitely helped define the character, but he’s nowhere near the only great artist to give the character beautiful solo adventures. These seven other Wolverine artists are all amazing, and deserve their flowers for their work on the best there is at what he does.
7) John Romita Jr.
John Romita Jr. grew up in the comic industry and the offices of Marvel Comics. His father was legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita, and the artist worked all over the company before finally getting a chance to do his own work. In the early ’80s, he began drawing Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men, but wouldn’t have a run on his solo book until the ’00s. Romita Jr. joined writer Mark Millar for the 12-part “Enemy of the State/Agent of SHIELD” in Wolverine (Vol. 3) #20-31, one of the best Wolverine stories of the ’00s. He’s an action master, and his 12 issues with the Ol’Canucklehead are full of amazing, kinetic fight scenes. He’s one of the greats, and his work on the hero will wow you.
6) Steve McNiven
“Old Man Logan” is a Wolverine classic, and a big reason for that is artist Steve McNiven. McNiven first got attention at the defunct CrossGen Comics, and moved to Marvel, where his realistic, detailed style turned heads on the Marvel Knights book 4 and Civil War. He and writer Mark Millar teamed up for “Old Man Logan” in Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66-72 and Wolverine: Giant-Size Old Man Logan #1. Fans loved his work on the character, and he would later draw Death of Wolverine #1-4 and Return of Wolverine #1 and 5. His detail and figure work were out of this world, and he gave readers viscerally violent action scenes that really gave the stories some extra oomph.
5) Ron Garney
Ron Garney’s had one of the best careers in comics. He got noticed with the Captain America classic “Operation: Rebirth”, and his work on the character made him a star, allowing him to draw heroes and villains across the Marvel Universe and beyond. He joined writer Jason Aaron on Wolverine for Wolverine (Vol. 3) #62-65, in the awesome “Get Mystique!”. The duo would return on Wolverine: Weapon X #1-5 and 11-15. Garney’s work was sensational; he was able to pull off amazing action scenes, and his character acting and detail made everything look perfect. Garney is an all time great and his work on Logan’s life shows some of his best work, as well as how much his style had evolved.
4) Alan Davis
Alan Davis is a British artist who got his start on UK comics, getting the most notice for his work on Captain Britain with Alan Moore for Marvel UK. He’d get his first chance to draw Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men, having runs on that book and X-Men where he’d draw more Wolverine, and proved to truly understand how to make the character look amazing. He’d eventually get his chance at a solo Wolverine story with Wolverine Bloodlust, an awesome one-shot from the late ’80s, but wouldn’t get a chance to draw Wolverine’s book until Wolverine (Vol. 5) #1-4 and 8-13 and Wolverine (Vol. 4) Annual #1. He was able to make Logan look dangerous despite his diminutive stature, and his style fit well with the character.
3) John Buscema
John Buscema is an all time great, having worked at Marvel throughout the Silver and Bronze Ages. He’s best known for his work on the Avengers and Conan the Barbarian, hos action scenes wowing fans. When Marvel decided to finally give Wolverine a solo ongoing, Buscema was tapped to work with Chris Claremont, the writer who made Wolverine a star. Buscema drew Wolverine (Vol. 2) #1-8 and 10, giving readers some of the best Wolverine art ever. His action scenes were explosive, putting readers into the midst of bloody, furious combat. His character acting and figure work were perfect, setting the emotional stakes of the action and making everyone look exactly how they needed to. His backgrounds established the feel of Madripoor, capturing the seedy Lowtown, the jungles, and the metropolitan parts of the pirate city. Buscema is quality, and his work with Logan is still some of the best ever, even all these years later.
2) Leinil Yu
Leinil Yu’s career in comics is sort of a wish fulfillment situation. The Filipino artist won Wizard Magazine’s monthly envelope art contest, and was able to get a job on one of the bestselling solo books of the ’90s, Wolverine (Vol. 2), almost immediately. He drew issues #113-122, 125-126, 129-130, 132, 139-143, and 145. Yu’s unique, gritty art style evolved immensely in his initial nine-issue run on the book, and just kept getting better and better. He’d later get to draw the character in X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, New Avengers, Secret Invasion, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: Depression, and numerous other books. Yu really gets what makes Wolverine tick as a character, and is able to capture every facet of the hero every time he draws him. His action scenes are second to none and that’s all there is to it. I was there when he first started on Wolverine, and I have loved watching him develop as a creator over the last 28 years.
1) Adam Kubert
Adam Kubert’s father was Joe Kubert, one of the greatest of all time. He learned at his father’s knee, lettering, inking, and coloring the elder Kubert’s books, and at The Kubert School, where he would also become an instructor in the years to come. He’d eventually get his chance at DC, which would lead him and brother Andy to Marvel. Adam’s big break came on Wolverine (Vol. 2), and he has become, in my humble 34 years reading Wolverine stories opinion, the best Wolverine artist ever, working on the character numerous times. Kubert drew Wolverine (Vol. 2) #75, 77–79, 81-82, 85, 87-88, 90, 92-93, 95-97, 100, and 102, Weapon X #1-4, Wolverine (Vol. 3) #73-74, Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine #1-6, Origin II, Wolverine (Vol. 7) #1-3, 8-10, 14-16, and 20-23, and Deadpool/Wolverine: WWIII #1-3. He also drew the character in many, many other books like X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, New Avengers, Avengers vs. X-Men, and covers across the industry. His style has lent itself perfectly to the character; he’s able to give readers amazing action and some of the best acted emotional scenes in comics. He’s a true greatest of all time talent, and his work on Wolverine made him a superstar.
Who’s your favorite Wolverine artist? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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