This is an absolutely amazing take on the beloved Marvel character by a master of the manga art form. If you like your Wolverine brutal and nihilistic, pick this one up, bub!

While not my style, I can really see this one connecting with my library readers and creating a bridge between manga readers and traditional superhero stories. The art has depth and rich movement.

This is a spoiler free review.

Wolverine Snikt! is a fun and different Marvel Manga collaboration. Wolverine is a character who is well suited for a Manga / Anime adventure. Motion lines and action lines in Manga stories mesh well when Logan is in a battle.

Wolverine Snikt! is a lot darker than I thought it would be. The artwork is very dark. Plus the story is also very dark and hard to understand at times. However, I did enjoy reading it. Wolverine helps save the day and does it his way.

Also, I enjoy the fact Wolverine is gruff and still himself in a Manga world full of monsters. If you like Manga and Anime this is a great comic to read. X-men and Wolverine fans should give Wolverine Snikt a try. It's a different Wolverine story in a strange world of monsters and you never know, you may enjoy it.

Stay awesome and keep reading!


Wolverine Snikt!

Written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei

Oh, Wolverine. What can’t he do? Take mortal wounds that would fell a lesser man, survive in conditions that would cause the stoutest of spirits to fail, fight foes of the most titanic of stature; Wolverine has become one of the most famous and powerful members of the X-Men over the years and for good reason. His mutant healing factor combined with his adamantium skeleton makes him virtually indestructible and incredibly difficult to put down.

Wolverine has faced some truly varied and dangerous situations in his tenure as a mutant hero, but perhaps none as bizarre and dangerous as his adventure into a dystopian manga future. Yup, Wolverine did indeed venture outside of his own world into a manga and the result was less than stellar.

Released in 2003, Wolverine: Snikt! (by Tsutomu Nihei) is a five-issue miniseries that puts Wolverine into an anime hellscape. A future destroyed by an unstoppable enemy cries for help from the surly mutant and sends someone into the past to retrieve him. Different than his regular adventures with the X-Men, Wolverine works completely solo in this story, left only with his wits and experience to save not only himself, but the remnants of the human race.

RELATED Marvel's Wastelanders: Star-Lord Review
Wolverine’s Solo Manga Adventure Is Style Over Substance
Wolverine Snikt! Wolverine talks with Fusa.
Snikt! begins with a young girl approaching Wolverine as he walks alone in New York City. Nestled deep within a park and far from other seeing eyes, the young girl named Fusa calls Wolverine by his real name and tells him that she needs his help. Never one to shy away from helping someone, Wolverine asks what the trouble is only for Fusa to touch his hand, launching him into a blue teleportational vortex. When Wolverine comes to he finds himself in a blasted hellscape of a world and is quickly attacked by a monstrous beast.

Wolverine learns that the world had been destroyed by an uncontrollable mutant organism known as The Mandate. As the world crumbled and fell to ruin, the human survivors realized the only thing capable of destroying The Mandate was the adamantium found in Wolverine’s claws. The humans sent Fusa into the past to bring Wolverine to their time to help destroy The Mandate. Joining the final attack against The Mandate, Wolverine succeeds in destroying the core of The Mandate and thus saving the future. Wolverine returns back to his own time and continues on with his day in true Canucklehead fashion.

First and foremost, Nihei’s art is superb…in some ways. Landscapes are vast and detailed and The Mandate are detailed exquisitely. Wolverine, on the other hand, doesn’t translate too well to Nihei’s manga art style. Often being relegated to just standing around and scowling in confusion, many of Wolverine’s classic stances and poses aren’t utilized throughout the series, leaving him to standing around listlessly. Character faces are also hit or miss, with certain shots looking good with others leaving the characters to look hopelessly wall-eyed.

While the story itself is unique and engaging, dialogue is not one of Nihei’s strong suits. Characters generally speak in nothing more than exposition which offers very little characterization. Wolverine, being chronally displaced the entire story, asks short questions most of the story, rarely letting his trademark gruff charm shine through. The occasional “bub” is the most he gets, with auxiliary characters receiving even less. Snikt! becomes nothing more than a gallery of Nihei’s art with the occasional text box tossed in for good measure.

RELATED Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League Is Getting a Prequel Comic
Wolverine: Snikt! Is a Missed Manga Opportunity
Wolverine Snikt! Wolverine battles The Mandate.
What makes the weak dialogue worse is the lightning-fast pacing that plagues Snikt! As each issue is dedicated to Nihei’s panoramic shots and Mandate creatures it leaves little room for dialogue or narration. Issue #3 is one giant info dump that condenses the entire series’ plot into eight pages. The series rushes to a climax that’s full of action, but little else. What doesn’t help Snikt! are the questions that arise from the narrative that’s given. Why would Wolverine be so nonchalant about being forced into time travel against his will? Why would he help people that A) he doesn’t know and B) kidnapped him?

Even if Wolverine defeats The Mandate at that specific moment in time doesn’t that mean that The Mandate event still happens, thus causing the need to pull Wolverine from the past never disappearing which then means the world still ends up destroyed? Why doesn’t Wolverine decide to TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS instead of just walking away like it was just a regular Tuesday? It’s a shame, too, because Nihei definitely knows how to create monsters and atmosphere in his work, only at the cost of a cohesive plot.

A Similar Look and Feel
If the artwork and story of Snikt! seem familiar it’s because Nihei would go on to create his own manga series, Biomega, in 2004. Snikt! and Biomega share a massive amount of similarities: mutant monsters have destroyed the world, the future is grim and dark, and the narrative goes completely off the rails. Monster design, destroyed cityscapes, and solo heroes with little dialogue all return in Biomega which makes Snikt! feel like it was just practice for Nihei to get his ideas in order for Biomega.

Wolverine: Snikt! is an interesting idea executed poorly. While the premise of putting Wolverine into a gritty sci fi manga should be a surefire hit, Wolverine himself takes a major backseat to Nihei’s art. For Snikt! to have worked there needed to be a greater emphasis on Wolverine’s interactions with Fusa and the survivors and a deeper exploration of Wolverine’s involvement with fighting a sentient apocalypse. If the series had been twelve issues instead of eight that gave greater attention to its characters as it did its art, it could have been far better. As it stands, Wolverine: Snikt! is a sci fi manga that just so happens to feature Wolverine. It’s certainly not the worst Wolverine story you’ll ever read, but it’s definitely far from the best.

This is a reissue, and I actually read this comic when it was first published in 2003; 20 years ago! I love that it’s getting a new life, as I thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it back then and reading it again now.

Wolverine is whisked away from present day New York City to a dystopian future where a sentient bacteria has basically wiped out all of humanity, and Wolverine is the only hope to stop it.

This is a very short series (5 issues), so I won’t say any more about story. I really like the artwork and like how it adds a lot of atmosphere to the overall story. It’s very dark and rough, much as the story is.

A quick read and must read for any fans of Wolverine.

In a war-torn desolate future, a small group of humans fights desperately against an endlessly replicating monster that seems to have only one weakness: adamantium. With only a few adamantium bullets left, they decide their last hope is to rip a warrior from his timeline. A young girl reaches back into our time and pulls Wolverine forward, but he struggles against her efforts and lands outside their shelter in the wasteland that used to be a city. They rescue him and he sees first hand the terrible enemy they're up against. Wolverine could demand to be sent home, but that means abandoning them to these creatures. Instead, the hero and what's left of these rag-tag warriors must mount a last-ditch, all-out assault against the source of their enemies, hoping they can stop the plague and rebuild their society.
This title is a marriage between Western comics and manga, and the product is of mixed results. The length matches with Western comics, which will disatisfy manga readers who will feel like there should be more to the story. The conclusion was fairly nonexistent, so a few more pages could have brought some satisfaction in that regard. The coloring didn't add anything to this story - in fact, based on the black-and-white pages included in the back matter, I would have enjoyed this title far more had Nihei-sensei's pages been left alone. The story itself seemed like it could have been a side-story in the Matrix universe, so not wholly original nor groundbreaking. Overall, this seemed like it wanted to be something bigger and more groundbreaking than it really was.

This was originally published in 2003, so knowing that, it kind of seems like Marvel is trying to recycle something to capitalize on the Manga boom happening right now, but this ain't it.

Sara's Rating: 5/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-10

This was a page turning, dystopian, action adventure comic with Logan, The Wolverine! Logan is meets a young woman who time traveled to take him to her time to help save mankind. Mandates are mutants unlike any other who are actually a mutant disease that inherited sentience and now want human bodies to infect. The people of this time have figured out that the only way to kill them is to destroy the orb cores with a special metal, the same metal Logan’s bones and claws are made of! Can Logan help this world and free them? Who are his new allies?

I could not stop reading from beginning to end! The art is gorgeous. I love the dark, emo, younger looking Logan the artist portrayed. The style of the characters gave me a Aeon Flux feel to it. While being both creepy, uncanny, but absolutely gorgeous, you can truly appreciate the aesthetic and world building of this comic.

If Wolverine is in it, I am going to want to read it. I love the title, I love the cover, I love Wolverine, sign me up!

The storyline KINDA made sense? There is time travel involved, so that always has the opportunity to go sideways. This was...maybe one of those times? It's never made clear HOW the future people knew about Wolverine and his skeleton, nor is it made clear what happened to Wolverine that he wasn't already present in the future and what happens TO the future now that Wolverine has gone there, finds out about the enemy and goes back to his/our time, with the enemy only a few decades away. Surely he can tell someone who can start preparations and once he knows the weakness of the enemy, he can deal with it before it even gets as bad as it did for them to call him to the future to begin with?

So yeah, timey-wimey handwave-ium, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Moving on.

Wolverine looks YOUNG in this one, way younger than I am used to seeing him. Not a bad thing, it kind of makes sense that with his healing factor he wouldn't look old, like ever.

Also, the artwork is GRITTY as all get out. Not a lot of pretty, but when it IS pretty, you notice it more. The body armor of the leader, the female characters, the present day, all pretty. The future world, the enemies, all gritty. Wolverine has some BAD@ss head shots (panels?) with his claws out and a snarl on his face, so the artwork makes sense and definitely matches the story.

I really enjoyed this one, but the time travel stuff didn't really work for me re: suspension of disbelief. This is one I highly recommend for Wolverine fans and for those who like a good story and don't mind time travel paradoxes.

3, I couldn't get over the time travel but LOVE Wolverine, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Wolverine gets pulled through time by Fusa to help save the human race from the Mandates. The mandates were an organism modified to clean up the environment who decided humans had to go. They are created by one mother and impossible to kill unless one particular device is destroyed. So Wolverine and a small group set out on a mission to take out the first Mandate. Plenty of fighting to show off Wolverine and let him shine. The setting reminded me of Kitty Pryde's time traveling adventures in the X-Men comics.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title.

A Special Thanks Goes to NetGalley and Viz Media for the opportunity to review this title.

Today’s review will be focusing on the man who is the best at what he does, but what he does best isn’t very nice. Wolverine: SNIKT! Is back once again, this five-issue series was originally published in 2003 in part of the short-lived imprint called Tsunami, which was an imprint aimed at Manga readers. Now, Viz Media announced last year, that it relicensed the series as a Deluxe Edition. Manga Creator Tsutomu Nihei penned this series, Nihei is known for his work on BLAME, Biomega, and Knights of Sidonia.

The premise of this story is set in modern-day New York, Wolverine is pulled into a ruined dimension that is trying to stop the destruction of humankind caused by a war waged by Robotic Organisms. Logan faces a battle between two fronts, the will to save the day and humanity, and not to become lost in the berserker rage that is deep inside of himself.

This isn’t Wolverine‘s first time in a predicament where he has to save the world in a bleak reality, in a way, it is reminiscent of Chris Claremont and John Bryne’s 1981 story arc from Uncanny X-Men Days of Future Past, both stories share a similar dystopian reality but have different protagonists and do share a similar type of foe, robotic creatures. Nihei has a good grasp of what kind of hero Wolverine can be, except for the premise, which falls flat. The plot can be paper-thin at times, and it feels like a response to The Matrix film franchise.

Regarding the script, once again. While I understand that it is a dystopian science fiction story, it relies on too much action and doesn’t build any memorable moments, nor offer a deeper exploration of Wolverine‘s involvement in a sentient apocalypse. This made the series feel rushed, lacking any emphasis on Wolverine’s interactions with Fusa or the Survivors.

As far as the artwork goes, the landscape is vast and detailed, and the Mandate is frightening. But Wolverine doesn’t translate well into the artist’s manga art form, at times left standing around and scowling in confusion. Wolverine’s action sequences are drawn well, but most of the characters are often wall-eyed.

One of those stars is solely for the robots.

The plot of this book is interesting enough but the artwork and pacing are so far off that this wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't get past staring into the cold, grey skin of every person in here. Also I hated the large chunks of text when one of the characters was explaining the history of the robots. Overall, this wasn't something that I was would recommend.

Oh, Wolverine. What can’t he do? Take mortal wounds that would fell a lesser man, survive in conditions that would cause the stoutest of spirits to fail, fight foes of the most titanic of stature; Wolverine has become one of the most famous and powerful members of the X-Men over the years and for good reason. His mutant healing factor combined with his adamantium skeleton makes him virtually indestructible and incredibly difficult to put down.

Wolverine has faced some truly varied and dangerous situations in his tenure as a mutant hero, but perhaps none as bizarre and dangerous as his adventure into a dystopian manga future. Yup, Wolverine did indeed venture outside of his own world into a manga and the result was less than stellar.

Released in 2003, Wolverine: Snikt! (by Tsutomu Nihei) is a five-issue miniseries that puts Wolverine into an anime hellscape. A future destroyed by an unstoppable enemy cries for help from the surly mutant and sends someone into the past to retrieve him. Different than his regular adventures with the X-Men, Wolverine works completely solo in this story, left only with his wits and experience to save not only himself, but the remnants of the human race.

RELATED Marvel's Wastelanders: Star-Lord Review
Wolverine’s Solo Manga Adventure Is Style Over Substance
Wolverine Snikt! Wolverine talks with Fusa.
Snikt! begins with a young girl approaching Wolverine as he walks alone in New York City. Nestled deep within a park and far from other seeing eyes, the young girl named Fusa calls Wolverine by his real name and tells him that she needs his help. Never one to shy away from helping someone, Wolverine asks what the trouble is only for Fusa to touch his hand, launching him into a blue teleportational vortex. When Wolverine comes to he finds himself in a blasted hellscape of a world and is quickly attacked by a monstrous beast.

Wolverine learns that the world had been destroyed by an uncontrollable mutant organism known as The Mandate. As the world crumbled and fell to ruin, the human survivors realized the only thing capable of destroying The Mandate was the adamantium found in Wolverine’s claws. The humans sent Fusa into the past to bring Wolverine to their time to help destroy The Mandate. Joining the final attack against The Mandate, Wolverine succeeds in destroying the core of The Mandate and thus saving the future. Wolverine returns back to his own time and continues on with his day in true Canucklehead fashion.

First and foremost, Nihei’s art is superb…in some ways. Landscapes are vast and detailed and The Mandate are detailed exquisitely. Wolverine, on the other hand, doesn’t translate too well to Nihei’s manga art style. Often being relegated to just standing around and scowling in confusion, many of Wolverine’s classic stances and poses aren’t utilized throughout the series, leaving him to standing around listlessly. Character faces are also hit or miss, with certain shots looking good with others leaving the characters to look hopelessly wall-eyed.

While the story itself is unique and engaging, dialogue is not one of Nihei’s strong suits. Characters generally speak in nothing more than exposition which offers very little characterization. Wolverine, being chronally displaced the entire story, asks short questions most of the story, rarely letting his trademark gruff charm shine through. The occasional “bub” is the most he gets, with auxiliary characters receiving even less. Snikt! becomes nothing more than a gallery of Nihei’s art with the occasional text box tossed in for good measure.

RELATED Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League Is Getting a Prequel Comic
Wolverine: Snikt! Is a Missed Manga Opportunity
Wolverine Snikt! Wolverine battles The Mandate.
What makes the weak dialogue worse is the lightning-fast pacing that plagues Snikt! As each issue is dedicated to Nihei’s panoramic shots and Mandate creatures it leaves little room for dialogue or narration. Issue #3 is one giant info dump that condenses the entire series’ plot into eight pages. The series rushes to a climax that’s full of action, but little else. What doesn’t help Snikt! are the questions that arise from the narrative that’s given. Why would Wolverine be so nonchalant about being forced into time travel against his will? Why would he help people that A) he doesn’t know and B) kidnapped him?

Even if Wolverine defeats The Mandate at that specific moment in time doesn’t that mean that The Mandate event still happens, thus causing the need to pull Wolverine from the past never disappearing which then means the world still ends up destroyed? Why doesn’t Wolverine decide to TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS instead of just walking away like it was just a regular Tuesday? It’s a shame, too, because Nihei definitely knows how to create monsters and atmosphere in his work, only at the cost of a cohesive plot.

A Similar Look and Feel
If the artwork and story of Snikt! seem familiar it’s because Nihei would go on to create his own manga series, Biomega, in 2004. Snikt! and Biomega share a massive amount of similarities: mutant monsters have destroyed the world, the future is grim and dark, and the narrative goes completely off the rails. Monster design, destroyed cityscapes, and solo heroes with little dialogue all return in Biomega which makes Snikt! feel like it was just practice for Nihei to get his ideas in order for Biomega.

Wolverine: Snikt! is an interesting idea executed poorly. While the premise of putting Wolverine into a gritty sci fi manga should be a surefire hit, Wolverine himself takes a major backseat to Nihei’s art. For Snikt! to have worked there needed to be a greater emphasis on Wolverine’s interactions with Fusa and the survivors and a deeper exploration of Wolverine’s involvement with fighting a sentient apocalypse. If the series had been twelve issues instead of eight that gave greater attention to its characters as it did its art, it could have been far better. As it stands, Wolverine: Snikt! is a sci fi manga that just so happens to feature Wolverine. It’s certainly not the worst Wolverine story you’ll ever read, but it’s definitely far from the best.

I am always here for a new take on a classic. As Logan would say, “This ain’t your normal Wolverine Bub.” Still, it is a love letter to that guy. Thanks for the ARC from Net Galley

I am not a huge fan of X-Men but Nihei has brought me over to the dark side! I fell in love with the story and will be a lifelong fan, cannot wait for the next installment!

Alone in a barren wasteland, X-men's Wolverine finds himself on the brink of collapsing. When a girl suddenly shows up and tells him that he is humanity's last hope. Finding himself transported into the future, where parasitic robots have laid waste to the humans, Wolverine is the only one who can fight back. With his adamantium bones, he might be capable of taking down these robot nightmares and saving what remains of the human race.

I have to say I am not a huge fan of the sketchy artwork. The scratchy unfinished look made it hard to tell who was the hero and who was the villain. The storyline was muddled and moving along at too fast of a clip. I couldn't find myself caring for any of the characters or what might happen to them. I'd call this one a miss.

I truly enjoyed the unique take on Wolverine. The art is what really drew me in initially, but the story is also incredibly worthwhile.

Immersive and beautifully rendered. The story provides you just enough information and guiderails to let the incredible art take over to convey the urgency and horror of the situation. Wolverine is a favorite, though his presence here is specifically due to the existence of adamantium in his body, his nonchalance is what makes this time-travel to a new plague version of the world believable. Despite a few plot holes it still captivated me so much I didn't want it to end. Every page was evoked emotion and was so vividly detailed I haven't encountered graphic novel artwork like that in a long time. Immediate purchase and recommendation for high school libraries.

Tsutomu Nihei's 2004 book is updated here as a deluxe edition with some additional art in the end and an introduction. The art here is muddy and at times hard to register everything that is happening. The story is uninspired and I was unfamiliar with it before, now that I've read it I imagine a younger audience will be the best bet for someone who would enjoy it. The whole story is written around the idea of Wolverine being full of Adamantium and there are more interesting stories to be told.

Wolverine: Snikt! follows Wolverine after he is transported to a post-apocalyptic world over run with robots. The time-traveler who brought him there believes him and his adamantium claws are the only way to save their planet. While there was plenty of fighting, the drama wasn't there, because little was done to develop the characters and create the stakes for their safety.

I read an advance of trade release planned for 6/13/23 on Netgalley. However, it was originally released in 2004. The graphic novel world has developed a lot in the past 20 years, and I don't think this story will satisfy many modern readers. Libraries with large collections and big budgets could purchase this if superhero stories are popular. But for other libraries, funds would be better spent on modern releases.

The plot of "Wolverine: Snikt!" is pretty straightforward. It's full of Wolverine being the best at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice---unless it could lead to the salvation of humans in an alternate timeline, as it so happens in this book. The art is nice, and I appreciate that they included pages in the original black and white. Unfortunately seeing the original black and white pages just confirms what I thought when I first started reading the book: the book's coloring looks like something out of the mid-90s debut of digital coloring. I wish the volume was published in black and white.