Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1 Breakdown

Here's a (relatively) quick look at what you'll be getting if you decide to pick up this massive 1064 page beast. And the writer/artist/contributor pages are just ridiculous, everyone's had a hand at voicing or drawing this guy, so I'm going to omit most of that for now and save it for the actual review. Anyway, here's the stories you'll be getting, in order (original publication date in parentheses):

-"Weapon X" by Barry Windsor-Smith from Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991) ... yes, that's right, all 13 of those issues were published in 1991, March to September to be exact.

-Incredible Hulk #180-182, otherwise known as Wolverine's first appearance (1974)

-"At the Sign of the Lion" from Marvel Treasury Edition #26 (1980)

-"The Hunter" from Marvel Comics HC (1987)

-Wolverine #1-4 by Claremont and Miller, Wolverine's first solo miniseries (1982)

-Uncanny X-Men #172-173, basically a two issue follow up to the miniseries (1983)

-Kitty Pryde & Wolverine #1-6 (1984-85)

-"Tess-One" from Captain America Annual #8 (1986)

-"High Tide" from Spider-Man Versus Wolverine (1987)

-"Vicious Circle" from Incredible Hulk #340 (1988)

-"Save the Tiger" from Marvel Comics Presents #1-10 (1988-89)

-"Wolverine" from Marvel Age Annual #4 (1988)

-Wolverine #1-10 (1988-89) I don't know if this is one big storyline or several small ones, but it's the first ten issues of Wolverine's first ongoing series.

-Punisher War Journal #6-7 (1989)

And that's it for issues. I'm not familiar with all of these stories, but as far as I can tell, these appear to be in chronological order for the character of Wolverine, rather than by publication date. As in, "Weapon X" happens before Wolverine's first appearance in Incredible Hulk which happens before the Claremont/Miller miniseries, etc. As far as extra's go, we've got:

-Introductions to "Weapon X," Best of Wolverine HC, Wolverine, and Kitty Pryde & Wolverine by Larry Hama, Chris Claremont, Claremont again, and Al Milgrom respectively interspersed with the stories.

-Sketches and the covers to the various trade paperbacks that the above stories have been reprinted in.

-The pages from Wolverine #166 and cover of #167 that were drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith that were flashbacks to Wolverine's time in Weapon X.

-An essay on the evolution and development of the character from Peter Sanderson.

Now, if you're like me, and you collect all the Marvel Premiere Classics, you already have at least three of these stories: "Weapon X," the Claremont/Miller miniseries, and Kitty Pryde & Wolverine, which is a pretty big chunk of this book, (422 pages to be exact, or roughly 40% of it) so you may want to consider passing on this one... Don't worry, I knew this before I bought it. I bought it anyway. Omnibuses are my kryptonite.

Anyway, this thing is basically a comprehensive "Wolverine in the '80's" bible. And I have a feeling that, with the movie coming out shortly, this may sell out relatively quickly. I can't say how good the stories that aren't in those Marvel Premiere Classics are, but those three stories are all very good. "Weapon X" is excellent, the two miniseries are both solid, and the cost of those three hardcovers will run you $60 anyway. I'd say that if you're even slightly interested in the character or in getting this book, it's probably a good idea to pick it up sooner rather than later. Marvel doesn't seem to like to do second prints of this stuff, and the resale value of these things on eBay is just ridiculous.