Since I’m oddly fascinated by these things, I found myself wondering how Marvel got to 300 issues of Wolverine, which they’re commemorating in January with an issue by the Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine creative team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Adam Kubert. Wolverine has starred in a lot of different solo series over the year, sometimes (like right now) multiple books at once., so there are many different methodologies that could be at work here. But here’s my best guess:
- 189 issues of the original series. (And Larry Hama wrote the majority of them.)
- 74 issues of the second series that started in 2003. It actually lasted to issue #90, but starred Daken as of #75 and was rechristened “Dark Wolverine,” so that’s probably out of play.
- 16 issues of Wolverine: Weapon X. Some might think to exclude this since it was technically an ancillary title at the time, but it was written by Aaron and during the period that the main book starred Daken, so let’s count it.
- 20 issues of the current volume of Wolverine, which hits #20 in December.
That all adds up to — 299, making January’s issue #300. Now, that discounts things like 1997′s Minus One issue and last year’s Wolverine #900 (fair enough), satellite books like Wolverine: Origins and Wolverine: The Best There Is (makes sense) and the original Chris Claremont/Frank Miller four-issue miniseries (mildly surprising, though consistent with usual renumbering logic), but it does effectively represent the collective total of the main, ongoing solo book starring Wolverine for the past couple of decades. Congrats Wolvie, the math works!
October 27th, 2011 at 2:57 am
Now if you can work out how we got to Incredible Hulk #600 or Ultimate Spider-Man #150 without including irregularly numbered issues, I’ll nominate you for the Nobel Prize for Mathematics!
And you probably saw this anyway, but the also numbers work if you count the Dark Wolverine issues of the second series instead of Wolverien Weapon X. Just to keep the purists happy
October 27th, 2011 at 5:30 am
I think they include the OLD MAN LOGAN SPECIAL that ended the saga, and you get to 300
October 27th, 2011 at 5:50 am
It might be a little off-topic, but the pic above really shows Adam Kubert is still one of the best Wolverine artists out there.
October 27th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Good work, Albert!
Next you need to figure out how Fantastic Four can go from issue #588 to #600. And you can’t count issues #1 – 11 of FF, because that title is continuing on. Good luck!
October 27th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Thomas – the special would actually push them to 301.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Brian – good call! Though the War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D. issues of Iron Man didn’t count when they got Iron Man up to #500…
October 27th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Well, I’m glad – I think? – that somebody did this, because I wasn’t sure if there was a way to get the numbers to add up.
As for the math, Marvel uses whatever bizarre math they want, and it changes on a whim.
Just remember, kids, every time Marvel renumbers a book a puppy gets run over by a truck.
October 27th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@ Albert. Don’t get me started on Iron Man #500 and the War Machine issues
They were still Iron Man: Director of SHIELD in the small print, so I think Marvel should have been included all of that series or only up to the point that the Fraction/Larocca book started.
I rationalise it by way of the last arc on DoS being completed before Fraction’s first arc, and therefore being a story set before his series started.
Yes, I’m well aware I need to get out more. Why do you ask?
PS I think your series counts for Wolverine works better than using the Dark Wolverine issues. As you say Weapon X was basically the ongoing Wolverine book anyway.
October 28th, 2011 at 1:42 am
I second the Kubert motion. I found issue #92 (I believe it was) in my collection that features an insane fight between Wolverine and Sabertooth that ends in one of the coolest cliffhangers EVER! It’s a cliffhanger because that’s when Age of the Apocalypse takes over for four months.
October 28th, 2011 at 7:41 am
I remember writing and drawing my own Woverine comic when I was 10 yrs old. He fought the Hulk. The art was pretty bad, but it was the best my ten year old talents could do. I think Marvel may be counting it as canon to get the numbers up to 400 issues sometime in the future.
Two questions:
1. When will this silly practice end?
2. Is there anyone out there collecting comics that really thinks this hodgepodge of collecting various limited series and cancelled series to make a large number matters? I really want to understand the need to do this – Marvel must think there’s someone out there that thinks this is a wonderful idea. Are you out there?
October 28th, 2011 at 7:53 am
I’m going to sound like an old man complaining and whining but Marvel’s numbering “system” is so baffling to me that it’s actually a turn-off to reading their stuff. It’s not rocket science but it does make searching for back issues a lot more complicated, as you’re never entirely sure which series any given issue belonged to, and it’s pretty odd that a number 37 would chronologically fall and be published AFTER a number 254. I can’t imagine it helps new readers find digging into Marvel’s enormous back-library very appealing but Marvel doesn’t seem to care as much about new readers as about servicing the exiting direct market anyway.
October 28th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
He’s Canadian and…….an immortal samurai with a son……a bisexual son! THATS THE TICKET
October 30th, 2011 at 3:01 am
Wonder if DC will do this so they can snag issue 1000 for Action
October 31st, 2011 at 3:24 am
@Alex
Wolverine #92! Happy days. Not only is it an amazing fight scene, it was my first Wolverine comic too.
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July 30th, 2012 at 8:40 am
aaa Wolverine is my favorite comic book hero !