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Marvel Age Annual # 4 page 1 art by John Buscema & Klaus Janson (1988) - Title Page / 1st new suit / Wolverine / Madripoor

Owner: George H
Artists: John Buscema (Penciller) , Klaus Janson (Inker)

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Published page (June 21, 1988)

Wolverine (vol 2) # 1 cover (July 12, 1988)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Marvel Age Annual # 4 page 1 art by John Buscema & Klaus Janson (1988) - Title Page / 1st new suit / Wolverine / Madripoor
Artist:	John Buscema (Penciller)
Artist:	Klaus Janson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Title Page
Views:	958
Likes on CAF:	33 34
Added to Site:	4/23/2025

Description

Marvel Age Annual # 4 page 1 title page
Art by John Buscema & Klaus Janson
Written by Chris Claremont
Marvel Comics - June 21, 1988

This is a big one for me and I'll start by saying thank you to James S and Fisch Benz for making this one happen for me. The Buscema/Claremont run on Wolverine holds a lot of nostalgia and I'm elated to be able to own this page from the 5 page story that was done to tease and promote the Wolverine (Vol 2) issue 1 that came out just a few weeks after.

I consider this one a GRAIL piece as it's a piece of Wolverine history where we see Wolverine in his new black costume for the first time. At this point the world thought the X-men were dead and Logan was incognito in a new place called Madripoor. During the day he was going by the name Patch and when the time called he was rocking this all black suit with the red belt and face paint. It was the first time he had completely broken away from the X-men looks (we did get the fang costume for a couple issues), which would lead to an extended look at Wolverine as a standalone character and a whole new world of story and characters.

For me this suit represents Wolverine stepping out as a standalone character without the X-men. The Buscema/Claremont run (along with Jim Lee's X-men) was my introduction to Wolverine. The black costume was famously shown on the Wolverine (vol 2) #1 cover/posters/etc, and popped up in "Save the Tyger" story in Marvel Comics Presents issue 8 a few weeks after. I'm transported back when I look at this one.

Buscema was coming off of the Fantastic Four books and was a given the new Wolverine book, which was a character he new little about. It's funny to read that he was hesitant to take the gig since Buscema said, "I didn't really know what kind of character it was." Luckily he liked the plots from Claremont and it was an opportunity to create in a new locale (Madripoor) with "slam bang" adventure that made it an interesting gig. It was something new for Buscema and I think that worked well because this was something new for Wolverine. Claremont described this new era in the character's story, with Wolverine in Madripoor, as "Wolverine unleashed" without the X-men.

"We have a different costume, a black suit, and he doesn't have a hood but he paints his faice in sort of a mask. Basically he's all in black so he sort of gets lost in the shadows." - Buscema, Comics Interview issue #62

It was also really exciting to see the Wolverine (vol 2) #1 cover (Sep 2024) and #1 splash page (Apr 2024) sell at HA.com with this suit. I feel lucky to be able to add this Marvel Age Annual page to my Wolverine collection.

Update June 22, 2025: Chris Claremont signed the page at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC!

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About the Owner

	George H ( 6 ) Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2009
Last Login:	January 2026
Ebay Id:	thedigitalgeorge
Country:	UNITED STATES
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