Editor's Note: Wolverine: Switchback arrives in stores tomorrow, January 7.

Whodda thunk dat der Wolverine would be such a gash darn righteous guy? Wolverine: Switchback is a issue about equilibrium, justice, and just plain gettin' even with the bad guy who thinks he can hide behind a veil of "authority."

Clark and Pastoras do an excellent job of setting up everything surrounding this story. From the believable accents of the characters -- which far too many writers overdo -- to painting a landscape that is both rugged and tranquil -- they accomplish a very difficult balance.

The true star of this story is the character design, down to every last person that appears on the page. Clark paints in words the humdrum ignorance this town has for what goes on around it. Each character has a purpose in the movement of the story, whether they be a catalyst for what's to come on the next page or to help give the reader a bit of insight into the mechanics of the town. No dialogue is used as filler; every line fulfills a specific and calculated purpose. The story maintains a lot of power and movement by not becoming over complicated. Motive is not really an issue in this comic, and I found that to be rather refreshing. We are given the freedom to accept that our antagonist does horrible things because he can and because he wants to.

It seems to me that Clark realized that if he insisted on delving into overly complicated motives and purpose behind villainous actions, the story would suffer for it. Instead he allows the readers to paint the villain however they see fit. As a reader, I really enjoy when writers allows whoever is reading their story to be able to freely interpret certain sections of it. I find that too often a writer feels compelled to explain everything, and this has led some readers to become rather lazy about entrenching themselves within any given story. By leaving this open, Clark forces the reader to imagine and come to whatever understanding with the characters they see fit.

The art of this issue could not be more appropriate. As I stated earlier, it provides a unique balance between ruggedness and tranquility. The landscape is vast and majestic, but the characters are gritty and sometimes out of focus. Now, out of focus is not usually a good thing in my book, but in this issue it works. It adds a new dimension to the story by making the characters as murky as all the underpinnings of this rural town. I really like the realism that Pastoras goes for in his depiction of Logan. No one in this story is abnormally muscular or large and it keeps the characters believable. To digress a moment, there is a panel where Logan stands in front of a very large man who looks enormous next to Logan. What one must remember (so as not to seem as though there is a blatant contradiction to my previous comment) is that Logan is five foot three inches tall -- a man of 6'1" or 6'2" will clearly look monstrous next to him, but this does not make the character abnormally large.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. The choice to use a completely black page is always a tricky one and can sometimes make the reader feel as though there was a foul up at the printer, but the way it's used in this issue is ideal. The full, silent, black page, not only forces the reader to take a moment to pause and reflect on what has happened up to that point in the story, it also works to disorient the reader. Why is this page here? What just happened? Is that it? Is it over? These questions build suspense in the reader, even if just for a second. This tactic, when used effectively, pops the readers back into reality when they turn the page, making the immediate scene that much more dramatic.

All-in-all, I have been very happy with Marvel's choices on their Wolverine one-shots, and I would definitely recommend that you pick up a copy of Wolverine: Switchback on Wednesday when you head over to your local comic shop.

(This issue also contains an 8-page Wolverine storyline entitled Wolverine: Punching Bag -- written by Gregg Hurwitz with art by Juan Doe -- as well as a sneak peak at Agents of Atlas -- written by Jeff Parker with pencils by Carlo Pagulayan, inks by Jason Paz, and colors by Jana Schirmer -- scheduled for a February 4th release.)

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