Wolverineis one of Marvel’s top characters, but according to iconicG.I. Joewriter Larry Hama, sales on his solo book were once so low that it was in danger of being canceled. TheJoescribe was then given the task of taking over the title, turning sales around until it was one of Marvel’s top-selling titles.
Appearing at the “Wolverine: 50-Year Anniversary” panel at Dragon Con 2024, Larry Hama explained how he got the job writingWolverine. “I was having trouble getting writing work at Marvel at the time,” Hama said, “I had thenumber one book inG.I. Joe…but they said. ‘G.I. Joe’s a fluke.’”
Amazingly, Marvel’s brass at the time might have been wrongabout Hama’sG.I.Joe, but they were right to give him the opportunity to writeWolverine,which not only solidified the author’s reputation as a comics maestro, but it salvaged theX-franchise’s most iconic character from an ignominious fate.
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Hama Spoke At DragonCon 2024
Larry Hama widened the scope ofWolverinewhen he took over, immediately sending the character around the world and exploring previously untouched areas of his mysterious past.
According to Hama, he got the book mainly because the sales figures had dropped off for Logan’s solo title:
Wolverine was on the verge of being canceled – the numbers were so low – so I guess they figured, ‘Well, Hama couldn’t hurt it any more (than it’s already doing).
Hama admitted to not really knowing who Wolverine was at the time, saying:
“I wasn’t super-aware of the character until they offered me the book.”
Larry Hama then read all of Wolverine’s comic appearances up to that point, even going so far as taking several Marvel interns out to lunch in order ask them what they liked about the character, as a form of what was essentially “market research.” Subsequently Larry Hama’s first issue,Wolverine#31 – which also brought along the previousX-Menart team of Marc Silvestri and Dan Green– was the start of a turnaround for the character.
According to Hama,:
They let me write(Wolverine), and they left me alone. And, a year-and-a-half later, it was, like, the number two selling book in the country.
At the time, the soloWolverineseries had gone through several creative teams following the departure oforiginal writer Chris Claremont, leaving the book with something of an identity crisis. Until Hama took over, Marvel’sWolverinebook mainly focused onLogan’s adventures as Patch in Madripoor, leaving it mostly separate from the events of the otherX-titles. Larry Hamawidened the scope ofWolverinewhen he took over, immediately sending the character around the world and exploring previously untouched areas of his mysterious past.
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Larry Hama would go on to writeWolverinefrom 1990 to 1997, in what turned out to be one of the longest continguous runs any writer has ever had with the character. Some of Hama’s more notable contributions includeWolverine’s android double Albertand companion Elsie Dee, created byX-Menvillain Donald Pierce to kill Wolverine once and for all. Hama also expanded onBarry Windsor-Smith’s earlier “Weapon X” storyline, delving deeper into Logan’s past and which memories were real and which were implanted. Hama got a lot of story mileage out of the idea that Weapon X had implanted false memories in Logan’s mind in their brutal attempts to turn him into the ultimate killing machine.
Bolstered bythe mega-success of theX-Mentitlesin the early nineties and with a superstar artist in Marc Silvestri,Wolverinequickly shot back to the top of the sales charts. Hama contributes much of this success to the idea that he was left alone to do whatever he wanted with the book early on, which gave the creative team a freedom that would otherwise be lacking on a more successful title. That’s largely how Hama builtG.I. Joeinto the franchise it is today: no one else at Marvel wanted to write a toy tie-in, so Hama used the opportunity to tell the stories he most wanted to tell.
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The longtimeG.I. Joewriter left his mark on the character, as Larry Hama broughtWolverinefrom the brink of cancelation to one of Marvel’s top-selling titles.
Having worked onG.I. Joefor nearly eight years at the time he took overWolverine, Hama certainly had the experience of juggling several different ideas to make them work as one story. As a property licensed from Hasbro,G.I. Joewas a special case, as new toys and characters would be introduced periodically and Hama would have to find a way to work them into the story. It proved to be good training for his work onWolverine, as Hama would also have to work within theX-Offices and incorporate other creators’ stories and ideas into his own work.
Most famously, Hama had to incorporate the character’s loss of his adamantium skeleton, and thecontroversial decision to reveal Wolverine had bone claws, into his run.
It is certainly amazing to think that sales got so low onWolverinethat Marvel was almost ready to cancel the title,but fortunately Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri turned the ship around for the most prominent X-Man. It’s a stark reminder that these characters are only as good as the creators telling their stories, as all that matters is finding the right story ortake on any given character. The longtimeG.I. Joewriter left his mark on the character, as Larry Hama broughtWolverinefrom the brink of cancelation to one of Marvel’s top-selling titles.
Source: Larry Hama, “Wolverine: 50-Year Anniversary,” Dragon Con 2024
Wolverine
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men’s wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He’s played in Fox and Marvel’s movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
