It's been years since Wolverine had an ongoing series that actually felt like an ongoing, with his main title being reduced to a "series of miniseries" long before Daken replaced him entirely as the lead character. It's good, then, to see Aaron finally giving Logan his own corner of the Marvel Universe again, if only by turning Melita, the reporter introduced in #1, into a proper supporting character and love interest.

Admittedly, things rarely go well for Wolverine's love interests, but then that's one of the central points of this issue, which has him chatting to the various women in his life and staunchly trying to ignore the fact that he now has a "girlfriend" again. It's a great issue, made so by the kind of expert use of continuity than enhances, rather than distracts from a story.

The issue is a done-in-one, and as such the scenes flit back and forth with a satisfying pace. Characters might appear only for a page or two, but Aaron's note-perfect treatment -- Jubilee as the talkative, ego-deflating daughter-figure, Rogue as a down-to-Earth friend and colleague -- means you're left satisfied by such a short appearance. CP Smith's artwork is itself a major draw, concentrating on the same kind of moody visuals that made his "noir" series look so great, but applying them to the "real" Wolverine.

It's Frost's brief appearance that makes the issue, though, projecting an air of arrogance and dismissiveness that should immediately indicate to Melita how she really fits into Logan's life. Indeed, if any part of this issue falls flat, it's Melita herself, who demonstrates nothing approaching a personality -- or, at least, nothing as strong as the other supporting characters Aaron brings in. Perhaps that was intentional, but it's hard to see why that would be. The issue's twist suggests she's going to wind up exactly the same was as some of Logan's former girlfriends, but in that case, surely Aaron should be taking the Joss Whedon approach and making us care more for the character, not less.

Even so, it's an enjoyable issue over all, and perhaps it actually becomes more so when taken in isolation. It's the kind of introspective Wolverine story we see far too little of, and the kind that you can return to again and again. If you're a fan of Wolverine as a character, rather than a pure killing machine, it's undoubtedly a must-buy.