Plot: Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, and Paul Jenkins
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Andy Kubert
Digital Painting: Richard Isanove
Letters: John Roshell & Wes Abbott, Oscar Gongorra and Saida Temofonte
Editors: Mike Marts and Mike Raicht

Origin #1 Part One: The Hill
23 pages + cover • October 2001

Twelve-year old Rose is brough to the Howlett Estate to begin her life as a servant to the MasterJohn Howlett, the wealthiest man in the province. She is to help look after John Howlett's son, the sicklyJames. Mister Kenneth, Rose's transport, warns her that all is not right with the family- the motherlives in exile inside her own home, a victim of cracking up after the strange, unknown death of her oldestson, leaving James an only child.

She meets "Dog", the nickname of the son of gardener Mr. Logan, a scrappy young boy who plays prankson her. She takes to James quite well, and reads to him and cares for him as a sort of personal nurse/companion, and she and James and Dog make for good playmates. The Old Man Howlett proves to be an obstacleto peace and tranquility, constantly railing against his son John about a variety of things: raising James tobe a wimp, treating the servant help like equals. Tension is raised when Dog gets into trouble aroundthe Howlett estate. When he is turned over to his father, Mr. Logan beats him viciously with his belt.

Origin #2 Part Two: Inner Child
22 pages + cover • November 2001

Rose accidentally walks into Mrs. Elizabeth's chamber and sees her dressing, with huge claw-like scarscrossing her back. Mrs. Hopkins, the maid, tells her to never speak of what she has seen. She goes downstairs, confused as to what she's seen, and Dog confronts her and tries to force himself on her. James sees thisand tells his father. John Howlett tells Mr. Logan to keep Dog from threatening others on his property.Later, after a presumed lashing from his father, Dog searches out James and wrestles him to the ground, then takes a knife to James' dog and kills it.

In the resultant furor, Mr. Logan and Dog are kicked off the Howlett estate premises for good. Logan fliesinto an absolute rage, and later, plans revenge along with his son. Rose is chatting with Mr. Kennethabout the tumult, when Logan delivers a lethal headbutt to Mr. Kenneth's head with his rifle. They grab Rose and take her with them upstairs, where Logan heads straight to the chamber of Elizabeth Howlett. Mrs. Howlettis shocked to see Logan, and refers to him by his first name- Thomas. Logan tells her he is taking herwith him, away from the estate. But then, John Howlett walks in, and a fight breaks out. Logan shootsJohn Howlett in the head, killing him, and all reality caves in. Before Logan can kill James, Rose knocksthe rifle away, and then James lashes out swiftly against Dog and then Logan. Both double over in severepain, blood dripping from Dog's face and Logan's chest.

Young James Howlett cries out in pain, bony claws extending from out of his wrists.

Origin #3 Part Three: The Beast Within
23 pages + cover • January 2002

James screams in pain. Elizabeth Howlett screams "Not again, not you!" in a dazed state, then lashes outat her son James as a monster. James runs away and Rose chases after him. Elizabeth holds ThomasLogan in her arms as he lies dead. As Dog sits with claw marks visibly scarring his face, Elizabeth picksup the rifle and kills herself with a shot to the head. Rose finds James in the courtyard and takes him to a barnwhere she minds over his health. The young boy seems to be in an amnesiac state, not rememberwhat just happened.

John Howlett's father convenes on the scene, trying to figure out what has happened to his son, John. Dog tells him that Rose was the one who committed the carnage. Later, when Rose tries to find a warm placeto go with James, she is turned away by her aunt, who tells her that the law is looking for her as themurderer of the Howletts. With no choice but to seek refuge at the estate, they come across the Old ManHowlett. She tells him she had nothing to do with the murders; that it was Logan's doing. He takes herinside and gives her a handful of cash and tells her to take James far, far away from the estate. He tellsher that James is not his grandson, implying that John Howlett is not James' father; based on the relationshipbetween Elizabeth and Logan, it seems clear that he is the father of James.

Rose takes James to a train and they cross into British Columbia, finding refuge in a stone quarry where shegains employ. The foreman of the camp, named Smitty, demands to know the name of the youngboy who's hands reveal he has not done a lick of work in his life. Trying to register a name to help insurethe law from Alberta does not find him, she offers up the name "Logan."

Origin #4 Part Four: Heaven And Hell
28 pages + cover • February 2002

James, now referred to as "Logan" by all who know him, gets used to life working the stone quarry. Heis picked on by the massive Cookie Malone, a bully who resents the young Logan. He and Rose adaptto life in the wilderness, while Logan tries to come to terms with his powers that lurk within, the knowledge of which lives in his subconcious mind. Near the end of the winter, there is a major altercation between Cookie and Logan, in which the boy is beaten fiercely and only saved by the interventionof Smitty, who warns Logan he must begin to stand up for himself.

As it warms, Rose is bathing in a nearby pond when Logan comes near, stealthily hunting a wild deer.He shocks Rose by launching a spear at it, impaling it through the neck and killing it. She asks him whyhe did that, and he chalks it up to some innate hunting urge. Rose spends much of her free time composingthe days of their lives in her diary, hoping that one day she will share Logan's past secrets with him, so that he will understand what really happened when he was a child- the facts that he has pushed deepinto his subconscious. After another showdown with Cookie, Smitty once again saves Logan. This time,Logan's hands begin to extrude their claws, and he goes running in to the woods to avoid revealinghis deformity. Once in the woods, he is surrounded by a pack of wolves. He crouches in an animal-likeposture and fully extends his claws, ready to pounce on the advancing wolf, but then collapses in a heap.Instead of attacking, the wolf stands over Logan and bays at the moon in sympathy.

Origin #5 Part Five: Revelation
25 pages + cover • May 2002

Logan races through the woods with the pack of wolves, glorying in his animal instincts. Back at the camp,Rose and Smitty bond together sharing books of poetry. When Logan arrives, Smitty tells him he's gota new job for him at the camp- setting sticks of dynamite in the recesses. The last fellow blew his handoff, and he thinks Logan would be particularly adept at the job. Later, Cookie tries to pick a fight withLogan, but this time, none of his friends support him; instead, they defer to the growing popularityand respect found for the young man. Cookie builds up even more resentment and hate for Logan, andgoes into the munitions shed and snaps the TNT fuses down to size, so Logan won't notice they'vebeen shortened.

As expected, an explosion occurs at the camp stone shaft. Dynamite explodes and kills several miners,while Logan is found buried alive. Everyone is amazed at the miracle. As a token of affection, Smitty gives Logan a bookhe acquired from his days as a seaman, while in Japan, a book about the samurai fighters. Logan latervisits Cookie, who he knows did him in with the TNT, and beats the living daylights out of him. On hisreturn to his cabin, he sees Smitty and Rose sharing a romantic embrace. In a fury, he heads out intothe woods and gets into a fight with a predatory wolf. He extends his claws and fights back. The rest of the wolves stand around him in allegiance.

Back at the Howlett Estate, Old Man Howlett is bedridden with illness, and is instructing Dog to go out and find his grandson James.He tells Dog where they were last seen heading- to British Columbia. Dog stands over his bed, agreeingto track James and Rose down to the ends of the Earth if need be, while clawmark scars stand outacross his face.

Origin #6 Part Six: Dust To Dust
25 pages + cover • July 2002

Dog finds a mountain man with knowledge of who he is looking for. Once he gets the scoop on Roseand James, he kills the man and makes his way to the stone quarry camp. Rose tells Logan that sheand Smitty are going to travel to the coast and start a new life together, and they want him to come withthem. Logan is furious, finally sharing with the red-headed girl how much he feels for her. Rose doesnot feel the same and says she is going with Smitty regardless. As for Smitty, he is trying to pull togetherthe money for their journey away from the camp. The only way he can see clear to doing that is to enter a local cage match, pitting his brawn against other locals for a $200 cash prize.

Rose warns Smitty not to fight Logan, for he has a dark side he knows nothing about. Smitty won't hearof it, saying he doesn't want to hurt Logan, but nothing will stop him from getting the money to takethem away. The fights progress: Logan beats up Cookie, and Smitty makes it through the rounds to the finals.The crowd loves Logan, giving him the nickname "Wolverine." Logan gets the better of Smitty, but in theend, surrenders to him taking a dive. He tells Smitty that he still loves Rose, but he won't stand in theirway, and that Smitty had better take care of her. As Smitty goes to rejoin Rose, Dog comes out of nowhere, attacking Logan. As they fight, Dog starts spilling all the secrets of his past life as James Howlett. At first, Logan doesn't understand, but then, the facts start making more and more sense. His memoriesflood back, and as he remembers that Dog was responsible for the death of his father, he retracts hisclaws and lifts them up to apply a lethal blow to his former friend. Rose races towards him to stop Logan, but she trips and falls and impales herself on his claws. She is dead.

In mortal agony, Logan takes to the woods. Smitty follows, also in torturous grief, wandering incessantlyin search of Logan. As both men descend into their own pathos, Cookie is back in Rose's cabin, stealingher valuables. He comes across her diary, which records every moment of James' life from the HowellEstate, to the maturation of his strange powers, to his new life as Logan. He tosses it aside into the fireand it burns into ashes.

-- synopsis and panel image by Gormuu