For the past few months, Marvel has been releasing Red Band editions of their comics, adults-only versions polybagged and sent only to comic book shops. Those include every issue of Blood Hunt, Werewolf by Night, and now Wolverine: Revenge, the new five-issue miniseries by Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo. Given the regular edition of Wolverine: Revenge #1 was a grand guignol, I was curious to see what the differences were between the regular version and the Red Band version. The answer? Not as many as you might think… But they’re still pretty gross.
Past this point, I’m going to get into spoilers for the comic, both versions. But if you’re curious about the differences — and whether purchasing the Red Band edition in addition to or instead of the regular version, is worth it — read on.
The first difference? The text page and title pages at the beginning of the issue are in red and white in the Red Band edition — not black and white. Not too shocking, but it is a shake-up from Hickman’s favorite monochrome color scheme. What’s next? No circles?
Anyway, the first art shake-up is on Page 9, when Wolverine fights a dinosaur in the Savage Land. The first two panels and the last panel on the page are the same in both versions, and the dialogue stays constant. However, in the middle, the Red Band shows Wolverine getting covered in dino-intestines. There’s also a very cool silhouette panel of Wolverine attacking the dino, with its guts pouring out, that would look pretty sweet as a car decal.
The next change comes on page 22. In the regular edition, once Wolverine is confronted by Sabretooth, Omega Red, and Deadpool in the snowy wilderness, there’s a dialogue box in the lower right corner that reads, “The boss wants a word with you before we shut your eyes for good.” In the Red Band, that dialogue box isn’t there on the page — which is surprising, until you turn the page to reveal a full-page splash of Wolverine fighting the trio, with Sabretooth saying the dialogue straight to Logan’s face.
Now, a little on something that is not changed… In the issue, the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants implants bombs in the chests of Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Wolverine. Deadpool then proceeds to blow all of them up. I fully expected a more gruesome rendition of this — but nope! Those pages are exactly the same in both editions.
However, the aftermath of Logan getting “killed” is different. Everything is the same until halfway through the final page in the regular edition, after the Brotherhood leaves the room. There, it looks like Wolverine regenerates from a pile of ash, with his bones and muscles reknitting themselves, ending in a close-up of a berserker Wolverine, claws out. In the Red Band edition, that process gets (no pun intended) fleshed out. We have a panel of Wolverine’s bloody mess of a skull, skin growing on his hand, then knee, then back, then a similar — but gorier panel of a furious Wolverine in close-up, behind his extended claws.
The big difference is the final page, which is a full-page splash of Wolverine, skin mostly off, screaming in rage. It’s all extremely Frank Miller-esque, even more than Greg Capullo-esque. And that’s how the issue ends!
So, is the Red Band edition worth picking up? It’s the same story, with no changes which is nice (versus, say, the incongruous killing of Doctor Strange in Blood Hunt #1). Ultimately, it depends on how much you’re into Greg Capullo’s art. You get two bonus splash pages in the Red Band that would both work as posters — particularly that final image is pretty killer. And as mentioned, I did like that silhouette panel a lot. However, the Red Band is a dollar more, which is — given you’re only getting two extra pages — relatively a lot of money. I’m glad I bought it because I just got a whole article out of it! That will not be true of most of you, I’m guessing. And as is, the regular edition is already pretty gruesome.
If you’re a Greg Capullo fan? It’s a no-brainer to pick up the Red Band. If you’re a more casual fan curious about the story? Stick with the regular edition. Otherwise, you might be driven to some serious revenge.
