Wolverine: Big In Japan

Wolverine: Clint Eastwood with Claws from the first issue's classic cover. 

I don't think there's any debate that Wolverine is the most popular and recognized member of the gang of mutants known as the X-men.  Since his addition to the team in 1974, Wolverine a.k.a Logan has rocketed to worldwide popularity, mostly due to his incredibly handy Adamantium claws and gruff, dirty harry demeanor.  At a time when most superheroes, particularly those in the DC Universe, were essentially clean cut, morally clear characters, Wolverine was one of comics first anti-heroes, a feral man-beast unafraid to take it the villains as brutally as they took it to him...if not more so.  Wolverine is a character locked in perpetual war with himself, torn between man and animal and his famously clouded origin and slightly sordid past make him more of a rogue warrior than a traditional superhero.  As many people know, Wolverine's mutation is his ability to heal from nearly any wound or condition, one which came in handy when he volunteered for a highly dangerous operation in which the indestructible metal Adamantium was grafted to his entire skeleton, complete with six razor sharp claws which extend from his hands at a moments notice.  This, in addition to his healing ability, makes Wolverine virtually indestructible and so far immortal; he's been around since the mid 1800's.   
I recently got around to reading the 1987 four issue mini-series Wolverine, written by X-men legend Chris Claremont and illustrated by another legend, Frank Miller.  I was told by a friend that the recent Wolverine film was based on this story, although after seeing the film, I think I prefer the mini-series.  The book's visual style alone was enough to get me hooked.  Just the cover of the first issue as seen above, showing Wolverine with his gleaming claws extended and a mischievous smile on his face, daring the viewer to bring it on, is instantly iconic.  The story follows a solo Wolverine to Japan where he hopes to reunite with the love of his life, a woman named Mariko, only to find out she's been forced into an arranged marriage to an abusive man out of obligation to her father, a powerful crime-lord.  Wolverine is less than pleased with this and hopes to convince Mariko to leave her husband.  Although she still loves Logan, Mariko states that she is duty bound to her father, who upon discovering that Logan has arrived, challenges him to a sword fight.  Even with his  healing ability and the fact that they fight with wooden practice swords, Wolverine is defeated by the master swordsman and left for dead in a Tokyo alley. 
Upon recovering, he meets a female assassin named Yukio who helps him fight off The Hand, a group of assassins working for Mariko's father.  Turns out that Yukio was hired by Mariko's father, Lord Shingen to gain Wolverine's sympathies and deceive him into helping her kill Shingen's rival for control of Japan's criminal underworld.  Instead, Yukio falls in love with Logan and tries many times to seduce him even though he still yearns for Mariko.  Throughout the series, Logan is forced to fight and kill legions of trained assassins, even as he attempts to prove he's more man than beast.  As he says in the book's opening line, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."  Once Logan finds out Mariko's father sent the Hand to kill him, he sets out to take down his entire operation and rescue Mariko from a terrible marriage.  Before that though, there's a great interlude where Logan, believing he can't get Mariko back, embarks on a lost weekend of sorts with Yukio, fighting in underground sumo matches and binge drinking.  I can't imagine how much he'd have to drink to get good and drunk.   
A great aspect of the book is the sheer amount of Logan's inner dialogue.  These monologues let the reader get into his head and see his thought process, which is usually split between the tactical, strategic side which helps him be the best at what he does and the thoughtful side, deeply contemplating his decisions and trying to decide what kind of being he really is, animal or man or a bit or both.  Of course, outwardly Logan retains his classic bad-ass attitude when confronted by those who want to take him out.  In combat he lets loose, slicing through his enemies like they were made of tissue paper.  Miller's illustrations and the coloring is another great highlight, especially in the panels showing Tokyo as a neon flooded city with a contrast of light and shadow that gives the story an almost neon-noir feel.  The garish, day-glow colors jump out from every panel and are reminiscent of the neon color pallet of that other classic, Watchmen.  There's a fluidity of motion in the action scenes, emphasizing Wolverine's physical prowess in combat.  In many ways Wolverine is really a Ronin, a master-less samurai who fights with claws rather than a katana. 
Ultimately, after crippling Shingen's organization and taking out the hand, Wolverine with the help of Yukio, confronts Shingen once again and they battle to the death over three beautiful, wordless pages until Wolverine delivers a killing stroke.  For an instant Logan worries that Mariko might feel obliged to try and kill him to honor her father, but luckily Mariko, whose husband is slain by Yukio right before the battle, tells Logan that she would have slain her father herself for the shame he brought to his family and clan.  Mariko then presents Logan with her father's 800 year old sword, explaining that he's worthy of the honor.  Strangely enough for a Wolverine story, the book ends with Logan explaining how he stayed in the mountains with Mariko in order to heal until he finally writes the other X-men, sending them an invitation to his and Mariko's wedding and telling them to bring beer.  At first this happy ending surprised me since most of Logan's relationships end in tragedy, but it was nice to see the guy happy, trying to fulfill his decision earlier in the book to put aside his savage nature and strive to simply be a man...albeit one who still has indestructible claws.