Wolverine is one of Marvel’s top characters, but according to iconic G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama, sales on his solo book were once so low that it was in danger of being canceled. The Joe scribe 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” at Dragon Con 2024, Larry Hama explained how he got the job writing Wolverine. “I was having trouble getting writing work at Marvel at the time,” Hama said, “I had the G.I. Joe…but they said. ‘G.I. Joe’s a fluke.’”

Amazingly, Marvel's brass at the time might have been wrong about Hama's G.I. Joe, but they were right to give him the opportunity to write Wolverine, which not only solidified the author's reputation as a comics maestro, but it salvaged the X-franchise's most iconic character from an ignominious fate.

G.I. Joe Writer Larry Hama On How He Made Wolverine A Massive Success For Marvel

Hama Spoke At DragonCon 2024

Larry Hama widened the scope of Wolverine when 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 itted 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 previous X-Men art 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 solo Wolverine series had gone through several creative teams following the departure of Wolverine when he took over, immediately sending the character around the world and exploring previously untouched areas of his mysterious past.

Larry Hama Revitalized Wolverine For The 1990s – And Marvel Never Looked Back

Wolverine #31 – Hama's First Issue

Larry Hama would go on to write Wolverine from 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 include Wolverine’s android double Albert and companion Elsie Dee, created by X-Men villain Donald Pierce to kill Wolverine once and for all. Hama also expanded on Barry 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 by the mega-success of the X-Men titles in the early nineties and with a superstar artist in Marc Silvestri, Wolverine quickly 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 built G.I. Joe into 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.

Larry Hama's Influence On Contemporary Comics Can't Be Understated

A Legend Of The Medium

The longtime G.I. Joe writer left his mark on the character, as Larry Hama brought Wolverine from the brink of cancelation to one of Marvel’s top-selling titles.

Having worked on G.I. Joe for nearly eight years at the time he took over Wolverine, 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. Joe was 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 on Wolverine, as Hama would also have to work within the X-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 the controversial decision to reveal Wolverine had bone claws, into his run.

It is certainly amazing to think that sales got so low on Wolverine that 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 or take on any given character. The longtime G.I. Joe writer left his mark on the character, as Larry Hama brought Wolverine from the brink of cancelation to one of Marvel’s top-selling titles.

Source: Larry Hama, “Wolverine: 50-Year Anniversary,” Dragon Con 2024