Wolverine #1 · 1982
A grin. Three claws.
One invitation.
Follow Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein’s unmistakable Wolverine portrait through superheroes, horror, magazine covers and indie parodies.
The origin pointWolverine #1 · Frank Miller & Joe Rubinstein
The original cover
Come closer. If you dare.
Wolverine grins directly at the reader. One fist raises three claws, while the other hand beckons with a single finger. The tight portrait turns Logan’s confidence into a challenge.
Frank Miller penciled the cover and Joe Rubinstein inked it. Chris Claremont wrote the four-issue miniseries. The issue is cover-dated September 1982; the Grand Comics Database records June 1, 1982 as its on-sale date.
This lineage follows the 1982 portrait. The sword-bearing Wolverine #1 from 1988 has a separate composition. Shared-art finishes and reprints stay grouped; looser interpretations and indirect homages are labeled in their records.
The Wolverine #1 collection
Browse the lineage
- Cover groups
- 54
- Documented homages
- 27
- Qualified records
- 27
Search by title, artist, publisher or character. Each detail page includes edition notes and research sources. Partial records may have an unresolved credit, retailer-only documentation or a looser visual connection.
Complete the Lineage · Beta
Make this lineage yours.
Track one distinct drawing per card. Any edition counts.
See your Wants across all catalogs and share your list.
Loading your saved list…
Published covers count toward progress. Upcoming and unconfirmed releases can be Wanted.
Beta: your list is saved on this device/browser only. Accounts coming soon.
CSV and TXT include every cover, artist, known edition, and your Have/Want/Missing status, regardless of filters. Use JSON to restore your list.
As an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.
Research & upcoming · Reviewed October 12, 2026
The challenge keeps changing hands.
Research added Mary Jane, White Fox, Miles Morales and Clayton Crain’s facsimile redraw, while recovering missing credits and distinguishing Scott Williams’s Logan and X-23 drawings. Sources included publisher and retailer listings, GCD, Key Collector, magazine indexes, eBay, Reddit and publicly indexed social posts and NYCC references.
Upcoming: No additional future homage to the 1982 cover was confirmed in this research pass. A forthcoming Gore Noir foil tribute refers to Wolverine #1 from 1988 and is excluded from this lineage.
Edition groups: Gore Noir’s regular and bloody Terrifier treatments share one drawing. The McNiven Wolverine Omnibus cover reuses Wizard #157 artwork. Laura Kinney #2 is a printed wraparound cover; its full spread is preserved.
Still under review: Oxymoron and Killer Kare Bears retain unconfirmed artist credits. An individual Lady Mechanika blank-cover sketch is excluded from the printed-cover catalog. Additional broad visual leads remain in the research workbook pending a matching image or stronger target evidence.
The Lineage Dispatch
New discoveries,
straight from the archive.
