My first encounter with the enigma called Wolverine began when Professor X treked up to Canada's Department H to lure away the current Weapon X - namely Wolverine himself.

I might have missed that encounter altogether had it not been for my local comic provider who knew my taste in comics. That issue came along at a time when I was, quite frankly, avoiding most super-hero type comics -- including the original X-Men team, who had zip appeal to me.

My comic dealer was a pro-Fantastic Four buff - the two of us had had past discussions on the topic of super-hero ruts. At that time, most of the current crop seemed to fall into one of basically three types:

(1) Too good to be true (Or the "I could give Mother Teresa lessons" type) - Not only did this kind catch the bad guy, they made him fold his prison napkin after dinner.
(2) Indecisive (Or the "But what if" type) - They agonized over every decision for so long, it got to be like watching a toddler trying to decide on one out of thirty-one flavors of ice cream.
(3) Victim (Or the "I can't help myself" type) - Through circumstances beyond their control, they end up thrust into the role of hero and for some reason, stick with it despite their own preference.

Then came Wolverine - when the comic guy called me over, he had an issue open and was pointing to one panel in particular. The one where Wolverine was punctuating his resignation as Weapon X by slicing through the tie of the man (Major Chasen) giving him lip. I was hooked.

On the side of the angels, but known to toe the line awfully close and occasionally slide over an inch or two. A guy that seemed to take more than a little pleasure at harassing and tweaking the noses of higher authority, but a guy that wouldn't give a meter maid a hassle over a parking ticket. Someone who could make a grown man afraid of the dark and still be viewed as a young girl's best friend. All that and more.

He intrigued me enough that I became a regular reader both of X-Men and, when it came along, his own comic series - a habit lasting from then until now.