The sheer number of characters that have appeared in comics over the last seventy years ensures that the vast majority of them make their mark, however slight, and then fade away. But like the plethora of stars in the night sky, a few stand out and everyone remembers them. Everyone. For comics that list isn't incredibly long, but those on it are not only seen in comics, but they emblazon the merchandise related to comics. One man is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is sell things. His name: Wolverine.

It seems like Wolverine has been around forever, but in reality, it's only been just over a hundred years. He grew up in the late nineteenth century as James Howlett, the son of a landowner but his life took a drastic turn after his powers manifested. Much of his early life is still unrevealed, but eventually he had several careers fighting in every major conflict of the 20th century.

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Over the years his looks may not have changed much, but the wardrobe sure has. Wolverine has a nice set of costumes, ranging from his first appearance in Incredible Hulk, to the tiger stripe blue and yellow he wore when he joined the X-Men. Then he switched to a darker brown costume similar to the tiger stripe. The latest iteration has been a style that is influenced by the X-Men movie costumes, one that is less like a costume per se, and more like street clothes. The new outfits have been seen in the New X-Men book, and this is the basis for the mini-busts for this feature.

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For comic book characters there are two philosophies for character sculpting. One is to create an iconic design that isn't based on a single artistic style. This approach is used in the Rogue's Gallery line of mini-busts and works well with characters that are older and have been drawn by many artists over the years. For the Marvel Universe line varies as some are more towards iconic design and some are geared to a particular artist. The twin versions of Wolverine are of the latter, and these busts are based on the art of Frank Quitely in the 'New X-Men' comic from Marvel. The regular release shows Wolvie in his special X-Men members-only jacket that goes well with black. The variant of this bust has the man au natural with only a pair of dog tags on. He's topless and sorry ladies, the bust stops just below the navel so you'll have to finish the image in your imagination. But under that navel it's like a rock, so that should help that mental picture.

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The pair of Wolverine busts are part of the Marvel Universe line from Diamond Select Toys. They join Symbiote Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, the Hulk and Daredevil (among others) in the same scale, so you can build a large display of your favorite characters (assuming they have made their way into the line). The Wolverine busts are on the small side (just under six inches tall), as you would expect since Wolverine is a short guy. And if you think that bare chest will go lonely, there is a bust of Jean Grey in the same style due in October 2003 to join Wolverine. Sadly, there isn't a bare-chested version of her planned.

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Sam Greenwell adds both Wolverine busts to his resume, which includes Marvel Select's Ultimate Hulk and Venom and the Ultimate Spider-Man mini-bust. Sam sculpted the New X-Men Jean Grey mini-bust, so she'll fit right in style-wise. For the jacketed version there is a run of 7500 pieces, and for the shirtless version available exclusively at Tower Records there are only 1500.

Standard for all Diamond Select statuary is the full-color certificate of authenticity signed by the sculptor and numbered. This makes it much easier to know you don't have the cheap copies that are snuck over the border from Mexico and South American hidden inside bags of cocaine. Also standard is the space-age Styrofoam used to keep the busts safe from the gentle touch of international shippers. Absent is nutrition information, at least until some fat kids in New York sue Diamond Select.

Where to buy the New X-Men Wolverine Mini Busts: The regular bust retails in the $45 USD price range. It is available at your local comics shop, as well as various online toy and collectible retailers, such as Things from Another World. The Tower Records Exclusive variant Wolverine bust is only available at Tower Records, and has a price of $39.99.