It started off as a joke, then it became self-referential, then it became the target of fan ire and now it's on the verge of eating itself... Just how many comics is Wolverine in?

From the way people go on about it (including us!), you may be surprised at the answer. Or I may just be being a little naive... I've only counted regular titles and not one-shots and/or guest appearances but click through for the answer and some cool artwork!

Follow up:

1 - Wolverine

This is Wolverine's flagship title, currently penned by Mr Wolverine himself, Jason Aaron. I jumped on at #5.1 and thought it was a load of old garbage... That issue had Wolverine, going off intending to avenge the death of a trucker whilst his missus threw a surprise birthday party for him. The point was that he's no longer just a killing machine - he didn't end up killing the vicious cannibal that was going to eat the trucker and all the heroes at the party we're eating PB&J with the crusts cut off and talking about what a swell guy the ol' Canucklehead is. I officially miss the old Wolverine.

2 - Wolverine: The Best There Is

Another Wolverine-only title this one is written by Charlie Huston and has been panned by the press. I've not read it myself and was interested in the "Wolverine for Adults" angle that had been talked up but apparently the title falls into an uncomfortable halfway house in being stuck between an adult story but trying to sell to a general audience. I will not be picking this one up after all.

3 - Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine

Another Jason Aaron title, this one teams up two of Marvel's most prominent poster boys and pitches Webhead and Logan through time and alternate realities to deal with some crazy reimagined villains. I reald #1 and didn't like it. They were in caveman times and it just seemed like a load of old tosh. Looks like I'm not a Mr Aaron fan.

4 - Wolverine and Jubilee

I can't believe that I forgot this one! Wolverine in pairing with MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE X-PERSONS! Oh shit no - it says Jubilee! I thought it said NOT Jubilee. In fairness to myself, I think this one only just counts as it is about to end it's 4 issue run. The story deals with the fallout of Jubilee being turned into a vampire and is written by Kathryn Immonen. My initial reaction was disgust but the more I think about it, I may just pick this up. A 4 issue run is easy enough to digest even if it stinks and I used to really enjoy the master/learner dynamic that was set up with Wolverine and Kitty.

5 - Uncanny X-Men

The first of the team books, Kieron Gillen's Uncanny X-Men thankmfully doesn't focus on Logan. He's still an integral part of the team and so bound to feature heavily as the run continues but this is not necessarily a book to pick up if you're a Snikt-man. Definately one to get if you're an X-fan though.

6 - X-Men

Look mum, fangs! I started reading this but tuned out after the first few issues. It really feels like it's just a Twighlight cash-in and totally disposable as a result. The vampires thing lasted for the first 6 issues and so I'm planning on reading up from there on. The quest for the X-book continues!

7 - Uncanny X-Force

The X-book! Wolverine's kill-crew continues to be great irrespective of the change of creative personnel that happened at the end of Second Coming. This is perhaps the book The Best There Is is trying to ape, pitched toward the rated R end of the spectrum. If you're looking for violence and blood-stained claws, look no further.

8 - Avengers

Struggling now... I don't currently read any of the Avengers titles, having stopped with New Avengers after Civil War but I know that Sidekick Blog Editor-in-Chief loves this one. But on topic, it is the Avengers books that I find to be potentially the most peculiar drain of Wolverine's man-hours. These are generally epic, globe-trotting stories that involve him not being in San Francisco. Just where does he get the time?!?

9 - New Avengers

There are only four Avengers titles (not sure I've used "only" properly there) but Wolverine is in half of them. I started reading this one but wasn't impressed by the magical-shenanigans that were being tee'd up and so I gave up.

So were you paying attention? How many books was it?

That a medium that can be so obssessed with continuity is also able to pull such a stunt is an interesting topic for discussion.

For my 2 cents I'll say that driving book sales obviously wins out over the purity of making suring that character A is in location B during period C and not also possibly concurrently at location X with team Y fighting villain Z.

For the writers and editors, this kind of practice not being frowned upon must make their jobs a heckuva lot easier as they have more free reign to have, for example, Wolverine do whatever they want him to whilst not pissing on someone else's chips.

On a personal note, I don't mind it. As long as it doesn't keep getting referred to in the stories themsevles. We all know it happens, we've all largely come to terms with it, so let's just get on with the pulse-pounding action shall we?!?

Keep it on Sidekickcast!