Mention the name Wolverine to many comics readers, and they’ll salivate as they start to expound on the clawed centenarian called Logan, a mutant savage whose adventures in the X-Men and beyond have been filling the coffers at Marvel for a couple of decades plus. Odds are, they almost certainly won’t be aware of one Joshua ‘Wolverine’ MacAlistaire, whose adventures were chronicled in Journey, a sublime comic written and drawn by William Messner-Loebs. And no wonder: Journey’s sales were a drop in the ocean compared to the tale of the other Wolverine and his chums. Besides, it was in black and white, and any fule kno that proper comics are in colour and have ads for Hostess Twinkies.

More’s the pity then, because Journey was a lyrical and literate delight, its 19th century frontiersman hero just as ornery and tough as the Marvel character. This Wolverine’s reference points are Will Eisner, Dave Sim, and Mark Twain to pick a few apparent influences, and his adventures have a picaresque quality. Which is to say the stories are kind of plotless, the pleasure of Journey being in, well, the journey itself.

Josh is a curious creation, one who tells a different tale about his father every time he’s asked about him. He’s a born survivor, a rough and tough brawler with a soft spot for Byron and a knack for coming up butter side up in his dealings with the challenges of the wilderness. Messner-Loebs has a knack for bringing places and their particular natures to life, gently folding in exposition about how his hero survives in different environments as an unfussed part of his almost folksy narrative. The pace is gentle at times, the rhythms those of speech rather than the cinematic action that comics are increasingly emulating. Make no mistake though, there’s plenty of action and tall tales, as Josh MacAlistaire runs from bears, gets revenge on those who’ve ripped him off, and gets caught up in whirlwinds and the unlikely plans of a British aristocrat.

Artwise, the series nods heavily to Will Eisner and Dave Sim. Indeed, some pages look like they could have come from the latter’s classic Cerebus, from the lettering and framing right down to the depiction of snow. This is classy cartooning, and Messner-Loebs has a knack for experimenting with page layouts, often running panels at angles to compress the action in the space available, an unusual but effective choice.

It’s delightful stuff, and I’ve not seen anything quite like it. Messner-Loebs wrote and drew much of it while waiting in the hospital to hear what was happening to his loved ones, and maybe that’s responsible for the ebullient escapism present on these pages. These are comics created purely for the joy of it, and that’s a rare and lovely thing to see.

If you want to see what can happen when one creator allows themselves to follow a fancy in words and images, and in the process creates a story that veers from historical adventure to magical realism, Journey is well worth your time checking out. Its 31 issues have recently been reprinted in two low price volumes by publisher IDW. Do yourself a favour and buy them.