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Plus, a Kayo Konigsberg bio explores the hitman's dark past

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Marvel tells ''Wolverine'''s back story | wolv_l

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD Marvel Comics cries Wolverine

Wolverine: ©Marvel Comics

by Matthew Flamm and Karen Valby

HISTORY X Comic fans have long speculated about the elusive roots of ''X-Men'' superhero Wolverine. In a new six-part series, ''Origin,'' the secrets of his past will finally be revealed. ''We asked ourselves, 'What is the greatest Marvel story never told?''' says Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada. ''And everyone knew instantaneously.'' A large part of Wolverine's mystique has been his shadowy past, and fans have been kept in suspense since his debut in 1974. But last year's ''X-Men'' film convinced the comic's creators to reconsider their coyness. ''If we don't tell his origins, Hollywood will,'' says Quesada. ''And there was no way that we were going to let someone else tell that story.''

BLOOD MONEY Gay Talese, Murray Kempton, and Peter Maas all wrote about Harold ''Kayo'' Konigsberg, legendary loan shark and hitman -- but none as personally as Eric Konigsberg, the convicted killer's great-nephew. His article, ''Blood Relation,'' appeared in a recent New Yorker and will soon become a book. ''He plans to dig into his uncle's life and solve some cold cases.... But what interests me even more is the theme of shame and what [his uncle's crimes] did to the Konigsberg family,'' says HarperCollins exec editor David Hirshey, who paid a reported $500,000. ''I see it as Mikal Gilmore's 'Shot in the Heart' meets Nick Pileggi's 'Wiseguy.'''

Posted Aug 24, 2001 | Order Article Reprints