Customer Reviews

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Much to like - but also a few things to make you go "Wait... what?" - in the eight-issue arc WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN. There's no doubt at all that Wolverine is one of the most overexposed characters out there, having been affiliated with a boatload of teams (Weapon X, Alpha Flight, Dept. H., the X-Men, X-Force, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and soon probably the New Brighton Archeological Society, the Yancy Street Gang and the PTA). But, admittedly, there's something so very cool about the guy and that vicious thing that he's the best at doing. I don't know that OLD MAN LOGAN is the best Wolverine story ever told. I certainly don't believe that it's the most relevant. But it's certainly one of the most fun and wild and memorable.

Set roughly fifty years in the future, and to spoiler readers of Marvel comic books, the bad guys finally win the whole shebang. The story begins with "Nobody knows what happened on the night the heroes fell." and one of the things which bug me about this arc is that writer Mark Millar never does give us the score on just what went down with the cataclysmic fighty fight between the Marvel heroes and villains. We don't get the juicy details, even though we learn that, finally, finally, the bad guys got wise and realized that, together, they outnumber the good guys by a ratio of huge. Some of the most brilliant villain heavy hitters got together and coordinated simultaneous strikes on the Marvel heroes and pretty much eradicated them from the face of the planet. Fifty years ago.

Something truly horrific happened to Wolverine, and it scarred him so badly that he turned pacifist. Decades later, grizzled and white-haired, he's a struggling farmer trying to support his family, and nowadays he prefers to be called Logan. He's still tormented and so committed is he to not popping his claws that, when he can't make rent, he voluntarily takes a vicious beating from his landlords, who happen to be the rat-crazy, deformed grandchildren of Bruce Banner. Yeah, Logan's dirt poor farm lies in Hulkland (what used to be California). If you thought Mr. Furley was a horrible landlord...

Desperate for rent money, Logan reluctantly leaves his family and signs on for a sprawling cross-country trek with his old and now blind friend Hawkeye on a mysterious courier mission. So what we get for most of these issues is this hybrid of gritty buddy adventure and dystopian travelogue. Issue #66 presents us with a map of America as currently carved up among the supervillains. We note that the most significant demesnes fall to Hulkland, the Kingdom of The Kingpin, Doom's Lair, and The President's Quarter - and, right away, I started wondering who is this President. It turns out, whoever he is, he was the one who masterminded the heroes' downfall fifty years ago. It's also interesting that the villains only cared about ruling the good ol' U.S.A. and didn't give an eff about taking over the rest of the world.

WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN collects issues #66-72 of the ongoing WOLVERINE comic book, as well as the one-shot WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN GIANT-SIZE (but not really "giant-size" in terms of length of story). Mark Millar's post-apocalyptic vision is fueled by his usual outrageous, over-the-top brand of storytelling. But there's also this palpable sense of desolation, an elegiac tone, that surfaces as Logan and Hawkeye travel from wasteland to wasteland and witness the devastating fallout to what happened five decades ago. Decayed structures and bones of the fallen dot the landscape. Superheroes are become extinct. Even Spider-Man's granddaughter is wicked.

It's weird but this story arc is both a rapid read... and a slow read. It reads quick because Millar holds back on the dialogue and allows artist Steve McNiven to take over the narrative, and McNiven's art is really exceptional here, maybe the best I've seen of his stuff. It's cinematic and there are many, many iconic images of our growly Canuck. I'm guessing that his art is the reason for the horrendous scheduling delays, but after marveling at the finished product I tend to want to give him a pass. But, like with LEGION OF THREE WORLDS, OLD MAN LOGAN reads better as a collected trade. There's also the pace of the story, which at times is leisurely. Logan and Hawkeye end up meeting all sorts of baddies, but Logan is stubborn in his vow to stay non-violent, so the action initially isn't what we'd call blistering.

We don't expect Logan to stay a peace-loving gent, and so the anticipation builds to that inevitable time when he unleashes his inner snikt. Which he does in the last few issues - and when Wolverine loses it, he really, really loses it. Millar's slow burn approach then switches up to visceral scenes of slaughter, and oh that poor eviscerated cow. Lots of gratuitous and brutal maiming and blood-letting, but so much fun and, frankly, it's what we expect from a Wolverine story.

Two more things which bothered me. First, I wasn't too impressed when I learned the identity of the mysterious President, this guy not having much of a history with Wolverine and, so, ergo, not so much with the resonance. A more telling thing for me is that I can't quite buy into the big reveal of what happened to Wolverine 50 years ago, that tragic event which made him turn away from violence. Wolvie is the best at what he does, but I don't think even he's that good.

Despite all that, I think that OLD MAN LOGAN is slated for classic status, maybe right up there with Millar's "Enemy of the State" and Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X" storylines. I'm reminded of the "Days of Future Past" X-Men story, not because OLD MAN LOGAN is as classic but because this is yet another possible future arc towards which the 616 Universe can veer. As of right now, OLD MAN LOGAN's is considered an alternate timeline. Still, if you're hankering for a peek at what becomes of this Logan, you should check out Millar's recent run on FANTASTIC FOUR, paying particular attention to the Nu-Earth/New Defenders/Death of the Invisible Woman arc (Fantastic Four: World's Greatest, Vol. 1), and also the Fantastic Force TPB (Fantastic Four) mini-series. Irregardless, I'm betting we haven't seen the last of OLD MAN LOGAN's world. And that's a good thing.

Mark Millar is a writer I very much enjoy, but he often seems to have trouble sticking endings. That has changed in this story as, from start to stop, it's massively well paced, enormously twisting, and ultimately satisfying. Bringing the sensibility of Clint Eastwood's magnum opus Unforgiven to the plot of the comic Wanted (which Millar also wrote), Wolverine treks across a land where almost every superhero has been killed and America divided amongst the remaining villains. Steve McNiven, teaming up with Millar again after Civil War, brings his A-game in every single panel, be it the ultra-violent battles or the gut-wrenching emotional moments, the Marvel universe has rarely looked so well drawn. I found myself reading it again the moment I finished it and catching all sorts of background references and hints, so it reads well the second, and I'm sure third, time. Absolute highest recommendation.

I'm going to admit I'm biased- I haven't liked the Wolverine books for a long time. All the writers clamoring to write his comic are so concerned with what new and different thing they're going to do with Wolverine or what soon to be retconned mysterious thing from his past they're going to introduce, that they wind up completely messing up the character and the story line. (I'm talking to you, Way.)

Mark Millar actually does these things but he does them well and without messing up the character. Millar is an old school story teller, he knows that good storytelling is character driven- meaning that a good story establishes a character's values and then challenges them to reveal something about that character. By increasing Wolverine's characteristic, latent guilt (which was a crucial aspect of what originally made him an interesting character) to a level which he psychologically neuters himself, we learn more about Wolverine through his nonviolence, rage, and indignation that we ever could about him by an absolute clarification of his past (once again, I'm talking to you Daniel Way.)

Also, there's lot's of gore. That's a plus too. ;)

This is Wolverine meets Unforgiven meets Mad Max meets The Road. This really tries to use multiple genres & create an alternative world for Wolverine to inhabit. It works! I really enjoyed this book.
The world that is left after the villains win is very interesting & exciting when you think of the possibilities. The vagueness of how it all happens is similar to future apocalyptic books like The Road where an explanation isn't really needed. Villains ganged up they won. That simple. It leaves multiple stories that could be developed.
Logan is in a world of inner torment more so than usual throughout the book but by the end it's worth the wait. The Hawkeye & Logan journey & conclusion feels very much like Unforgiven. Logan is a man who has turned his back on his violent past but that can't last forever.
The ending has a sort of symmetry to it as the first ever foe we saw Wolvie face is the first foe of Wolvie's return.
This is a real enjoyable read & leaves you imagining and wanting more. Well worth a read.

The last time that Mark Millar (Wanted, Ultimates, Civil War) took the reigns on Wolverine, he crafted Enemy of the State, a year-long arc that was by and far the best Wolverine story to come along in years. Now, he returns with Old Man Logan, which finds a future world that has been rendered desolate and devoid of hope thanks to the destruction of the superheroes from decades before. Former X-Man Wolverine, who no longer goes by that moniker and lives a simple farm life with his family, vowed never to pop his claws again, and is submitted to frequent beatings by the landowning Hulk Gang family. Broke and seeking to save his family, Logan becomes wingman to his former ally Hawkeye (now blind and driving Spider-Man's old car) as they go on a cross country trek to deliver a package, and naturally, end up getting into more than they bargained for. As Old Man Logan goes on and Millar gives us glimpses into this post-apocalyptic Marvel universe, one can't help but wonder whether or not they've seen all this before. True, Old Man Logan doesn't feature any story elements that haven't been seen in say, Peter David's Last Avengers Story or Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, but Millar manages to keep you enthralled regardless, and by the time the big reveal comes and we learn just why Logan vowed to never pop his claws again, you will be floored. And despite the fact that its conclusion is somewhat predictable, one cannot deny that Old Man Logan ends up being a surprisingly powerful superhero endeavor. Millar's Civil War partner Steve McNiven is on board as well, and his artwork is as effective and gorgeous as ever. All in all, whether you're a die hard Wolverine fan or not, Old Man Logan is simply not to be missed.

I almost gave this review the three star dismissal but then I remembered that I'm reviewing a comic book and a Marvel comic book at that and I cannot compare superhero comics to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen every time because that is grossly unfair and there are certain traditions that comics must cover and certain audience members who eat up this stuff. So my inner teenager would have totally loved this thing, but my inner grumpy old dude is a bit cranky for spending all this time on an Unforgiven with Mutants story; so I compromise between the two.

Anyhow, this is Unforgiven with Wolverine as Clint Eastwood (makes sense) and Hawkeye as Morgan Freeman. The basic storyline is one of hard slow redemption that turns violent and backsliding to the audience's delight. Both Clint Eastwood from the movie and Wolverine of this story are repentent killers. They hate their old lives and they don't really know why they decided to live like that all this time - but they do know that they want to preserve their peaceful existence. And of course, the more they say "I will never kill again" the more you know that they are going to fall off that wagon (is there a 12-step program for serial killers?) in a very dramatic way.

That's not giving much away, but the rest of the book has its own charming stupidity (to paraphrase The Outlaw Josey Wales - at least the quoting from Seinfeld) in which the supervillains have won in an all out battle with the heroes and now they have taken over. Millar leaves certain questions unanswered like "if Abomination had the Western territory, how did the Hulk take over? And why is he such a bad landlord? Actually why is he a landlord?" and tries to purposefully ignore certain questions that are the equivalent of "What does God need with a spaceship?" from Star Trek V - The Final Frontier (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition), aka "why are these supervillains particularly interested in being rulers. I always thought that Kingpin just wanted to make a living without interference from the likes of Spiderman. Magneto tends to have a decent reason but most of the other villains are pretty one note.

There's also the interesting footnote in Constitutional law that states that if you kill Captain America, you get to be president (depending on your political affiliation, insert your Dubya or Obama joke here).

Fun read. Overall pretty silly despite its attempts at gravitas but entertaining.

I have nothing but good things to say about the art work in this book but I've come to expect more from Mark Millar over the years in the way of a good story. This story line just doesn't have much meet on the bone. The plot itself is relatively simple and there actually isn't that much in the way of substance that occurs to our hero until the last chapter and a half. So with the exception of one clever plot twist not much happens in the book that isn't forseable. I don't know I guess I was just expecting a lot more. I saw Millar and Wolverine together and thought another can't miss comic. Not the case really. Wait for it at your local library.

The work is very well written. Unfortunately the graphic novel does date itself with XBox references; however, this may work in its favor as a piece of nostalgia in later years when the entire Wolverine catalog is collected. Only serious drawback I see is that Mysterio has never shown the level of power manifested in this book in any other incarnation of said character. Overall, brilliant and the dirty, dirty secret which prevents Logan from initially popping his claws will potentially bring tears to your eyes. Lastly, I love the tie in and continuation of the Marvel Civil War storyline.

PS: Artwork was drawn in a very contemporary construct, yet beautiful enough to make you stop and collect it in your mind.

I absolutely loved "Old Man Logan". By far, it is my most favorite graphic novel I have ever read. The artwork is astounding, the story is creative, the action is intense, the characters are dynamic, and it's overall just a fast, fun, fantastic read.

This story takes place in California fifty years in the future. Wolverine, going only by Logan now, lives with his wife and children on a hog farm, renting from the notorious Hulk Gang, descendents from Bruce Banner, who own California. Why do the Hulks own California? Well, because the bad guys won, and the good guys lost. We don't know exactly what happened fifty years ago, but we do know that the U.S.A. is now divided between the big baddies like Kingpin, the Hulks, Dr, Doom, and... the president. (No spoilers here.)

So we find Logan as an old man who hasn't popped his claws since the heroes fell. He wants peace to raise his family. What happens? Hawkeye (blind with long white hair and a beard, but still the same old wise-cracking sharp-shooting vigilante) drags Logan into a deal that will take him across America and make him enough money to be able to pay the Hulks the rent that's overdue.

And thus begins the carnage...

I'm a huge Wolverine fan, so when I saw this awesome run by Frank Millar and Steve McNiven collected in a hardcover edition, I had to pick it up. I wasn't disappointed. From the first page (Logan riding over a dusty dune toward his ramshackled house), I knew it was going to be good. The artwork is astounding. Every page is a masterpiece. The action jumps out of the page.

Millar's writing doesn't fall short. Not the complexity of "Enemy of the State", but that's not what this book is about. This book, obviously, is meant for a quick, fun, violent read about Logan taking on the bad guys in ways we haven't ever seen.

And when I say violent, I mean violent. Here we see guts flying, blood pumping, heads cartwheeling, chomping, bones snapping, teeth popping, slicing, dicing, slashing, smashing, explosions, ripping, tearing, and a lot more--all in Steve McNiven's realistic, graphic depictions. So this is a graphic graphic novel.

So, for what Millar wrote it for, this is a great read for any Wolverine fan. I highly recommend it. If you're looking for an in-depth, thought-provoking, life-changing graphic novel, don't bother reading this.

I still have to say one thing though. At one point in the story, a huge, big, ugly character eats Wolverine. Eh, not so cool. Of course after that Logan explodes from inside of him in a spray of intestines and blood. I just personally don't like the idea of someone... eating Wolverine.

Just my preference. It didn't take away from the story at all, which was cool. The ending was awesome, definitely implying some future installment to the series, which I would snatch up in an instant. Logan mentioned something about taking on the world, which is pretty much what Logan does best.

So, read this book? Yes.

Think deeply and ponder this book? No.

Just have fun and enjoy the artwork, clever story (did I mention the awesome cameos?), and sweet action? Absolutely.

If you can get a hold of a copy of "Old Man Logan", please do and enjoy it for what it is.

I have a new-found enjoyment in graphic novels. I had not read comics in twenty years, and now find myself sampling different genres and styles of comics. This book is a compilation of a special series of comics. X-man comics and cartoons came out after I had stopped reading or watching them. I liked the X-Men movies and loved Wolverine. This story is set in a dystopian future, where the criminals have taken over the world. Most of the super heroes were massacred in a single night. Wolverine survived but was so traumatized by the events that he vowed never to unleash his claws again. The states have been split up into four separate kingdoms run like fiefdoms of old. Wolverine now just goes by the name Logan and is a simple farmer, with a wife and children. But the Hulk clan is threatening their lives because they cannot pay rent. Logan goes on a road trip across the continent for the pay because he needs the rent money, but still swears he will not fight.

What I loved about this book was the change in Logan/Wolverine; he is man tormented by his past, by his mistakes, and he is trying to change his life. It is the story of facing your own personal demons and deciding either to give up, or move on. It is a redemptive story. It is very well written and illustrated. It is a powerful story. I enjoyed it immensely.