JonesyLovesBlogs

A lot of people think of the their time on the toilet as a place of quite meditation and peaceful introspection.  Other people choose to do amazing things: Doc Brown invents flux capacitors… me?  I read comics… They’re in the can!

Presentation:  ‘Old Man Logan’ looks like a combination of a good old fashioned high comic fantasy and an old western.  McNiven’s art doesn’t blow me away as much as it adds a touch of realism that doesn’t totally detract from the story, which is one of his subtle talents that I appreciate much more than a constant stream of stunning images that make me not follow what’s going on.  Although, as a Wolverine fanboy, seeing McNiven’s art of Logan in a duster is pretty badass and makes me loose my place cause of a sudden nerdboner (copy right @nerdcastonline).

The story itself is pretty linear, but is full of twists both big and small that manage to keep it compelling well after the buzz of a ‘What If Wolverine’ story wears off.  Not to go into Spoilerish territory, but there is a ton of easter eggs in this story, a lot of it from the Marvel U other than the X-men that really makes this story feel more ‘grand’ such as Logan fighting with Cap’s shield or using the Iron Man armor.

Characters: The Logan presented here is an aging, haggard version of himself (think Eastwood in Unforgiven) who chooses (for reasons revealed later in the book) to become a pacifist and choose the life of a simple farmer.  He maintains his gruff exterior that he’s noted for, but it’s an interesting twist to see the character we know and love for being the first one to run into a fight suddenly spouting lines of how he’ll never raise a hand again… so when the claws do come out in the book, it’s a huge pay off.

Besides his version of Hawkeye, who I could take or leave, Millar gives us some new villians the likes I’d never see: Trailer Park Hulk Trash.  Any other time this would be laughable, but in this ‘Old Man’ universe it serves as both a worthy antagonist and comic relief at the same time.  I didn’t think after the first issue that I would really care much about Hulk’s family, until the last issue where I kind of ended up liking them.  It’s one of those reasons why Millar is a popular author, he can take something classic and update it in a way that we can relate to even if it’s something over the top.

Experience:  The Old Man Logan arch is a work that it best read as a collected edition.  I found myself glossing over the issue breaks because the story flows so good as a graphic novel rather than single issues, it’s one of those books that I think would be hard to follow if you picked them up far between.  That being said, I made the mistake of picking it up as the last two singles, so at first I couldn’t understand what the hype was about.  Then after grabbing the hard back special edition I finally understood why it was so good.  I think Old Man Logan is going to stand out as one of the more ‘famous’ Wolverine stories you’re going to find in the ‘Employee pick of the week’ rack for years to come.