Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Colourist: Marcelo Maiolo
Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $4.99

Wolverine is dead. Long live Old Man Logan #1. An aged Wolverine from a villain-dominated future finds himself on the post-Secret Wars recreated Earth in the present. Logan sees an opportunity to save his future and family and begins hunting down key contributors to the dystopia.

From this point onward, Old Man Logan #1 morphs into a Frank Miller western in both look and feel. Old Wolverine gathers information Batman-style, and a double-page spread pays obvious homage to The Dark Knight Returns.

So, in Old Man Logan #1, first on Logan’s list is Black Butcher, who was part of the Hulk Gang, the Wasteland organized crime overlords. Make no mistake, Logan is a cold-blooded noir killer on a mission. “His body hits the floor and everything feels right,” he narrates. Next on the list: Bruce Banner, Mysterio and the Red Skull.

The impact of Andrea Sorrentino’s elegant art is lessened by splotchy shading; every page looks like a Rorschach test. Marcelo Maiolo’s colouring is ironically subtle: the present is dark and muted but in future’s irradiated Wasteland sky is blindingly bright.

Old Man Logan, who is part Wolverine, part Dark Knight, and part Outlaw Josey Wales, is fascinating and beautiful to read. Okay, the artwork and fumbled homage distractions, but you know what, Old Man Logan #1 succeeds were it counts, on the page, before your very eyes.

 

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker