Review: Old Man Logan Issue #1

Old Man Logan has his comics shelves and our Sammy Rendon is here to break down all of the action for you in our ComiConverse review.

Old Man Logan Issue #1 picks up after  Mark Millar & Steve McNiven's 2010's Wolverine: Old Man Logan. In case you missed it, here is a quick synopsis of that book.

The Backstory

A discouraged Wolverine no longer goes by that name, due to a traumatic event. Lead by Redskull, all super villains come together and finally defeat every hero, allowing Mysterio to get his hands on Wolverine. Wolverine escapes Mysterio's clutches but does not come out unscathed; his healing powers are now significantly affected, and he ages like everyone else; becoming "Old Man Logan".

50 years later, Logan is living in a dystopian future where villains rule the U.S. and have divided the states into spheres of control. He rests his head in a beatten down farm with his wife and two children; under the thumb of a the local overlord Bruce Banner and his inbred family.

At that point Logan hadn't popped his claws in fifty years, being mocked and beat-up. It wasn't until The Hulk's family murdered his wife and kids, while Logan was on a run with Hawkeye, that a "Snikt!" finally graced the panels.

Comic book fans have been waiting for Old Man Logan to return to Marvel, fans got a small glimpse in the Secret Wars but not enough to quench the thirst for fans of the title.

Now, Logan is back in an ongoing series! With writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino. So, lets jump right into this months premiere issue of Old Man Logan #1 "Berserker"

(Some spoilers follow)

Synopsis:

Old Man Logan issue #1 begins with Logan waking up on the sidewalk of  Times Square completely naked and confused as to where he is, who he is and how he got there. Logan looks around not recognizing anything and repeating the name "Scotty".  An altercation with the N.Y.P.D. then ensues and Logan gets shot with a taser gun. Logan responds in anger and in doing so he begins to recount the events of what he's done and the fate of his family, Logan pops his claws in a gorgeous two page panel. The police immediately recognize his claws but don't believe it is Wolverine because he's now older. Logan escapes from the police and tries to understand the situation he has been plunged into. He comes across a newspaper dated "2015" with the All New, All Different Avengers on the front page. He then recollects The Avengers lying dead in a pit in the future wastelands and comes to the conclusion that he has been brought back in time before the villain uprising.

But why?

How?

Logan then sniffs out an empty home to get clothing and think this through. When he comes across a New York basketball hat, Logan has a flash back to the wastelands in the future with his son, Scotty. The flashback reveals an altercation with a B-list villain, the Black Butler; Butler was on a power trip and began to provoke Logan by intimidating him in hopes of bringing out The Wolverine, but Old Man Logan backed out of the fight. This memory left a bad taste in Logan's mouth and he begins to see the opportunity that presents itself in front of him; so he does what he does best; hunt, kill, all to try and fix the future from his past, so it never happens.

So begins, Old Man Logan.

Analysis:

Old Man Logan #1 is a great premiere issue, for fans familiar with this title, it's going to feel great to see Logan back and for those who have read this for the first time.

You're in for a ride!

This first issue does a great job recounting past events with the art and flashbacks which is great, allowing the audience to jump right into this revenge story. Watching Logan on the hunt for these villains is going to be such a fun and a captivating visual story, the berserker will hold nothing back because he can't, the future depends on his killer instincts and not his hesitation. To me, this is why he was the one that was sent back.

Who sent him?

We still don't know, but who possibly could if every hero has been killed or domesticated in the wastelands of the future?

That has yet to be seen.

One other thing I am looking forward to in Old Man Logan is finding out who Logan will run into. A possibility could be Logan's heir to his name, Wolverine, formally known as X-23, or Jean Grey and even himself!

Time travel has left this book wide open for such options.

One thing the new team kept from Mark Millar's run is the violence, it isn't as morbid and twisted as it's predecessors but it looks good on our hero. It finally feels like Logan found a well suited home for his rage and unorthodox ways of revenge on this title Old Man Logan. 

I believe this is the book that every Wolverine fan has been waiting for, Logan is free to be himself.

On art we have Andrea Sorrentino, who gives a great dimension to Old Man Logan. Sorrentino's art gives an elaborate collage feel in some panels that is visually striking to the eye.

I discovered a great and subtle touch while reading this issue, during the flashback of the villain-run wastelands, Black Butcher and his muscled henchmen have a green hue to them perhaps showcasing banners dominance without him even being around. There is also some great homages paid to a legendary comic book contributor that has obviously left an influence on everyone in the comic book business including Andrea Sorrentino and that is none other than Frank Miller.

With the black and white noir look Sin City received, we get that same format but in vibrant reds and blues that makes Old Man Logan pop, and makes the art style his own.

Another "tip of the hat" I noticed is from The Dark Knight Returns displayed on a beautiful two page panel. See below.

On the script we have Jeff Lemire, who recently brought Old Man Logan back on his other script run on Extraordinary X-Men. Lemire does a great job differentiating the two titles and their core drive.

Old Man Logan is driven by revenge, a dish best served cold I hear. But in contrast this issue is also propelled by desperation for sentimental reasons, Logan is a mutant but was able to grow a family, he grew older with them, something he never thought possible; and that was taken from him. All of this is displayed in Lemire's script in a gradual paced way. Logan has a chance to change the fate of the world and we are all anxiously waiting to see Logan see that through in Jeff Lemire's hands.

I think I speak for all of the fans of the Old Man Logan issues when I say "Thank You!"

This comic book took awhile but it's finally here and it is spectacular.

Published: January 27, 2016
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Cover Artist:Andrea Sorrentino

 

Sammy Rendon is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @Hip_HopNerd