OLD MAN LOGAN #1
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Art & Cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO Variant Covers by STEVE MCNIVEN, ANDREA SORRENTINO & SKOTTIE YOUNG
Now that the Secret Wars are upon us, everything that was old is new again, including the fan-favorite Wolverine arc, Old Man Logan. The original story saw a future Logan coming to grips with his destiny as The Best There Is At What He Does after succumbing to the torture of killing the other X-Men while under the influence of one of Mysterio’s illusions. While the end of that story simply begged for an honest-to-goodness sequel that delves into a wasteland vigilante who just happens to be the adoptive father of a Hulk baby, the Secret Wars spin to this Old Man Logan story merely touched on most of the fun that Old Man Logan’s world presented in favor of exploring more of Doom’s world.
The Good
Brian Michael Bendis makes sure this issue has the witty banter and intelligent dialogue that EVERY Bendis book has, and it’s fun to see the writer back writing Wolverine after, if I’m not mistaken, the 5 years since his New Avengers run ended. This ish definitely feels like a Wolverine story, with the grit of the character, and his world, being the primary focus of the story.
The shining star of this comic, however, is the amazing work of artist Andrea Sorrentino who captures the essence of this world in a unique style. Steve NcNiven, the artist on the original Old Man Logan, painted such a rich and vivid landscape that it should have been much more difficult than it appeared for Sorrentino to take ownership of the brand, but that’s exactly what’s happened. I just wish I’d get to see more of it.
The Bad
While this is series is a Wolverine story through-and-through there’s nothing special enough about it for it to be an Old Man Logan story. This could easily be just about ANY Wolverine from just about ANY of the umpteen different universes that make up Battleworld, and I was really looking for something singularly OML. What sucks even more is that the Hulk Baby, Wolvie vigilantism, and even the Old Man Logan universe itself will be completely ignored in favor of Wolverine trekking around Doom’s Battleworld, facing off against Ultrons and, assuredly, a Thor Corps member or two. I get it: It’s an event. It’s supposed to tie-in, but I was hoping for something a bit more OML and not just a cheap use of the title just to sell a comic book that’s more about Wolverine and less about the world of OML.
The Verdict
Secret Wars as a brand has been a bit tricky for me to put my finger on. There are some tie-ins that seem to merely glance by the fact that the events of the series are taking place on Battleworld, while others fully embrace the fact, putting Battleworld and its various nations at the forefront of the storytelling. The most compelling aspect of the Old Man Logan story (after Wolverine goes back to being a hero, that is) are the side-characters and the world itself, and while it appears like we’re not going to get either of those in the rest of this series, we definitely didn’t get enough of them in this single issue. But, man, that art is almost worth checking out the story til its end.
Outright Geekery 