Giant-Size Wolverine: Old Man Logan #1 Review

It's been a while since I last did one of these image based reviews, so I thought, what with how pretty Steve McNiven's art is, this would be a perfect issue to spotlight.  While delays have killed a lot of momentum this storyline had built, I still found myself wanting to read this issue first (I'm a best first kinda guy when it comes to the pull list reading every Wednesday) this week and, while I the tone of this review may come off a bit negative (the negativity is mostly in regards to the Old Man Logan story as a whole and pricing of this issue more than towards this great single issue), I don't think anyone will walk away disappointed with this purchase.  It's been a long time coming, but how was the conclusion to Old Man Logan?  Hit the jump to find out.

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Wolverine #72 Review

WOLVERINE #72
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven

Similar to Millar's run on Fantastic Four, I'm losing interest in Wolverine. I'm not sure if it's due to the delays or if it's because I'm just getting tired of the cliched conepts and moments, or Millar-isms, if you will, that his work seem to always have that is causing my interest to wane.

Case in point, this issue features some big moments that should be wowing me, such as the Red Skull vs Logan fight or Logan finally popping the claws, but it all left me sort of empty, like a been there, done that type of feeling. The art didn't help this feeling either.

No, I'm not calling McNiven's artwork bad. It's just a lot of it was eerily familiar, possibly intentionally, to Civil War, specifically the scene with Wolverine smashing Red Skull's face in with the shield, which is almost a mirror image of the Iron Man vs Captain America fight in composition and look. Red Skull is even wearing a Captain America costume to complete the scene. Things like that gave it a deja vu feeling moreso than the homage (is it even a homage for something as recent as Civil War?) they were shooting for.

As I mentioned above, Wolverine finally popped the claws this issue. While wonderfully drawn, the build up to it, either due to the delays or my general disinterest at this point, dulled the wow factor of it for me. I've just never been sold on the concept of the simple family man Logan when we've seen his family in all of maybe five pages throughout the series. The entire subplot about the rent seemed to get lost in the last few issues and I really didn't expect the series to go back to the farm at this point in time. The family being dead when he got back was predictable and the fact we have no reason to care about them at this point in time meant the death lacked the impact required for me to connect it as the thing pushing Logan over the edge. The decapitation of the Red Skull with Cap's shield was actually more shocking to me than the much anticipated claw popping.

Verdict - Check It. This will probably read a million times better in trade and I actually regret picking it up in singles now. Momentum has been sapped and, while pretty, it's a very cliched Mark Millar story on top of it all.

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Wolverine #71 Review

WOLVERINE #71
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven

While I enjoyed this issue, it felt very disjoint and it was almost as if we took a big jump from the buildup stage of our story to the climax, sort of like we went from A to D in one go.

For instance, this issue started with Logan and Hawkeye being chased by a Venom symbiote controlled T-Rex, beautifully rendered by Steve McNiven. It was the typical exciting and 'widescreen movie' scene writing Millar often employs and worked extremely well in the whole 'cross country tour' we've been following up until now.

From here, Black Bolt shows up, kills the T-Rex, our heroes get teleported to Emma Frost's home, we find out Black Bolt is basically her lackey and there's some back and forth chatter between Emma and our dynamic duo before they get sent off on their merry little way. Kind of interesting, but I couldn't figure out what if there was even a point to the whole thing or not.

Continuing after their chat with Emma, the duo trek across the country and proceed to the final delivery location of their mystery package, which turned out to be a large batch of a modified Super Solider formula that was supposed to go towards creating a new team of Avengers to take back the world since the villains had grown old and complacent after seizing power. From here, the buyers of the product reveal themselves as government agents and promptly kill Hawkeye and pump Logan full of bullets, ending the issue and our heroes' journey.

As I said, this all happens so fast and none of the scenes really connected in any meaningful way to get us to this point in the story. While I did enjoy the issue, primarily on the strength of McNiven's art and my love of alternate futures, it just felt like someone told Millar it was time to finish his story and he tacked on this bit about a new Avenger team and Super Soldier formula shipment to get us to the finish line without properly setting up the events.

Verdict - Check It. While I was a little put off by the pace and jarring sequence of events in this issue, I don't think anyone that has been following the storyline will be disappointed with the purchase and I'm sure Logan is at his breaking point after the final pages of this issue, promising lots of action to finish out this story in the coming issues.

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Wolverine #69 Review

WOLVERINE #69
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve Mcniven

When I saw this cover, I thought for a moment that I had missed the last issue where we deal with Spider-Bitch and her attacking Hawkeye after killing the Kingpin.

It seems I didn't miss any issues and Millar simply glosses over that confrontation by having Logan drive in, grab Hawkeye and the two then leave town with Spider-Bitch's men in hot pursuit.

I was actually a bit disappointed with how quickly the whole Spider-Bitch thing was swept under the rug and Logan gripping the wheel and damning Hawkeye / Spider-Bitch for 'making him do this' at the end of the last issue was a really great moment for me and I was expecting some follow up, not a quick dash and grab to sweep that plot under the rug.

Despite my disappointment over the opening of the issue, the remainder was quite enjoyable as Hawkeye and Logan, fleeing Spider-Bitch's new army, which were formerly Kingpin's men, are swallowed up by the Earth as the Moloids collapse the ground beneath them all.

The image Logan, and we, see as the he wakes up was quite shocking and I was thinking the same thing Logan was when I saw it - that Hawkeye was getting eaten by Moloids. As it turns out, we were both wrong and, upon closer inspection, it was one of Spider-Bitch's men getting eaten and Hawkeye was relatively fine over in the Spider-Mobile. It is revealed that the Moloids slaughtered the entire group of Spider-Bitch goons as Logan and Hawkeye use the Spider-Mobile to climb the walls out of the pit.

From here, we catch glimpses of different parts of the mid-west as the two travel across the ruined America. One of the oddities we see is the giant corpse of Loki crushed by the Baxter Building. The only thing I can't figure out is how the Baxter Building got to Electroville, which, according to the map given, is west of Mount Rushmore and nowhere near New York, where the Baxter Building should be...

Other interesting tidbits included a Venom symbiote travelling about in South Dakota, Mount Rushmore having a giant skull (mabye Red Skull?) carved into it and dinosaurs roaming the midwest, all imported from the Savage Land and let loose when people didn't want them anymore.

The issue ends with Logan reaching his breaking point in a small bar in Iowa. He clearly doesn't want to be the man he used to be, but one of the patrons agitates him to such a degree that he's ready to pop his claws into the man's skull if he says one more word. This leads to him rushing out of the bar before he does something he regrets with Hawkeye chasing after him. Clint asks Logan just what the hell happened to him and Logan finally agrees to tell him, leaving us hanging on the edge of our seats.

Verdict - Check It. Delays hurt the book and the sweeping of Spider-Bitch's story under the rug really hurt the opening of the book, but, once I got back into it, it was still just as entertaining as always. However, I'm giving it a Check It as I feel it's best to simply trade wait this one out and enjoy the story from start to finish without the delays.

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Wolverine #68 Review

WOLVERINE #68
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven

Pros

+ More of the same great alternate future action we've seen from the first few issues.
+ Steve McNiven - His art is spectacular. Words fail me in describing how great an artist he is and this issue is some of his strongest work to date, especially with respect to Logan and his reaction at the end of the issue to his having to save Hawkeye.
+ Kingpin - Wasn't expecting him to be, well, not Wilson Fisk. It was shocking to see him as a young punk that rose up to prominance in a very similar manner to the original Kingpin. This is the guy that killed Magneto, too. Wilson Fisk was never involved.
+ Spider-Bitch - While I don't like the name all that much, this character has a lot of personality and her intentions are far from altruistic - she's here to kill the Kingpin and take over his territory. And she succeeds in killing him, in case you were wondering.
+ Hawkeye is a badass. I loved his "genius" idea to just smash into the Kingpin's holding cells with the Spider Buggie and how he systematically takes out all of the guards. Great action all around.


Cons

- Looks like the whole, "I won't fight ever again", oath is ending mighty early for Logan. I was honestly prepared to see him only pop the claws at the very end of the story, after things got as bad as they possibly could. To see the cliffhanger promising him coming out of retirement next issue seems a bit premature, but hasn't happened yet, either.

Verdict - Must Read. Just sit back, buckle up and hang on as if a crazy blindman was driving this thrill ride of a story. It's going to be one hell of a fun time.

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Wolverine #67 Review

WOLVERINE #67
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven

Millar and McNiven delivered another enjoyable romp through the future-gone-wrong Marvel Universe with Wolverine #67. While I'm sure everyone has read the spoilers on forums or read the issue themselves already, let's give a quick rundown of what happened for the rest of you.

As you all know, Hawkeye, one of the few surviving heroes left alive and now blind, has come to recruit Wolverine, who has settled down, gotten married, had children and is now a pacifist.

One slight problem for Logan's life of happiness - the Hulk Gang has come to collect rent he doesn't have - forcing him to take Hawkeye's offer to escort him across America.

This issue follows the duo, who are using Spider-Man's old Spider-Mobile, as they drive across America to deliver the mysterious package. First stop - San Francisco, where we get to see what the Mole Man's Moloids' have done to the city.

I'm not sure how important any of this was to the actual story, but I think it served its purpose, which is, most likely, simply to entertain us in that Mark Millar popcorn movie / summer blockbuster-like manner and it succeeds at that in spades.

While exploring the city, they are attacked by Ghost Riders, a gang of cheap imitations of the real Ghost Rider - they have the flaming bikes and chains, but no flaming skull. Wolverine takes another beating here, refusing to defend himself or hurt another living being again. Just as the it looks like the Riders will make off with the goods, the blind Hawkeye shows us that he's still got the goods with some well placed arrows to the hapless Ghost Riders.

I'm not sure how important any of this was to the actual story, but I think it served its purpose, which is, most likely, simply to entertain us in that Mark Millar popcorn movie / summer blockbuster-like manner and it succeeds at that in spades.

The two former heroes travel from San Fran to Hammer Falls, Nevada where they are confronted by a seriously lacking Ultron. He's sporting the same look as he has in Marvel 1985, making me think the villains in this story may just be the same ones featured in that one. Maybe a time warp or something to do with how they return from the "real" world at the end of that series leads to this apocalyptic future?

Ultron isn't here to kill the two, though, and he simply directs Hawkeye to his ex-wife, Tonya, who is one of Spider-Man's children. Seems the two had a child named Ashley and she took up the Spider-Man mantle and formed a super team with some friends in an attempt to take down the Kingpin. Obviously, it didn't go so well and she has been captured and is awaiting execution and we catch a glimpse of "Spider-Bitch" (not sure if she's still called that, but I remember the uproar about it when it was originally announced) in her cell wearing a modified Spider-Girl costume.

Verdict - Check It. It's still very much a fluff piece, but I always find thesealternate future Elseworlds-like stories entertaining, so I have no problem with the relative lack of meat and potatoes this story has to offer. This is not Ultimates nor is it Civil War for anyone looking for those types of stories, but I think there's enough here to keep just about anyone entertained, whether it's the beautiful art of Steve McNiven or Millar's entertaining yarn.

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Wolverine #66 Review

WOLVERINE #66
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven

By all rights, this is an excellent issue and I highly recommend it to everyone, but, if there's one problem Wolverine #66 and the Old Man Logan storyline has, it's that it's probably going to fall victim to its own hype.

Based on the hype and constant stream of interviews and Mark Millar's own self promotion of his "One Man Event", consisting of 1985, Kick-Ass, Fantastic Four and Wolverine, I'm confident that the biggest detractors of this book are simply expecting too much from what amounts to a fun, alternate future storyline alla things like Age of Apocalypse, Days of Future Past and so on. None had long lasting affects nor did they redefine characters, but they showed characters in different settings and gave new insights into the way people perceived those characters.

Anyone coming in expecting this to be a Watchman or a universe altering event level book is going to be sadly disappointed.

That said, I'm sure everyone has already heard what happens in this issue. It's a fairly straight forward set up issue whereby we see Logan in his later years, now retired and settled down with a wife and family, scraping by, trying to make a living in a world where the heroes lost a climactic battle many years ago.

That event changed Wolverine and he is now a hollow shell of the former berzerker rage filled mutant killing machine. So changed is Logan that he no longer goes by his Wolverine codename and, when the Hulk Clan comings looking for rent Logan doesn't have, he simply grits his teeth and accepts the beating they dish out on him. Even when they threaten to kill him and his family if he doesn't come up with the money next month, he still kowtows to his aggressors.

However, there are flashes of the old Wolverine, specifically when he imagines himself unleashing his claws for the first time in 20 years and slaughtering the Hulk Clan before snapping back to reality and taking his beating.

After all these years, Wolverine's age has caught up to him and his mutant healing factor, while still active, has slowed considerably and he's still bedridden by nightfall when Hawkeye, now blind, comes to see him.

He offers Logan a job to help him deliver an unspecified package across the country, to which Logan has no choice but to accept with no other means of coming up with the money for next month's rent.

Thus starts the cross country trek through a world gone mad. One of the best parts of the issue came out of this as we get to see a GPS map of the new layout of the United States. The Hulk Clan has taken over the west coast while Kingpin takes of the midwest and several other villains control similar territories across the country, ending with the unnamed, but speculated to be the mysterious Wyncham character popping up in all of Millar's One Man Event books, presidential territory, which just happens to be the duo's destination.

I'll post the map in the Moments of the Week, as it's great speculation fodder, especially with the various towns and cities named along Logan and Hawkeye's route, such as my favourite, Paste Pot Creek.

Verdict - Must Read. Unless you hate meaningless alternate future storylines or anything written by Mark Millar, there's no reason to skip this issue as it was just a great read made all the better with McNiven's beautiful artwork. I can't wait to see what madness Millar has in store or one of McNiven's fight scenes from upcoming issues.

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