"My name is Logan."
"Sure it is."
This book collects Wolverine #66 - 72 and Old Man Logan Giant-Size. It is by the same creative team behind the main Civil War book from Marvel and the recent mini-series Nemesis - Mark Millar and Steve McNiven.
The story is set in a dystopian future fifty years after the bad guys decided to get co-ordinated and wipe out most of the superheroes. The United States has been split into zones each controlled by one of the leaders of the conflict. Wolverine is a broken man after his experiences and unwitting role in the victory for the bad guys. He has forsaken violence and sworn not to use his claws again. He has a wife and two children and is struggling to make ends meet on his farmstead and is behind on the rent to Banner's offspring. A blind Hawkeye appears and offers him a job escorting him and a package to the east coast. As they set out across the blasted landscape of America, Logan finds out the fate of some of the fallen heroes and their descendents, tells the tale of his role in the heroes downfall and finds his promise to his family not to pop his claws and resort to violence tested to the limit and beyond.
I thought this was a really, really good book. The setting of a post apocalyptic future was a good one - if a bit Mad Max inspired - as is the premise that Wolverine has become a man of peace supporting his family and eking out a life as a farmer. The art is great in this book as it has to be with many silent panels and one and two page splashes. I loved the gradual reveal of the fate of some of the heroes and the discarded Mjolnir becoming a place of pilgrimage. While not quite as graphic as Nemesis there is still a surprising amount of red ink splahed about in what is a mainstream Marvel title. And the build-up to Logan finally popping his claws - you knew he had to at some point - was a delicious tease as he used all manner of other means to defend himself when under extreme attack.
First published on RevolutionSF on Wednesday Apr 20, 2011
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