…and the winner is (drumroll) Wolverine: Old Man Logan! Believe me, DC fans, I am just as surprised as you are. This is LoudMelissa, chiming in on my set up of a classic argument, Marvel vs. DC, with Paul Pope(Batman: Year 100) up against Mark Millar’s “Wolverine: Old Man Logan”. I know, I know… this has been out FOREVER, but I work full time, got a few degrees and am getting some more, so I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write about every single thing that I’ve read. I’m a busy lady. But who cares? Let’s get on with it.
I’ll start out with the art. Sometimes, I feel like the art is all people pay attention to, but this book has such a fantastic story line that I am going to get this other great part out of the way. Steve McNiven is the penciler and he really did some fantastic sketches. I suppose I had never considered Wolverine as getting old. He’s Logan, he’s built to last! I really love the way he is sketched out and the same goes for Hawkeye. Emma Frost is still hot as she ever was. Has she ever been drawn as anything other than the fucking hottest woman on earth? The art is really great. Especially the panels where the Venom symbiote combines with a tyrannosaurus rex!
So, here’s the deal: The good guys lost… ALL OF THEM! Pretty much the whole damned Marvel Universe got murdered. I had to watch my all time number one Marvel character, Daredevil, get eaten by a dinosaur. That hurt. So, the country is broken up into pieces, with a “Savageland” in the middle. We have Hulkland, where the Hulk family (remember when he was a hero?) rules, and pretty much makes Logan and his new rural farm family’s life shit. The Kingdom of the Kingpin, Doom’s Lair, and The President’s Quarter. Guess who the President is? Oh, only our favorite Crimson skulled nazi! Ugh… seriously. Oh, did I mention there are monster-types called “moloids”, that lived underground and now come up to devour whole cities that are over populated?
Alright, synopsis time, in case you haven’t had the chance to read this book:
Logan and his wife and two kids owe the Hulk family a bunch of rent. They can’t make it and he takes a serious beating from them. Why doesn’t he just whip out the old claws and rip them to shreds? Well, that’s because he accidentally went on a killing spree and became a pacifist. Enter Hawkeye. He offers Logan a chance to take a cross country trip to deliver a mysterious case over in New Babylon. Logan agrees to take this trip and soon enters a world of danger where he is eventually left with no other option than to go back on his vow and take on his old moniker once again…that of Wolverine.
I know I didn’t get into the fact that there are tons of cameos of Marvel Universe characters; which was super cool. I love the way Logan gets when he gives in and whips those claws out again, after old times. I love that right before I had to say goodbye to my beloved Daredevil, I got to see a wisp of that brilliantly red Matt Murdoch hair that made me fall in love with him when I was 7 years old. I love how, even though I’ve never really been a Captain America fan, his non-present presence was all over this thing. Just read this book…seriously it. Just do it. You’ll be better for it.