Wolverine: Old Man Logan

I am not the biggest graphic novel reader. When I saw this in the book store, I had to read a few pages out of curiosity. After the first few pages, I had to buy it. I read comics when I was younger, but none compare to this one. This is the most beautifully drawn, but at the same time immensely brutal thing I have ever read in my life.

The concept is 50 years into the Marvel universe future. War has broken out and the heroes are all gone. It seems the bad guys found a way to unify themselves and killed all the supers one by one. The remaining few have hung up their outfits and now live in hiding among the rest of the people, trying to survive day by day like normal people.

Wolverine hasn’t used his claws in over 50 years. You don’t know what happened at first, but he did something terrible. So terrible that he now dawns a pacifistic lifestyle and now goes under the name of just Logan. He has a family and lives out in California, which is know now as Hulk Land. The Hulk has found a way to pass on his gamma radiation genes onto an army of redneck offspring. They have turned into a gang that polices the West, collecting taxes from farms and eating people for fun. Logan doesn’t have enough money to pay the Hulks. So after they savagely beat him (since he doesn’t fight back) they give him a few weeks to pay or the Hulks will eat his family.

While recuperating Logan is visited by his friend and once Avenger Hawkeye. Hawkeye is now a blind old man, but with a mission for Logan. He needs help making it to the other end of the country to deliver a package. He is willing to pay Logan more than enough to appease the Hulks.

Out of options, Logan accompanies Hawkeye on this journey, but with one rule (no killing). Their journey brings them across country and we see the destruction caused by the Great War. We are shown where the mighty Thor died, now a monument where people go to pray. We see the cannibalistic underground where the Moloids live. We even get glances of how Captain America finally fell to his nemesis the Red Skull, who now resides within the White House.

Nothing is more graphic when we discover why Logan now takes on a life of peace. It would be a great injustice for me to reveal that part of the story, but it is graphic and a complete shocker. After seeing that, I can see why he never drew his claws in decades.

And how does this epic Graphic Novel end? With a climactic battle with the Hulks of course, including the original Hulk Bruce Banner. Pages of blood and gore is all I can reveal at this time. I would love to review the entire book, but I don’t want to spoil it for everyone.

The best part about it is that it leads to a sequel. I can honestly say I can’t wait till this next installment comes out. This world that they created can go on in so many directions. Logan’s plan at the end is to travel around and bring peace back to the broken world. Again, I can’t wait to read the next one and you should pick up this first one.

Joe Reyes