A Guide To Reading Old Man Logan Comics

Wolverine fans have gotten all kinds of stories from their favorite hero, including many alternate universe and time travel stories. This isn’t really that bizarre for a member of the X-Men, as the team has always been on the cutting edge of multiversal and time travel shenanigans. There are plenty of amazing versions of Wolverine out there, but one is more popular than the rest.

Old Man Logan premiered in Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66 by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, Morry Hollowell, and Cory Petit. The story took a villain-controlled dystopian future Marvel Universe, added a dash of Unforgiven, and went to town. “Old Man Logan was a hit with fans, and would eventually return for his own series after Wolverine’s death. Old Man Logan’s journey through the Marvel Universe is interesting, taking readers on an often emotional and tragic ride.

Old Man Logan Took Readers On A Wild Ride

Mark Millar has always had a certain reputation, as his comics were known for their violence and general edgy nature. However, he can also write something poignant and emotional; “Old Man Logan” helped him flex those muscles. The story ran from Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66-72 and ended with Wolverine: Giant-Size Old Man Logan. The story was simple – decades into the future, Wolverine is a family man farmer doing his best to live under the yoke of the Hulk Gang. When the family’s rent comes due, Logan gets a lucky break – Hawkeye shows up with a paying job, needing someone to drive him across the country and act as his bodyguard. However, there’s a problem – Wolverine is now a sworn pacifist. Hawkeye still needs a driver, and the two set off across the country.

Hawkeye and Logan encounter feral Moloids, a new Kingpin in Las Vegas, pay the toll of a new Ant-Man, and are chased by a Venom symbiote-clad tyrannosaur. Readers were given more lore of how the villains teamed up as one army and attacked heroes they didn’t always fight – much like Acts Of Vengeance – decimating the heroes. The key to this story is the worldbuilding. Sure, the action is great, the art is fantastic, and the characters all work for their roles. Still, the Wasteland is such a tantalizing setting for stories, and “Old Man Logan” fleshes it out just enough for readers to enjoy what they’re reading while leaving it open enough for use later. The final act is also a bloody highlight, giving readers a cathartic moment after a story that kept ratcheting up the brutality.

“Old Man Logan” was a hit with fans and critics. Millar always did a great job of writing Wolverine and left behind his usual irreverent humor for a serious, emotional story. Older fans noticed the similarities to Acts Of Vengeance, but it wasn’t the first time that Millar borrowed an idea for a Wolverine story – “Enemy Of The State” saw him using a discarded Claremont idea for Wolverine, where he was killed by the Hand and resurrected by them. However, the story was so good, filled with deft characterization, amazing worldbuilding, and an engaging plot. On top of that, the art from Steve McNiven was gorgeous and remains his best work at Marvel. “Old Man Logan” is perennially in print and is the kind of story that every Wolverine fan loves and recommends. On top of that, it partly inspired Logan, a movie that many consider the best movie starring a Marvel character.

Old Man Logan Returned For Secret Wars

Marvel is known for milking popular stories and characters for all they’re worth. Wolverine is a perfect example of this, as the character had long been a guest star in any book a reader could imagine and was often a member of several teams at a time. However, despite the story being rather open-ended and the character being very popular, Marvel seemingly showed reticence to throw Old Man Logan into everything. Of course, that wasn’t going to last forever.

Marvel was definitely going to go back to the Old Man Logan well at some point, and they chose the perfect time for it – the multiverse-shaking Secret Wars (2015). This story saw Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man work together to recreate the shattered multiverse, with Doom becoming God Emperor Doom and creating Battleworld, a composite planet of alternate timelines and universes. Tie-in miniseries brought readers to these alternate world slivers, one of which was the Wastelands. That meant Old Man Logan was ready to ride again. Logan traveled across Battleworld to discover the truth of the universe, taking him through the worlds that Doom had saved.

Bendis is known for making all his characters talk a certain way, but he’s always had a knack for Wolverine. His Old Man Logan is a great rendition of the character, capturing Wolverine’s loner nature, and Bendis does an amazing job with the various Battlworld environments. Andrea Sorrentino’s art is amazing. His pencils and page layouts are always spectacular, and he brilliantly brings the various worlds to life. Marcelo Maiolo’s colors are the icing on top, bringing the pencils to another level.

This was the perfect re-introduction to Old Man Logan and an exciting tie-in for Secret Wars (2015). It is probably Bendis’s best latter-day Marvel work. The ending was a huge surprise for readers, as most of the Secret Wars tie-ins didn’t end with their characters ending up in the 616. Old Man Logan was in the Marvel Universe, and things were about to get very interesting.

Jeff Lemire’s Old Man Logan Took The Character And Readers On An Emotional Journey

2014 saw the Death Of Wolverine while Wolverines crowned Logan’s daughter Laura as the new Wolverine. Laura immediately got a book of her own – All-New Wolverine – but Marvel was always a publisher that wanted more Wolverine. The Secret Wars tie-in mini was a teaser, and Old Man Logan (Vol. 2)launched in the All-New, All-Different Marvel publishing initiative that spun out of Secret Wars. Writer Jeff Lemire, who was writing the flagship X-Men book Extraordinary X-Men, as well as Thanos, Moon Knight, and All-New Hawkeye, would join Sorrentino, who he had worked with at DC on Green Arrow during the New 52.

Lemire is a writer known for taking his character on emotional journeys and throwing in great sci-fi concepts and superhero shenanigans into his book, making him the perfect writer for Logan’s latest adventures. What followed was twenty-four issues of pitch-perfect Wolverine stories that even dropped some best-of-all-time Wolverine stories on readers. Sorrentino would move on from the book before Lemire’s run ended, with Felipe Andrade and Eric Nguyen on pencils and color artists Andrew Boyd and Andres Mossa rounding out the book’s talent.

Lemire’s run started with Logan obsessed with stopping one of Marvel’s darkest alternate universes from coming about, and that would be a throughline for the whole run. Lemire would also play with the idea that Logan felt he was destined to kill the X-Men in Extraordinary X-Men, the two threads running parallel. Lemire’s time on the book was about Logan accepting his past, realizing he couldn’t change it, and deciding to live in the now. The series was masterfully done, all things told. It combined old-school Wolverine stories – battles against Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers, a trip to Japan, some crossover shenanigans, and X-Men business – with a powerful emotional core that played off the concept of Old Man Logan and who he was as a character.

Lemire understood what made the best solo Wolverine stories work – a mixture of action and emotional pain – and used those main ingredients to create something special for readers. The run’s arc isn’t readily apparent right away – Logan coming to terms with the past and resolving to live in the present – but once a reader knows what to look for, it’s a huge part of the book’s story. Each story arc pushes it forward in ways overt and subtle, making Old Man Logan a book that rewards re-reading.

The issues where Lemire and Sorrentino worked together are phenomenal; some jaw-dropping page layouts use comic panels in ways that few other artists do. These two creators know each other very well, and a level of trust in their work together came through on every page. The art from Andrade and Nguyen was also sensational, albeit with more conventional pages and panels. They each did an amazing job with what Lemire gave them. Under Jeff Lemire, Old Man Logan (Vol. 2) was brilliant. The writer found the right cards to play with the character and took readers on a harrowing journey, ending with Logan shrugging off the pain of the past and moving forward.

Ed Brisson’s Run Was More Conventional Than Lemire’s But Still Very Good

Jeff Lemire’s run at Marvel ended in 2017, closing his time out with Old Man Logan (Vol. 2) #24. Inhumans Vs. X-Men brought about a new order on the mutant books called ResurreXion. While Laura was Wolverine, Logan was the A-list clawed mutant of the Marvel Universe, getting a place on the flagship X-Men books. He’d join the cast of X-Men Gold after Extraordinary X-Men ended. Old Man Logan would continue despite Lemire giving the book a great ending.

Ed Brisson joined Old Man Logan (Vol. 2) with issue twenty-five. Also coming on board was Marvel legend Mike Deodato and top-rank color artist Frank Martin. Deodato and Martin had worked on many of Marvel’s biggest books over the years, so Old Man Logan getting them was a coup. Deodato and Martin eventually left the book, replaced by Ibraim Roberson, Dalibor Tjalic, Francesco Manna, Juan Ferreyra, Damon Couceiro, Neil Edwards, and color artist Carlos Lopez. The first story for the new team, “Days Of Anger,” began with an attack at a diner by Billy-Bob from Old Man Logan’s Hulk Gang and a group of Hulks, leading to the return of the most dangerous Hulk variant – the Maestro.

Brisson’s run is much more of a conventional superhero book than Lemire’s was. Brisson, who had been working on many of Marvel’s grittier titles, was put on the book and gave readers some cool Logan stories. Logan has fights against Kraven and Bullseye, two villains that work well against him that he rarely fought in the past, as well as pitting him against classic Wolverine foes like Gorgon. These stories accentuated action more than character development and had no overarching plot. However, for fans of Wolverine, of just action-packed comics in general, Brisson’s tenure on Old Man Logan is perfectly fine. Not every issue is a much read, but they are all entertaining.

Brisson’s run ends on Old Man Logan (Vol. 2) as Logan realizes he has to go home, which refutes Lemire’s run. This is unfortunate, but it is also the nature of the Big Two – popular books keep going and Marvel was going to milk Logan until they brought Wolverine back. Brisson gives readers some action-packed stories and captures Logan’s despair as he realizes his body is breaking down. Wolverine is the best there is, but Logan couldn’t keep up with that, although the book does see him do his best and constantly pay for it.

This change in the character even extended into X-Men Gold, where Logan eventually left the team, although he did appear in Phoenix Resurrection. Bringing back Mariko Yashida, who has been dead since 1992, was a big change, but it has barely been used outside this comic. Brisson’s run did some cool things with Logan, showing just how fun Glob Herman could be as a character. It never reaches the same level of excellence as Lemire’s run, but it’s definitely worth reading.

Dead Man Logan Tied Logan’s Story In A Neat Bow

Brisson had taken Logan on a painful journey, but it wasn’t over yet. Old Man Logan (Vol. 2)ended with issue fifty, but Logan’s story wasn’t done. That final issue ended with Logan knocked out, so there was definitely going to be a continuation. It came with Dead Man Logan, a twelve-issue book that would team Brisson with the Deadpool Vs. Old Man Logan penciler Mike Henderson and color artist Nolan Woodward. The book would consist of two six-issue stories; the first tying up all of Logan’s plots in the 616 universe while dealing with Mysterio, and the last six would see him go back to the Wastelands, thanks to Forge rebuilding the Maestro’s machine that allowed him to travel through the multiverse.

Dead Man Logan is another bloody good time from Brisson. Henderson and Woodward work together brilliantly. Henderson’s style doesn’t seem like it should work for this book, but it does, and Woodward does something interesting with Logan. The story’s two distinct phases – the battle against Mysterio and the battle in the Wasteland – give readers more of what they’ve come to expect from Brisson’s Old Man Logan – top-notch action surrounded by cool character moments and a few revelations about why Old Man Logan’s future happened that readers would never have guessed.

The closer he gets to death, the paler his skin gets until it’s bone-white right before he dies. Dead Man Logan gives closure to fans following Old Man Logan the whole time. Brisson does a great job of raising the stakes and sending off Logan in a poignant moment that feels earned. This book does lead to Avengers Of The Wastelands, and Marvel has since put out several Old Man series in the Wastelands, with Hawkeye and Star-Lord getting series, among others.

Logan’s journey through the 616 universe is a great one. It’s rare for a character to have as many amazing stories as he does. The first story opened up a new alternate world for fans and creators, and Logan’s trip to the 616 expanded on the character, digging into his past and putting him through his paces. A murderer’s row of talent worked on the character and gave him stories that took a rather simple character and fleshed him out. Old Man Logan’s first story is well-known and sells well, but his entire run in the 616 deserves way more attention. There are some classic stories here, and every Marvel fan owes it to themselves to check them out.