Wolverine Wednesday #30
Dead Man Logan #12
Writer: Ed Brisson | Artist: Mike Henderson | Colourist: Nolan Woodard | Letters: Cory Petit
So this is it. The end of the line for Old Man Logan. A character who has been around for some years now in one incarnation or another. when he came into the main Marvel universe as part of ‘Secret Wars’ a few years back I did wonder how much longevity he would have. With X-Men comics being a minefield of continuity and reboots it was never going to work out that the death of Old Man Logan lined up perfectly with young Wolverine’s return from the dead. While Return of Wolverine was a mess and consequently a waste of time considering the events of Powers of X and House of X, the final issue of Old Man Logan is a fitting end to both the series and the character. I think this issue is a perfect blend of wrapping everything up that has been laid out in the series with other characters and giving Logan enough time to say goodbye to the world and in a way the readers. The action picks up immediately where the last issue ended. Dani Cage is now in possession of Thor’s hammer. The second page is so well structured to keep the pace flowing and plant plot points. It is essentially a splash page of Sabertooth’s POV but for the reader we get three little panels giving finer points to the story, like Logan taking his final hit of Regenix. Maybe one criticism is that the disposing of the villains is over little quickly, considering they have been going toe to toe for four or so issues. But I guess that is part of the balancing act, at the end of the day we are all here to see one thing. Speaking of that one thing earlier in the run of Old Man Logan Jeff Lemire delivered a pretty emotional story of Logan getting to see his family one last time. It was a very touching moment and if I recall me bottom lip did quiver upon reading it! So it was always going to be a tough act for Brisson to match that, also I think a lot of readers were expecting something more in line with the Logan movie.
In the end Brisson went for something simplistic, but every bit as effective. It’s a double dose of sadness, as he has to say goodbye to Dani and Bruce Jr. then he has a last moment with his family. Henderson compliments the mood of the story brilliantly with lots of fading to light. It is especially effective to transition between the two goodbyes. Going back to the balancing act, Dani and Bruce have been as important to the second act of Dead Man Logan as our titular hero. So the finale issue is as much about launching their next chapter as it is seeing Logan bite the dust.
News has already broken of a five part mini series titled Avengers of The Wastelands coming very soon. Written by Ed Brisson with art by Jonas Scharf I think it has the potential to have a dedicated fan base. If I hear good things about it I will more than likely pick up the trade paperback. I think Dead Man Logan really benefited from being a twelve issue maxi series as opposed to a six issue mini series. To put a spin on Tony Stark’s famous like from Endgame “Part of the End is the Journey.” That is what Brisson has tapped into in the twelve issues. Like I said by the time we got near the end all we wanted to know as readers was how the inevitable goes down. But in the prior eleven issues we were sure entertained along the way. My opinion is Dead Man Logan will stand the test of time as a good Wolverine story that will be revisited by me for multiple readings. It is easily accessible in that it can be enjoyed just as the twelve issue series, but also it acts as a great one, two punch with the original Old Man Logan story arc. I believe you don’t have to have read any of the Old Man Logan on going to enjoy this story but it would give you full enjoyment if you did. As always when we reach the end of a series I want to thank everyone who worked on the twelve issues in delivering a fitting end for a much loved character…
Thank You.
