STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Steve McNiven
COVER: Steve McNiven
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE DATE: Thursday, May 28, 2009
I'm guessing it's Bucky Cap. He's got brown eyes. I feel like ending this review with that, but I don't think Mike would not be happy about it (see AC's POTW).
With its cinematic grandeur Old Man Logan is the story that Marvel wants you to think you like. They want you to know that you need it. The Red Skull wearing Cap's mask on the cover is saying "come on. Closer, closer. You know you need me. NOW BUY ME!" And we do. Why? Because Marvel and Mark Millar told us to. In his own words writer Mark Millar said that Old Man Logan was going to be the "Dark Knight of Wolverine stories."
That is the biggest, boldest, and most arrogant statement I will ever hear, and he should apologize to Frank Miller for it.
Ha ha ha rings the quire! As they all shrug it off and move on to the next comic news website. No. I'm feeling pretty serious right now so listen. This is the medium that we all love or we wouldn't bother reading and writing about it. I don't mind that for now Marvel does not have a Captain America. Sorry, Bucky is great, but there is a reason even Bendis calls him "Bucky Cap" in New Avengers. Steve Rogers is gone for now, and if we listen to Mr. Millar, 50 years from now Bucky is still going to be carrying the shield, right next to his catheter.
Granted, this is the first issue of the arc that hasn't gone something like this:
Old Hawkeye: Road trip?
####ing old Logan: But I'm scured...
Old Hawkeye: Don't be a ##ssy!
####ing old Logan: Well, Sally and the kids do need the money, ok.
Driving...shocking symbolism of yore...plot twist...rehashed old villain posing.
One, maybe two issues of that for me is enough. But see, they are counting on you to buy into the hype. Sometimes I feel like Marvel is an MTV VJ that works for Oprah telling me that without this I will be left out of the big Secret (props to Powell).
On the surface it seems like a good story, and McNiven is a great artist. But you can tell he's rushing so that Wolverine #100 doesn't come out before this arc ends.
And can we stop using Captain America as a plot device or catalyst? Perverted imagery of Captain America: The Red Skull as the dead corps of Captain America is disgusting. Logan beheading him with Cap's shield is poor; if he's going to take the guys head off anyway, why not use his own claws. The only reason I see in doing that is for all the readers who saw that and shouted "Oh ####, did you see that?!" Rednecks.
And it is just plain lazy to have a two page spread of the word SNIKT! We know that's what his claws sound like, just like we knew he was going to "pop em'."
And ship on time, it's just embarrassing.
See you in the future! AC