Old Man Logan 12 review

For the last couple of issues, Old Man Logan’s been held by a group of warriors known as the Silent Order. That half of the story is progressing a bit slow in terms of what’s happening – he keeps being thrown into the same pit, with Lady Deathstrike also being held captive by the same group. You’d think that would make for a boring story, but it doesn’t.

Written by Jeff Lemire, Old Man Logan 12 faces Logan off against the leader of the Silent Order, a telekinetic telepath who becomes a bit of a crime lord in Old Man Logan’s time. Somehow through his telepathy, he learned about this alternate future and that Logan killed him there. That happened in the previous issue, so this one is mostly the confrontation. Again, on paper it sounds like a boring story, but there’s a lot more going on. The main story is interwoven with flashbacks to Logan and Maureen escaping from the Silent Order, with a couple reveals that end up deepening their relationship. The main story gets quite introspective though, giving Logan’s repeated falling into the pit some thematic weight. That’s what makes this comic work so well. It’s something you have to read to fully understand why it works.

The art by Andrea Sorrentino is fantastic as always. There’s a painted quality to the whole thing, with creative use of splash pages surrounded by small panels shaped like broken glass or dragons. Every spread in this comic could easily be a poster of its own. It’s to the point where some of the art even gives the writing a poetic feel, or at least enhances the feel. Marcelo Maiolo’s colouring is also great. Almost every panel is shaded toward one general colour, and it always helps enhance the mood of each page. The particularly violent moments are overwhelmingly red, the flashbacks are often orange with people’s eye and hair colour still coming through, while the modern day scenes are usually either dark blue (in the pit) or a subtle pink (when the Silent Order’s leader is using his powers).

When I learned that Old Man Logan was going to Japan, I expected an action-packed story arc with at least a few big plot twists. Instead, what we get is something that’s a lot simpler yet still works. While I wouldn’t quite call the writing great, it’s definitely smart. Those who enjoy the original Old Man Logan series should read this, and fans of the original Wolverine will likely enjoy this arc, and this series in general.

7.5/10

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