Old Man Logan #2

By Brian Michael Bendis, Andrea Sorrentino and Marcel Maiolo

Last month we were treated to the first issue of Old Man Logan, and it rocked. Having a great debut can be easy enough, but keeping the quality of a book throughout a run or mini-series is a real task. As we open up our second issue of this Secret Wars tie-in, we hope Bendis is able to as good of a job on the rest of the series.

Brian Michael Bendis is doing something kind of cool here. Old Man Logan seems to have jumped the wall between battle worlds. This allows him to see some familiar faces, but they aren’t exactly as he remembers them. Bendis takes us on a ride this issue as we step into the Age of Apocalypse battle world. One of the coolest things about this issue, and one of the more exciting things once Secret Wars ends, is Logan’s reaction to alternate universe characters. Bendis writes this scene well as both parties try to figure out exactly what is going on and why Wolverine is different. Of course it’s not a Wolverine comic without Sabretooth, and Bendis allows him to come off as a vicious character, which is how you would imagine any Sabretooth. If there is a flaw to the writing, it’s that the book can be read quickly. There is some meat this issue, but you honestly breeze through it.

The pencils are handled by Andrea Sorrentino and the colors are done by his buddy Marcel Maiolo. There are some artists who just capture a style and they do it so well that it becomes theirs. Andrea Sorrentino owns his style. The art in this book is really killer and Sorrentino just draws an amazing issue. Everything from large panels of She-Thor electrocuting Logan, to him falling through the forest in a puzzle-like page, just rock. Sorrentino also uses awesome panel setups, almost to a point where it’s as interesting as his art. Things aren’t your standard long square panels, you get panels that look like claws or ones that look like puzzles; it really makes the reading experience more exciting. The colors by Maiolo are great as well. He’s worked with Sorrentino before, so they are likely on the same page. Maiolo doesn’t overdo it with the colors and sticks to some reds and blues, but he also uses some very vibrant greens in the jungle scenes. Overall this was a home run for the art department, which continues to kick ass.

 Old Man Logan really has been one of the best tie-in books for the Secret Wars event. Brian Michael Bendis is turning in some of his best work with this series. His run on Uncanny X-Man may get scrutinized, but you really can’t trash him for Old Man Logan. The art has been nothing short of outstanding. Sorrentino and Maiolo have been great and make this mini even better. This is the bar for what tie-ins must live up to.