Y the Last Man’s Brain K. Vaughn and Eduardo Risso of 100 Bullets (both mega stars of DC Comics’ Vertigo line) have joined forced to produce the best Wolverine story since Chris Claremont and Frank Miller teamed up in 1982.
The 3 issue mini-series simply entitled Logan follows the scruffy Canadian as he revisits his past in Japan. Seeing as how Vaughn and Risso only have 3 issues to tell their tale, it covers a lot of ground very efficiently. We see Logan following the trail of an old nemesis only to remember being in Japan as a prisoner of war during World War II.
The art and writing combine to tell a remarkable poignant and gripping story about isolation and a surprisingly sensitive Wolverine in a world that is far scarier and more fierce than his lauded ‘berserker rage.’ Thrown into a prison cell, Logan meets fellow captive US army soldier the hot-headed Lt. Warren. A hasty jailbreak sees them on the run in the beautiful countryside. The beauty of the surroundings (so lushly depicted by Risso) is eclipsed by a passing lady whose angelic poise nearly makes Logan’s heart stop (a reaction we’d see repeated much later when he met the lady Mariko). Lt. Warren attempts to kill the peasant girl, seeing her as ‘just another Jap,’ but is stopped by Logan whose interruption so enrages Warren that he abandons the mutant in this foreign land. Wolverine and the peasant girl form a solid bond and for the first time he finds acceptance… then it all goes south.
With so many comics featuring him lately, this stands out as one of the few that actually further develops Wolverine. When it first came out, I was as in love with 100 Bullets as most other comic readers, yet I eventually lost interest. Yet I still miss Risso’s artwork. An incredibly talented and emotive artist, his style is so rarely seen in comics outside of 100 Bullets. The combination of his characteristic line work and Vaughn’s deft writing skills have produced such a great comic that it’s frustrating to have to wait three months to read the entire story.
When I was a wee comic book collector, I had a handful of comics that I read over and over and over (yet the sturdy books maintained their condition somehow). Issues 6-12 of the Wolfman and Perez’ New Teen Titans, Justice League of America #200, the Days of Future Past issues of X-Men and Wolverine by Claremont and Miller. Reading this series Logan brought me back to what it meant to truly bond with a comic book. I’m not sure what that quality is that separates the good ones from the truly great ones, but this series resonated with me.
If you are a Wolverine fan (and these days, who isn’t?), you should pick this up. But more importantly, if you are a fan of well told comics of any genre, this belongs in your collection. An excellent example of quality sequential art, Logan is one of the best comics I’ve seen in a long time (especially from Marvel!).
