Read it: Old Man Logan

I’ll be honest; I’ve grown a little sick of Marvel and DC over the past few years.

It all started around the time House of M hit. Then it spread to World War Hulk, Civil War, Final Crisis, Blackest Night, etc.

At first, events seemed like a pretty cool idea- A universe of characters united by a common cause. Then I realized, in order to truly stay in the loop, that meant my pull box would have to jump up to about 20 additional titles a month. And let’s not forget the one-shots, spin-offs and aftermath stories.

In short, I’m sick of events.

While I’ve weaned myself off most long-running monthlies to avoid being pulled into the next epic, multi-book storyline, I’m still on the lookout for a cool story arc to draw me back in. About a year ago, Mark Millar brought us Old Man Logan, officially one of the coolest reads I’ve come across in a while, Marvel or otherwise.

The idea was simple: What if, one day, the bad guys won? What would that mean for the world and mutantkind as a whole? Or, more specifically in this case, what would that mean for everyone’s favorite hairy knucklehead, Wolverine?

The series opens on a desert farm where Logan has settled down to raise a family. The Hulk gang, now his landlords, are demanding rent and poor Wolvie has no way to pay it.

One day, a face from Logan’s past shows up and offers him a chance to make enough green to pay off the Hulks and live peacefully for quite some time. This business venture will require Logan to head cross-country and face a slew of surprising obstacles along the way.

Logan agrees, but on the condition that he won’t have to fight. He has, in fact, sworn to never fight again, much less pop his deadly claws.

Who will Logan meet along the way? What sort of trouble will he and his old friends get into? What could have gone so wrong in the past to make Wolverine so ashamed of the killer instinct he once prided himself on? What would Venom look like if he attached to a T-Rex?

The answers to these questions and more are found within the pages of Old Man Logan, soon to be a graphic novel, and boy is it an great tale. Silly at times, but great all the same.

More a love letter to fans of comics than anything, OML is packed with epic moments and cool cameos, all leading up to the rebirth of the killing machine known as Wolverine.

In a day where many titles take themselves a bit too seriously, Millar and crew have dared to think outside the box with some decent writing and some of the coolest art to grace the pages of comics this past year.

It’s an awesome read, it’s self contained, and it’s original. Enjoy it.