More Wolverine - Issues 34-43

We're entering into my absolute favorite Wolverine comics. #'s 34-50. That's the good shit, man. I've read these so many freaking times. I love the time of Logan's life during these issues, plus the artwork, just had me hooked.

Logan faces some big time baddies during this run and it's nothing short of awesome! I met Donald Pierce and the Reavers (Macon, Cole, and Reese) and of course Lady Deathstrike!

In #34 we meet The Hunter in Darkness!

Here, Wolverine gets back to what roots he can remember. And that's running naked through the Canadian wilderness. I'm serious, on the first page he's fishing naked in a river and a couple of panels later he's still naked eating a raw fish when a couple of Mounties find him. This is all about Wolverine's connection to nature and his empathy towards animals. This theme will pop up more and more.

#34 is more of a one-shot than part of a short series run. Logan helps the Mounties track down a fugitive who kidnapped a 16 year old girl, the bad guy kills the Mounties while Logan tangles with The Hunter in Darkness. In the end, both Mounties are dead, Logan rescues the girl and the Hunter slaughters the bad guy.

#35-37 is a fun little series. Wolverine tracks down former Alpha Flight teammate Puck, who's filling in as a bouncer at a bar in Vancouver. At the same time, Lady Deathstrike gets Gateway (an Aborigenee from Australia who can open "gateways" through time and space) to send her to where Logan is seeing right now. The wording of her request is interesting, because Gateway uses the literal terms and sends her to Spain in 1937, because at the moment Deathstrike says the words, Logan is looking at a picture of Puck and his friends in Spain in 1937 and starts to visualize the place. So for 3 issues we get Wolverine and Puck (returned to average human height) fight Nazis and Lady Deathstrike. It's a fun 3 issues, and features some awesome claw fights between Wolverine and Deathstrike.

In #38, Logan finally returns to the US, specifically Venice Beach, California. For the next 5 issues or so we get to know 2 of my favorite Wolverine compatriots/nemesis, Elsie Dee and Albert the Android. There's too much character development and story to talk about, so I'll only talk about why I love these issues so much.

First of all, an android doppelganger of Wolverine teamed up with another android that looks like and talks like an 8 year old girl, sounds interesting enough, but then kick it up a notch by allowing the little girl to actually have a super genius level intellect that she uses to upgrade her buddy Albert so that he has a fighting chance in stopping Wolverine; add to that a jealous Jubilee, help from Forge, a trip through the Morlock tunnels in NYC where Albert and Elsie Dee meet and team up with the Hunter in Darkness, encounter and fight both Sabertooth and Cable, and we have ourselves some really great reading!

The initial fight with Albert is great, because even after we start feeling sympathetic towards Albert and Elsie Dee and see Albert get an upgrade, we still know he can't be Wolverine. And sure enough, the fight is short but also cool.

Immediately after that we get a glimpse of how strong Logan's healing factor is, as he rushes into a burning building to rescue Elsie Dee, whom he thinks is a real girl. Even when he finds out she's an android, built specifically to kill him, he promises her he won't let anything hurt her. This is another theme that runs through Wolverine comics, his mentoring relationship with younger female characters (Elsie Dee, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, etc...).

The fight with Sabretooth is actually kind of important to the Wolverine lore. At this point we know that Sabretooth aka Victor Creed, is somehow tied to Wolverine's past, but we don't know how. In this issue Sabretooth claims to be Logan's father. We find out quick enough that this isn't true and that Sabretooth thinks this for his own reasons, but it's enough to make Logan really start to wonder about his past. Things will be cleared up a bit more during issues 48-50 (we'll get there in a couple of days!).

Anyway, during this time, Albert has upgraded himself yet again, but this time looks much more bad ass. He also breaks into a military base and steals a stealth fighter and flies off to find Elsie Dee.

Between the guest villain spots, the cameos by Cable and Nick Fury, the Sabretooth fight, the side plot with Albert, Elsie Dee, and the Hunter in Darkness, and especially the Elsie Dee/Jubilee rivalry make these issues a ton of fun to read and re-read over and over again!

Tomorrow I'll get into the BATTLE ROYALE between Wolverine, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike AND The Hunter In Darkness!!

Followed by my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Wolverine issues and 3 issue story arch! And to top it all off will be one last look at the Wolverine solo series timeline with issue #75 AND a FULL review of LOGAN premiering Friday March 3rd! We've got tickets to the advanced screening on Thursday, so stay tuned for the Good Shit Podcast's fresh thoughts Review immediately following the screening! 

Wolverine: The Mini-Series That Began It All By Kevin Davis

Wolverine: The Mini-Series That Began It All
By Kevin Davis


It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when it wasn’t so cool to be a Wolverine fan. Non-comic geeks could pretty much always get away with sporting a Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man T-shirt, but Wolverine used to be far less… I don’t know… mainstream. This started to change in the 1990s when the X-Men animated series and the work of superstar artist Jim Lee skyrocketed the X-Men into the public eye. Mutant mania started seeping its way into general popularity, and the diminutive Canadian furball took center stage. Then, in the year 2000, a relatively unknown Australian actor by the name of Hugh Jackman popped his claws in the first installment of what was to become the X-Men’s mega-film franchise. Each of the films had their faults – some even to the point of being generally panned – but there was always one constant high point… Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine. Fandom – and the world at large – took notice.

Now, with Jackman’s portrayal approaching its end in what many expect to be the greatest X-Men movie to date, it seems like a good time to take a look at one of the stories that cemented Wolverine’s place as a comic book heavy-hitter long before the outside world sunk their claws into him. Yup, I’m talking about 1982’s Wolverine limited-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

Here’s the cover that first attracted me as a kid. It must have been 1989 or 1990. I was at the late, great Pegasus Comics in Boonton, NJ and I saw this on the shelf. At the time, I was heavily into Daredevil. I had, of course, heard of Wolverine. I remembered him from the Secret Wars series, as well as being one of the most elusive action figures from the corresponding toy line. Anyway, I remember having picked out three issues featuring Daredevil, two from his regular series and an issue of What If…? starring the Man Without Fear. I had enough money left over for a couple of packs of Ninja Turtle trading cards, so I made my way to the register. That’s when I saw this masterpiece sitting on a shelf. I knew nothing about the series, but the cover just grabbed me. Wolverine all by himself, unmasked, costume torn, and opening a can of whoop ass on a whole pack of ninjas. The intensity of the ninjas’ postures and the menace in their eyes was eclipsed by the unbounded fury in Wolverine’s expression. Oh, and can we discuss that the crazy son-of-a-bitch is gripping a chain in his teeth?!? I knew that I’d have to put my Daredevil books back on the shelf and that I’d have to go without the trading cards, but I also knew that I had to read that book.

I certainly haven’t regretted it since. What a great story! I loved it as a kid, and I still love it now. The story has everything: romance, betrayal, murder, mystery, disgrace, and so much action. Logan starts off trekking in the Canadian Rockies on a solo mission. He takes down a rogue grizzly bear who had been wounded by a poacher, gone mad, and killed fifteen people. He then settles the score with the hunter who failed to finish the bear when he had the chance. As an opening, it works so well. It shows Logan as a man of high morals, but one who has an intimate understanding with animals. The fine line that separates Logan’s man and animal sides is a theme that occurs throughout the rest of the story.

From there, Logan takes off for Japan, where we are introduced to Mariko Yashida, the woman whom Wolverine loves. She has been forced to marry a man to ensure that her father, a criminal kingpin named Shingen, retains power in Japan. This is where the story really takes off. Wolverine begs Mariko to shun her new husband and leave with him. She refuses his request citing her giri (family honor), a concept which Logan – as a Westerner – could not possibly understand. Shingen captures Logan as he attempts to leave the Yashida compound and challenges him to a duel with boken, wooden training swords. Wolverine asks why Shingen doesn’t dare to use a real blade against him, to which Shingen replies that Logan is unworthy of handling or being struck down by a true sword. During the course of a fierce battle, Shingen thoroughly wipes the floor with Logan and tosses him from the premises after emasculating him to Mariko. He calls Logan an animal and reaffirms that he is unworthy of Mariko’s love.

Logan is found in the street by the mysterious Yukio. Yukio serves a fascinating role in this story as femme fatale/sidekick/love interest/antagonist/wildcard. That one character can fill all of these roles – and do so remarkably well – is fairly unique in comics. Even at her worst (and she gets pretty bad), she somehow manages to retain the reader’s sympathy. Maybe this is because her villainy is partially eclipsed by the pure evil of Shingen. Maybe it’s because she loves and understands Wolverine – even when she is betraying him. Or maybe it’s because, if we’re honest with ourselves, we recognize that Logan is an extremely flawed hero, and Yukio’s flaws complement him perfectly. Even though we want Logan to end up with Mariko, there is a ring of truth when Shingen claims that he is not worthy of his daughter. In spite of ourselves, we know that he probably ought to end up with Yukio. This is one of the more subtle themes of the story, but it is a vital element in establishing Logan’s complexity and continues the story’s central theme of duality (East meets West, Logan’s man vs. animal struggle, X-Man vs. loner, and honor vs. dishonor).

Another thing that Yukio adds to the story is ninja fights. And I don’t mean a ninja here and a ninja there, I mean… well, I mean like this…

And that’s not the only one. This woman attracts ninjas like a porch light attracts moths. It seems that Yukio has run afoul of a criminal ninja brotherhood known as The Hand. Naturally, The Hand turns out to be under the control of Shingen, and the relationship between Shingen and Yukio is pivotal to the climax of the story. Anyway, ninjas just love attacking Yukio, and this leads to some awesome rumbles between Wolverine and The Hand. Frank Miller is great at drawing ninja battles, and he clearly had fun drawing some of the sequences in this book. The pacing is flawless, they are suitably violent without being gory, and – no matter how overwhelming the odds – they all end up looking something like this…

What a fantastic panel. That is classic badass Wolverine. Miller employs an interesting combination of negative space on Wolverine’s head and a solid white outline around his body. This is a bold attempt because it’s tough to mix hard lines with soft (or, in this case, no) lines without making the image look cartoonish or choppy, but does it ever work here! When I think of Wolverine, this is definitely one of the first images that pops into my head.

The conclusion of the story is somewhat unorthodox in that it is not a clear victory for Logan. Sure, he beats the bad guy and gets the girl, but in order to do this he gives in to his animal side. For a character so determined to prove that he is not just a man, but a man of honor, succumbing to his animal savagery is quite a sacrifice in order to achieve his other victories. The reader can guess from the onset of the battle that Wolverine is teetering on berserker rage mode. Check out his poised crouch and the fury in his teeth in the panels below.

He truly looks like a fearsome beast ready to strike. For all his skill with the sword, Shingen never stands a chance. After the battle, Mariko delivers a touching speech to assure Logan that in giving in to his savage side, he has actually proven his honor and his worth. The story ends with the X-Men reading an invitation announcing the upcoming wedding of Mariko Yashida to Logan. Although we all know better now, the story ends by giving the reader a sense of hope that Wolverine has tamed the beast within and found peace and true happiness with the woman he loves.

This is a tremendous story, produced by two masters of their craft. Chris Claremont would continue his run and ultimately become arguably the definitive writer for all things X-Men. Frank Miller was already one of the most influential creators in the entire comic book industry with his incredible run on Daredevil. He would go on to produce a couple of industry-shattering Batman stories (The Dark Knight Returns and Year One) and eventually his own immensely popular Sin City and 300. These two creators blend their considerable talents perfectly in this series. Claremont has the perfect voice for Wolverine, and Miller’s dynamic – and often experimental – artwork makes for a fast-paced and action-packed story. While certainly not the first Wolverine story or the one that made him a star, this mini-series showed Marvel that the furry little mutant could sustain his own title, which Claremont himself (along with legendary artist John Buscema) would launch a couple of years later. I highly recommend that everyone out there pick this story up and give it a read before heading out to see Logan next week. Even if you already know the story, dust off your copy from the bookshelf and take a couple of hours to relive the magic of this amazing mini-series.

My introduction to a great character

I owe several people for introducing me to comic books. My Dad got me into Superman and super heroes in general, my cousin Sean for introducing me to comic book collecting, Jimmy Nonas for sharing my love of reading comics and joining me in a never-ending quest to read them all, and especially my wife Bridget for encouraging my passion and supporting all of my creative projects that stem from that passion.

Superman is who got me into super heroes, Spider-Man got me reading comics, the X-Men raised me as a young adult comic reader, but it was Wolverine who I connected with the most. You see, when I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with what is called a prolactinoma. Basically it was a brain tumor, the size of an orange wrapped around my pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is what helps regulate hormones and assists in the development of the human body. Since this tumor was wrapped around the gland, my surgeons could only remove 3/4 of it. I have been experimenting medicine and been a part of a government research program ever since. I'm now 35 years old.

Wolverine's healing factor was the first thing I connected with. The man is able to heal from the most deadly of wounds, and is immune to pretty much any disease out there (until he was injected with a virus that took away his healing factor, which then would eventually lead to his death). But it wasn't just the idea of being able to heal from anything that was intriguing to my young mind. Wolverine was one of the toughest, scrappiest characters that I've ever read about and his attitude towards pain in general is what I connected with the most. I had to toughen myself up in order to deal with the medical procedures, tests, and weird side effects from experimental medicine that was ahead of me. Pain, of varying degrees became just something to get used to. I've since adopted a line that Wolverine has used many times, "pain and I are old friends".

I had that surgery in 1989 when things like going to Disney World were high on my priority list. It was hard to talk to my friends about how I was feeling, and I really did a good job about not making my medical issues part of my daily life. In fact, most of my friends had no idea about my medical history for many years unless it came up randomly in conversation. But there was still a part of me that didn't know how to deal with the pain, discomfort, and overall fear of not knowing what to expect next. And that's how I found a sanctuary in my Wolverine comics.

My first issue of Wolverine was #49, part 2 of a 3 part series. I'll get more into this next week, but this issue started me on a path that I am still following; the complete collection of the 616 Marvel Universe's Wolverine. (Again, more on that another time). Being an inexperienced comic collector at the time, I started buying single issues based solely on the cover art. This is how I was introduced to one of my favorite artists of all time, the great Jim Lee, with his cover of issue #27:

This iconic cover started a 3 part story called The Lazarus Project. The story itself is only ok in my opinion, but it offered another introduction to Wolverine's life, his alias Patch as well as his time spent in Madripoor.

The Lazarus Project was the end of writer Jo Duffy and penciler John Buscema's run of the series, but started my absolute favorite time period in Wolverine's career. The Larry Hama/Marc Silvestri years. And that's what I want to get into today.

#31 brought Logan, again under his "Patch" persona, back to Madripoor and to his favorite dive, The Princess Bar. There we see him in a custom made tux, sampling some "fancy single malt" with his buddy and pilot Archie Corrigan. In walks a gang of Yakuza gangsters, staring daggers into Patch's back. The bar clears out as Patch's narration tells us what's up,

"One o' the advantages o' being a mutant: Heightened senses. I caught a whiff of the gun oil, the squid ink from their tattoos, and the pickled "daikon" radishes on their breaths...

...now I can hear the rapid heartbeats and sense the adrenaline rush of men who are about to commit dangerous and violent deeds."

Hama makes Patch sound like a confident and cocky tough guy right off the bat. Then the dialogue picks up, and Wolverine says a line that describes him to a T.

Yakuza: You at the bar...are you the hairy barbarian sometimes known as "Patch"... and sometimes known as "Ro-Gan"?

Wolverine: "Ro-Gan" huh? That's rich. In your language, "Ro" can mean old age and dissipation and "Gan" can mean cancer...

He finally turns to look at them

Wolverine (continuing): Together, they add up to DEATH--

--And if you're looking for death...you've come to the right place."

Bad Ass right!!!??

Then the bad guys open fire, totally obliterating the bar where Wolverine was sitting. They stop and realize that he must be hiding. He is, and was already shot a bunch of times and is now healing behind the bar while making cracks about how the "fancy single malt" messed with his timing. One dude tries to finish the job by peaking over the bar. Instead of seeing a bleeding and whimpering target, he gets a chest full of adamantium claws that also CUT THROUGH THE BAR! Then Wolverine leaps from behind the bar and takes out the whole squad. Leaving the 3 men who led them in, 2 have dice tattooed to their foreheads and are referred to as 7 and 11, and the 3rd is the defacto leader known as dragonhead. They pop these pills that make them super strong, crazy intense, and resistant to pain. The rest of the issue is just Wolverine being a total bad ass and fighting off these guys plus the rest of the Yakuza gang.

It ends with Wolverine facing off with the Dragonhead guy on a dock, where Dragonhead pulls out a couple of grenades and removes the pins. The fight takes them into the water, where all the blood attracts two sharks. Instead of blowing up himself and Wolverine, there's an explosion and both sharks float to the surface with their heads exploded. It's revealed that Wolverine fed Dragonhead to the sharks, grenades and all.

During that issue we discover that the evil Prince and his General have teamed up with the Yakuza to develop a new drug that makes people behave like the gangsters did at the Princess Bar. They make this serum by removing brain fluid from local monkeys, who they have massacred already. We also meet Goro and Reiko who are working for the Prince. Goro lives his life by a prophecy told to him in his youth. That he can only die by a blade wielded by a dead man. Good note for later.

Issue #32 continues the story, with Logan and his pals discovering the Prince's plan and deciding how to proceed. In this issue Goro stabs Wolverine in the heart with a samurai sword, seemingly killing him. Goro takes a picture of "dead" Wolverine and uses it to gain favor with the Dai Kumo, the boss of the Yakuza. Meanwhile, Wolverine isn't dead and sees a vision of Jean Grey who helps convince him to pull out the "pain in his chest" and get back to work.

Now that the bad guys think he's dead. Wolverine decides to use that to his advantage. Which brings up to issue #33!

Wolverine is injected with a substance that slows his heartrate and convinces that Japanese customs officials that he is, in fact, a corpse. He's even buried in Dai Kumo's personal burial plot because Wolverine is such an honored and respected enemy.

Of course, Wolverine rises from the grave, and fights his way to the bad guys. He has a face off with Goro, who thought he was dead and now the prophecy can be fulfilled. The fight is quick and reminds me of that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the swordsmen is showing off and Indiana Jones just shoots him instead of really getting into it with him. Wolverine and Goro rush at each other, and Wolverine ends it with a single but precise slash of his claws and just walks away, leaving Goro alive with a nasty leg wound. Then we find out that the Prince got away, but Dai Kumo the Yakuza boss has been killed by Reiko (Goro's companion from earlier).

This ends Wolverine's time in Madripoor and Japan for years, and also sends him on a quest to rediscover his roots. Issue # 34 starts a Wolverine quest that makes the Larry Hama stories stick out for me more than any other Wolverine writer. These issues were violent and fun, but also made Wolverine still appear beatable. This was many years before his healing factor would be truly tested, so the idea of him being stabbed in the chest with a samurai sword, or fighting off Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike at the same time actually made you think he could be killed or at least hurt real bad. He gets cut up real bad in these issues too, especially in #32. There's a humorous moment that shows Logan attempting to enjoy a cigar while he's patched up and healing and the smoke is coming out of his chest through the bandages!

Thanks for reading, make sure you stay right here for the rest of the week, as I get deep into Wolverine, and finish off with the premiere of Logan starring Hugh Jackman! Until then, here's a sneak peek at issue 34! WOLVERINE vs. THE HUNTER IN DARKNESS!!!

One Week til LOGAN!!!

Today is one week before the release of Logan, what is supposed to be Hugh Jackman's last movie as the titular character better known as Wolverine.  Jackman began his run in 2000's X-Men and turned that performance into the longest running appearance by an actor as a single super hero character, beating out Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

I've written about my opinion of Wolverine in the movies vs. the Wolverine in the comics before. If you're not familiar, then to quickly refresh you, I will be blunt. I don't like it. The second X-Men movie, X2, was the best on-screen version of Wolverine so far.

During this week I'm going to be doing a lot of Wolverine related blog stuff. I'll be re-reading my favorite single issue runs and then posting about what I love so much about each one. Next Thursday, March 2nd, Jimmy will be joining me for a Logan pre-show episode of THE GOOD SHIT podcast just before we see an advanced screening of the movie. Immediately following that we will be recording our fresh feelings on what we just saw.

So please stay tuned to the blog this week for an extra special glimpse into the REAL Wolverine plus 2 BRAND NEW episodes of THE GOOD SHIT PODCAST featuring a review of the highly anticipated film Logan!

I'm super excited for this week, see you tomorrow!

What Was Wrong With the Lego Batman Movie? By Kevin Davis

Seriously, what was wrong with it? There was so much to love about the movie, so why was I not crazy about it? Maybe there was just too much going on to appreciate in a single viewing. Perhaps something will click next time I see it… and of course there will be plenty of next times. I have two young boys, after all.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t dislike the movie. Not at all. As I said, there was SO MUCH to love. There were so many Easter eggs, cameos, and references that I’m sure even I didn’t catch them all in the first viewing. I know it will be fun to watch it again and catch new bits that I missed the first time around. There were tons of laughs, and even a few gut-busters (Sauron crying out, “MY EYE!!!!” was easily the show-stealer for me). Throwbacks to the classic ‘60s show lurked around every corner, much to my delight. Even the Shark-Repellent Bat-Spray plays a pivotal role in the film! Gad, I loved that! My recognition of the dozens of obscure villains boosted my nerd street cred, as well as giving me the resolve to track down and own a Calendar Man Lego figure. (Seriously, that is happening.) Without giving too much away – although, I can’t help it if you clicked on an article about a movie you haven’t seen yet – the resolution to the story was fantastic. It had definite shades of the earthquake from the epic No Man’s Land story, but with the quirkiness and joviality that you would expect to see from a kid playing with his Lego toys.

So why did I leave underwhelmed?

First and foremost, The Lego Batman Movie is NOT a super hero movie. That should be apparent, and I knew this going into it. I wasn’t expecting The Dark Knight. There is no reason to be disappointed in the movie because it failed as a super hero story, and I think that I’m objective enough to separate the two for the purpose of a critique. No, I was expecting something like The Lego Movie, and it was a bit of a let-down. The Batman character was one of my very favorite parts of The Lego Movie. Is it possible that this movie was too much of a good thing? Was everything that made Lego Batman great dragged out to the point of overkill? Hmmm. It’s possible, but I don’t think that’s quite right.

Perhaps it was the lack of a strong comedic foil. In The Lego Movie, Emmet and Batman played beautifully off of each other. The supporting cast of Vitruvius, Wildstyle, Benny The 198-something Space Guy, Bad Cop, and President Business all added their own perfectly crafted comedic stylings, and no one personality dominated the film. The laughs in The Lego Movie came from all different directions, whereas it was decidedly one-sided in The Lego Batman Movie. Barbara Gordon somewhat replaced Wildstyle, but with far less character development. I suppose that Robin was supposed to be this movie’s version of Benny, but it was with a much lesser impact. Frankly, Robin got a bit annoying. No, in this new movie, the jokes mostly came from Batman. And let’s be honest, how many times can we really laugh about a Lego figure having shredded abs?

Okay, so the comedy was somewhat one-dimensional, and that’s a bit of a minus, but the movie was funny. Maybe not as uproariously funny as The Lego Movie, but still funny. I don’t think that’s quite what left me feeling disappointed. I think the main problem with Lego Batman is that it simply didn’t feel like a Lego movie. In The Lego Movie, you felt like you were watching an extremely imaginative kid playing with his toys. Everything from the characters using Lego instruction books in their daily lives to Lego Superman fleeing in terror from the dreaded Orb of Titleist just rang of toys being used in creative play. It brought me back to my childhood and reminded me of the silly adventures I put my toys through. That’s what made the film so brilliant. The Lego Batman Movie has none of that. It’s really just a funny Batman story that happens to have been animated with Lego characters. Even the backgrounds bothered me. In The Lego Movie, it was clear that EVERYTHING was made of Lego. (Yes, I know it was animated, but everything looked like Lego.) The backgrounds in Lego Batman didn’t have that same effect. It looked and felt like a computer-animated Batman movie. A good movie, but lacking in the magic that made The Lego Movie so special.

It probably does sound as though I hated this movie, or at least that I enjoy nitpicking it. Let me assure you, that’s definitely not the case. I went in wanting to like the movie, and overall I did. It was definitely enjoyable, and I will happily watch it again. It just paled in comparison to the original. I feel like The Lego Movie accomplished something that perhaps can’t be duplicated. Let’s be clear, that inimitable magic should be seen as a testament to The Lego Movie, and not as a dig against Lego Batman. Batman is well worth seeing, and I encourage everyone to do so. They may never top The Lego Movie, but it will sure as hell be fun to watch them try!

Recommended Reading and My Rekindled Love of Reading!

I made a decision at the start of 2017 to not purchase monthly issues of comics. So far I am not at all disappointed with this. Since I stopped my weekly visits to my local comic shop, I've been reading my extended backlog of comics that have been on my reading list for far too long.

I wrote about Old Man Logan last week because I my love of reading comics was rekindled. This wasn't just the fault of Mark Millar who wrote Old Man Logan, but also one of my best friends and podcast co-host, Jimmy Nonas.

Jimmy got hooked on comics years ago, (and I say this proudly) because of me. My passion for and knowledge of comic books and superheroes intrigued Jimmy enough for him to ask for recommendations. I started him off with The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Kingdom Come by Mark Waid with art by Alex Ross, Watchmen by Alan Moore, Planet Hulk and World War Hulk by Greg Pak and, of course, Old Man Logan. After that, if I remember correctly, I got him hooked on Batman's early years with The Long Halloween and Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (Loeb would go on to become one of our favorite writers). From there I got him interested in DC major crossover events like Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns and Final Crisis by Grant Morrison.

These are my standards as far as getting new readers interested in comics. Once a reader gets into these, it's easier to recommend things that go a bit deeper than major crossover events or single character mini-series. For instance, if a new reader is eager to keep reading but wants something different than the canon of either Marvel or DC characters, I would then venture outside of the big 2 companies and recommend Top Ten by Alan Moore or Saga by Brian K. Vaughn. Or if going outside the big 2 is too intimidating, or you haven't gotten enough of the big name heroes then I'd recommend stories that focused on a single character or team but wasn't canon or was a very detailed look into a characters career. Examples: Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar or Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt or Justice League of America: Tower of Babel.

As the years progressed, I got more into runs by specific writers, most of which I've already mentioned; Grant Morrison, Loeb, Moore, Millar, Johns, and Waid. But now I'm including stuff by Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Slott. Both of which catch a lot of flack from readers, but I have nothing but praise and admiration for both. Check out DareDevil: End of Days by Brian Michael Bendis and Superior Spider-Man by Dan Slott!

This is where Jimmy comes in. He's been borrowing books from my library for years, and has been pushing for me to try reading comics digitally. I've resisted for the longest time, because I'm a publication purist. I prefer my comics in print and in my hand. There's just something about looking at a stack of comics that fills me with happiness. Anyway, Jimmy's argument finally won out and he sent me a buttload of digital comics last week.

Well call me Mr. Readalot, because I haven't been able to stop reading! My love of reading has always been a point of pride for me, but even the most hardcore readers experience burnout every once and awhile. Marvel's Civil War 2 really took a lot out of me and I grew weary of current story lines. Jimmy saved me and started a raging wildfire!

So far in the last week, I've read Spider-verse by Dan Slott, Injustice: Gods Among Us vol. 1 by Tom Taylor, and Superman vs. Terminator: Death to the Future by Alan Grant. And now I'm 15 issues into Injustice: Gods Among Us vol. 2, with Thor: Ragnorak, and X-Men: Messiah War on reserve.

So thank you, Jimmy my friend, for rekindling my love of reading comics and lending me these terrific titles. AND for being persistent about the benefits of reading comics on my tablet. At least 3 nights in the last week, I've caught myself staying up way too late reading, something I haven't done since I was a kid. I love it.

This is why I love Old Man Logan

We are a little more than a month away from the release of Logan, Hugh Jackman's "last" performance as the Wolverine we've all grown used to seeing on the big screen. When this movie was first announced, Jackman posted on social media saying, "3 words. Old. Man. Logan." And the internet freaked out. So did I.

I've written about my distaste for the screen version of Wolverine before, and I've certainly mentioned this graphic novel before, just never in detail. Today I'm getting specific about why Old Man Logan is my FAVORITE comic of all time.

The premise:
It's fifty years into the future. The villains of the Marvel Universe joined together and killed all the heroes. The ones that are left don't stand a chance, or have dropped off into legend. There's narration at the beginning that alludes to an incident involving Wolverine, and that he disappeared and hasn't popped his claws or even raised his voice in 50 years. Then the story begins.

Wolverine has accepted a simple life as a farmer. He doesn't go by Wolverine anymore, just Logan and married a woman named Maureen. Logan also has two kids, a boy and a girl named Scott (presumably named after Scott Summers aka Cyclops) and Jade.

The world is not the Marvel Universe that we're used to. The USA has become a wasteland, separated into kingdoms. The West Coast is controlled by the Hulk and his family of inbred hillbilly cannibal children. Seriously they eat people. It turns out that the Hulk decides to turn bad, and the only person capable of handling his... ahem... manhood is his cousin She-Hulk. Their offspring form a small army of Hulk-like cannibal hillbillies. Every month, rent is collected from the farms in the Hulk territory. If you can't pay rent, the Hulks punish you. Which usually means they kill you and eat you. This month, Logan and his family can't make rent. The Hulks beat Logan real bad, to where he needs a day to fully heal. During that time, a face from his past returns.

Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, has arrived to offer Logan a job. He's blind now though and needs Logan to drive him across the country to deliver a special package to the resistance, a group of people trying to overthrow the villains who are led by the Red Skull. In order to get the package to the resistance, Logan and Hawkeye must take the Spider-Mobile through the Kingdom of the Kingpin, the wasteland that was the Rocky Mountains, through the Green Goblin's kingdom, Doctor Doom's kingdom, and finally to the President's Quarter on the East Coast. The Red Skull is now the "president" and has taken up residency in Washington D.C.

Along the way, the duo come across some smaller adventures that help remind Logan on how to be a hero. We meet Spider-Woman, aka Ashley Barton, Hawkeye's daughter and Peter Parker's grand-daughter. Hawkeye finds out Ashley has been captured by the Kingpin and convinces Logan to make a detour to save her. They use the Spider-Mobile to crash the Kingpin's hideout and free Ashley, who it turns out, is actually a gangster herself and is trying to kill the Kingpin. She does, in a truly gruesome fashion.

Moving on, and in effort to shorten this post, I'll just mention the highlight of their journey. Encountering a Tyrannasaurus Rex that's been possessed by the Venom symbiote. The artwork is the best part!

We also learn about what happened to Logan that made him quit being a hero. It turns out that Mysterio (a rogue of Spider-Man's) created an illusion that made Wolverine think he was fighting off a group of villains, but was actually fighting his friends the X-Men. Wolverine fights for hours, thinking he's the only X-Man around but when it's revealed that he's actually killed all of his friends, he falls apart and tries to kill himself by letting a train run over his head. But because of his adamantium laced skull and incredible healing factor, he survives; living on as if the hero part of him died.

Finally they make it to New York and meet the resistance. There's a betrayal, Hawkeye is killed and Logan is captured. He's brought before the Red Skull, who is waiting in his trophy room. I love this part. The trophy room is full of items taken from the fallen heroes. Spidey's mask is in there, Cap's shield, Iron Man's armor, and many other items.

Red Skull has even dressed himself in Captain America's uniform before confronting Logan. Then they fight and Logan uses the weapons of his fallen friends to win! Then, to tie it all together, Logan uses Iron Man's armor to escape and fly back to his family.

But he's too late. The Hulk family got bored and killed everyone. Logan finally breaks, embraces who he actually is, pops his claws, and goes after the Hulk family, killing them all until he finds Bruce Banner himself. Banner has not aged well. He's an old man, who looks frail and sickly. Instead, he's still as strong as ever and doesn't need to transform into the Hulk to have superhuman strength! Wolverine stabs Banner through the chest, seemingly killing him, but only angering Banner enough to trigger his transformation. The Hulk that we meet is not the one we expect. He's enormous, but has almost 0 muscle tone. Their fight is epic and ends with Wolverine being eaten, and then bursting out of the Hulk!

This story can be summed up in the most simple of terms. IT'S FREAKING AWESOME! When introducing people to comic books, this is one of the first books I recommend. It showcases all the best about Wolverine. How he really is a true hero, how violent and deadly he is, how important he is to the overall Marvel Universe, and especially what actually motivates him to be a hero. Logan is the most guilt ridden character in the Marvel Comics Universe, and often times his motivation is based on guilt and vengeance. If you've never read this story before, please do so. Then you'll fully understand why I love this character so much.