Old Man Logan #38 Review

Writer: Ed Brisson / Artist: Dalibor Talajic / Marvel Comics Old Man Logan #38 wraps up the “Moving Target” arc where Logan, with a weakened healing factor and bone claws, is trying to protect a disc drive holding information that could bring down the mayor of New York City, Wilson Fisk a.k.a The Kingpin. Written by Ed Brisson with art by Dalibor Talajic, this issue powers through to the end of the crossover with the Daredevil book. There are two good things about this book. First, the Mike Deodato Jr. cover is fantastic. It makes me nostalgic for the time when Deodato art carried a simplistic story. Second, this last issue concludes quickly. I’ve read enough comics to know how stories tend to play out and I was expecting at least two more issues dragging out this conspiracy action thriller. Unfortunately, being happy that an arc ends does not reflect well on the comic. The second part of this storyline topped the first because of the addition of Bullseye. This week, though, the novelty of the assassin has waned and he was no longer enough to distract from a mediocre comic.

The dialogue reflected the standard sound bites of a basic action movie. Even the final confrontation between Logan and Fisk didn’t thrill me the way Kingpin exchanges should. The art suffered from a lot of the same weaknesses as the last issues of this arc. The faces and characters were decent but too many of the backgrounds were simply solid black, white or otherwise monotone.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. There is a scene that captures the scapegoat, reactionary mob politics that our current president is seen to inspire in a leader like Wilson Fisk. Brisson throws in a “Go back to Canada!” from an angry onlookers turned rioter. Also, watching Old Man Logan crash into a car window and beat the hell out of Bullseye was fun. All in all, the connection to one of my favorite comics and a couple interesting villains weren’t enough to save this comic. It has been dropped.

6 “Weaponized Shards of Glass” out of 10

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