Pick of the Week
What did the
iFanboy
community think?
Pulls
Size: pages
Price: 3.99
You’ve listened to the show, and read my picks before, you know I’m not known as the X-Men fan. But at the same time, I’m a comic book fan, and I’m certainly not averse to the same temptations and treats as any other reader out there. Perhaps I’m a bit more cynical, but at the end of the day, if you do a good Wolverine story, I’m going to respond to it. It also turns out that I was missing Brian K. Vaughan in my regular comics to a great degree. Throw in a World War II Japanese prisoner camp story, and finally, stir in some Eduardo Risso art, and I’m in a little bit of heaven.
This week. Oh, this week. It was chock full of comic books from some of my favorite creators out there. You couldn’t throw a rock in the comic shop without hitting some highly anticipated book, and to be honest, I read a lot of good books this week. But this wasn’t a really hard call. This one just wrapped me up and struck all the right notes in a way the others didn’t live up to.
I’m not terribly invested in the last few major developments of Wolverine. I don’t think the whole revealed origin thing was a good idea, and while I understand it, the history of the character has been fundamentally altered since then. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t good stories to tell. This issue is living proof of that. We go back to a Japanese prison camp during World War II, and find that Canadian soldier Logan was involved in some operation that went bad, and he woke to find himself prisoner of the Japanese. Because he’s Wolverine, or will be, he escapes, and meets a lady. It’s all pretty standard, if not very well crafted. Then, last page, Vaughan does it again. He does it every damn time, but he did it here. That last page just makes you go, “Damn!” How does he do that so reliably? It’s a trick or a gimmick, but I’ll admit, I fall for it every time. Experience has shown me that Vaughan isn’t a one trick pony, but a man to be trusted with his storytelling. I’m excited to see what freshness he brings to what should be a tired story.
I’ve complained about 100 Bullets before, but never once did I complain about Eduardo Risso. As artist on that book, he might have confused me, but I never noticed it, because it was just too pretty. Risso’s art doesn’t look like anyone else’s work, and since I dropped 100 Bullets, I haven’t seen it in a while. This was a guy whose pages I’ve seriously looked at buying. I can see how he’s not for everyone, but he’s an artist who really does it for me. The pages just have this flow, and while the characters aren’t really typical, I just love how they’re more evocative than realistic. I don’t know if it looks like Wolverine, but it feels like Wolverine, and really that’s more important. He’s great with blacks, and amazing with dynamic page composition. I just love Risso’s work. Dean White’s colors were also of note this issue, giving the pages a sort of washed out, watercolor feel that helps set the stage for being in the 40’s as opposed to now. The colors beautifully complimented the artwork and story.
Logan was just quality stacked on top of quality, and it scratched every itch I have for a mainstream comic. If there was a page where Batman smirked and beat up Superman, it would have been too good to exist (in addition to making no sense at all). Vaughan and Risso are two guys who do not show up in enough of my comic books anymore, and that’s a damn crime, because they’re both at the top of their games, and there’s no one better.
Josh Flanagan
He’s the best he is at what he does (Not Logan)
josh@ifanboy.com
Did you read Logan #1? Add a comment and tell everyone what you thought!
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There was a shipping error and my store only got the black and white version, man I’m pissed. With cash being tight, I wouldn’t settle for the B/W one at $4 when I could have the color one next week. I was really looking forward to this one too. At least I know it’s worth the wait.
Gotta say, this pick surprised me. I read the book with great anticipation and for me that was far as it went. The art was fantastic but that’s the only saving grace of this book for me. I’m not sure if I’m on board for the rest of this mini or not. Josh, your pick made me go back through it one more time and even the ending left me cold on this one. BKV is usually a dead lock for me but this missed me completely. This week was all about New Frontier for me. If nothing else, I’m looking forward to the discussion that this will generate on the podcast.
Read Logan off the shelf. Seemed pretty lackluster. But I won’t speak any more of it as I didn’t rightly buy the comic. Vaughan and Risso are certainly quality creators. Had a feeling this would make POW at iFanboy.
Overall, I’d say this was a pretty mediocre week for me. Even though I had huge stack of comics. Right now, I’m comfortable saying either Buffy #12 or the New Frontier Special stood above the week’s comics in quality.
With special mention to Teen Titans: Year One and Echo. Both were good, well-told stories with fantastic artwork. Even if they were a bit too brief for their own good in the end.
so i lucked out and got a copy of "Comic book Comics" and that was really good, i didn’t know if my store was going to have it or not.
Green lantern had one of those endings that felt like a season finally, your mad at the end that you have to wait a couple of months for more.
Pax Romania continues the crazy
and while the New frontier was good and it was nice to see the batman superman fight expounded on… it felt a bit too easy for me at the end of it.
Echo has me in it’s hold.
Josh completely caught me off guard with this pick of the week.
My overall favorite was Detective Comics 842. Completely awesome writing from Milligan and Nguyen’s art was outstanding.
Teen Titans: Year One would have been my pick just for the fantastic art, but there was a typo that completely took me out the story and yes it is a minor gripe, but it is what it is.
Pax Romana was fooking cool, but Detective really surprised me so it wins.
Anyone else think Ron somehow got the pick 2 weeks in a row when they saw Logan up top?
i like ron’s pick a lot. it was good but for me the best issue of the week was buffy #12. granted i am a sucker for whedon’s work and i have a collection of over 30 buffy action figures it was the one issue this week that i was just turning page after page and couldn’t wait for the next. the issue was written by drew goddard and was the most fun i had reading today.
i spoke too soon. far and away the best thing i read this week was scalped. the writing on scalped is stunning and it always gets me emotionally but in a way where it doesn’t try too hard. the story unfolds and you get to see something very real and very sad. it’s a really fantastic book.
Great pick. I really liked LOGAN, too – especially the ending. I realize that it’s nothing revolutionary or anything, but lke Josh, I do love me a good Wolverine story when it’s written & drawn by someone with talent and a decent story to tell. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.
Any times someone wants to retcon ORIGIN out of existence would be fine by me. I wish this series would do that, but I’ll take what I can get.
Picke up ECHO, too, based on everyone else’s excitement & enjoyed that as well, even though it was way too short. Hooked enough me to get Issue 2, though, so mission accomplished I guess.
Woooooorrrrrddddd.
two things, one: im glad i picked this up on name recognition alone. BKV and Risso = cool. Two: i can’t believe Josh picked a book about wolverine! this is setting a presidence! im stoked to read this now. I’ve only read New Frontier and Cable so far, NF was excellent as expected but Cable was also suprisingly good, whodathunkit?
I’m sure you are right about this being good with BKV at the helm, but does the world really need another Wolverning book? I just think he’s so oversaturated that I’m not sure I can stomach another mini.
While he usually comes off (or rather is portrayed) as a one-note, "lone bad-ass" stereotype, every once in a great while a book will positively nail the full potential of Logan as a character.
This. Is. That. Book.
When done right, I truely believe he can be the most interging character Marvel has to offer (at least in recent history). So, who do you go to when exploring mysterious, complex characters? Who’s the storyteller that can make even the most uninteresting/forgettable character really speak to the audience? Is it Brian K. Vaughn? Yeah. I think it is.
As far as Risso is concerned, I am sorry to say that I’m not too familiar with his work. But this book does nothing but build on my increasing respect for him. I read Broken City, and once I got over what appeared to be cartoony artwork set to the "gritty realism" of the storyline, I realized that (as Josh pointed out) the emotion conveyed through his panels potentially exceeds the realism of any Alex Ross spread (nothing against the great A-Ross, but the visually-real can only convey so much). So expecting anything less than greatness from these two fantastic storytellers (BKV and ER) is just foolishness.
Anyone who enjoyed this issue in color, I highly recommend checking out the B&W varient. The bare visual asthetic plus the great narrative plus the time-frame and location of the story creates a feel that is comparable to a Kurosawa film (shout out to all my cinophiles out there!).
Are you still reading this? Really? Wow.
Didn’t read this– I’m just not interested in the Wolverine character.
Of my books, my POW would’ve definitely been Buffy– holy cow that was good. Just entertaining and fun as heck.
I LOVED Logan, cant wait to see where it is going
I guess Green LAntern would be my pick of the week. Nice to see that the book really isn’t slowing down after the Sinestro Corps War.
New Frontier would have had a shot at the top slot but the Wonder Woman/Black Canary story drug it down. That seemed less like a New Frontier tale and more like a "What Th-?" style parody of one.
I my store didn’t get any copies of Logan so I didn’t read that one. But based sley on the cover and comments here: if this was a WWII era story, why does Logan have his adamantium claws? He wouldn’t get those for decades after theb war.
Sold out at my LCS, I was very disappointed since I’ve been waiting for this.
I’m enjoying the brave new world of Spider-Man, and I haven’t bought a Spidey comic since 1989. How do you like that?
I thought this issue was okay but really nothing special. Sometimes I feel like people expect anything x-related to be SO completely horrible that when it’s not, as in the case with a lot of Messiah Complex-related stuff as well, they act like it’s a lot better than it is.
There’s so LITTLE characterization in this issue. Think of how little is really done with all of the supporting characters in it. They are ALL one-dimensional, and the Japanese woman seems like the 57th character of this type that we’ve seen Wolverine with. I’m not complaining too much, though, because this really was a nice little comic. I just have a feeling that people are way too eager to start comparing this mini-series on equal footing with the Claremont/Miller mini from the early ’80s, a min-series that really was groundbreaking, had a lot of originality in it, changed the direction of the character, and takes longer than fifteen minutes to read.
When I finished reading this I thought, this could be the pick for me, And was fairly suprised to see josh pick it. The ending is what really sold it for me. The art was awesome, good to see a different take on the x-characters.
Jason Aaron’s wolverine from a couple weeks ago was the best wolverine I have read in a while. We will have to see which arc will end up on top.
Kinda ticked of – my LCBS was sold out so i have to wait till next week… i got there around noon too… ah well, i can wait
Highly anticipated, but I have to disagree with Josh… I was left with a big… EH? after reading this. I loved the art, kinda reminded me of Miller’s Ronin stuff… but I was expecting a little more from the story, I know it’s a #1 and all but hey… There seemed to be a blown opportunity for some great beats (i’m thinking of the moment right after an encounter with some soldiers, there’s a shot of the walls of the prison…. not giving too much away here…) But, i have faith… BKV knows what he’s doing so we’ll see…
This is a really solid Wolverine story, though I do have to agree with the comment that the love interest is a variation on a theme we’ve seen more than enough times.
The art really made this book for me; I loved how the colors worked with Risso’s lines.
I didn’t read Logan, I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in the comic shop.
My personal pic of the week was Buffy Season Eight #12. It just doesn’t get much better than a Marx Brothers inspired bedroom scene interrupted by an attack from Japanese Goth Vampires.
Well, becaues of recent financial clamps I had to choose between this and Young Liars. I went with the Vertigo title, as those books tend to speak to me more, but realize, in hindsight I made the wrong decision. It’s ok though. I’ll monitor this series and wait for the trade if it turns out well. I loved BKV’s Dr. Strange series, and I’m getting the same sort of vibe from this.
That said, I had a really good week, but the POW for me is definitely Nightwing #142. This book was just awesome, and it’s a perfect example of super hero comics done right. It’s not an earth shattering, life changing comic, but it’s one that all superhero writers should emulate. Just very solid.
I think I’m rating comics on different level than other folks… a good comic is 3 for me, a better comic is a 4, an amazingly mind blowing comic is a 5. I have yet to give out a 5 on here. I think I’m grading a little too hard.
I spent $30 on books this week… still making my way through them all.
I also sure wish I could stay logged in to this darn site!!!
The most Wolverine I have read was Fantastic Four #348-349. Despite not that, I loved this story. The art was also very impressive. It wasn’t until after reading the new Exterminators that I noticed that the panel layout was much more complex than the standard comic book. However, it flowed in such a nice way that I never read anything out of order.
I got Locke and Key, Echo and New Frontier. All good books. But New Frontier had me smiling, tons of fun.
I gave it three stars even though I don’t really see me being the next issues. Three stars means it’s slightly above average… it just didn’t push through my pile of books this week — but nothing really has. Titans Year One – which started out great, thudded a bit and I still have yet to read Northlanders and a few other books. Young Liars might edge out Echo as my pick; Echoes suffered from being a #1 issue and lacks the characterization I expect from Terry Moore (although I expect that to improve with each issue)… I say Young Liars might edge it out, as I’ve only read half the book…
I flipped through this book at the shop this morning. BKV just isn’t enough to get me into Wolverine. Now if somehow Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze were involved…