Wolverine Old Man Logan Graphic Novel Review

The Wolverine has hung up claws and now lives a quiet life with his wife and children at their farm. Set fifty years in a dystopian future Logan tries to live a peaceful life in a world where heroes are no more, the villains have won and taken over. Coming off the success of the hit story line Enemy of the State, writer Mark Millar returns to make another Wolverine epic this time joined by artist Steve Mc Niven making this classic 2008 story arc. Collects Wolverine #66-72 and Wolverine Giant-Size Old Man Logan.

The Wolverine is gone, now a peaceful family man, Logan seeks to live a life without violence and hasn’t used his claws since that day fifty years ago when the heroes fell. He's not the man he was, what changed him. Logan now lives a very different life in a very different world. He along with his family tends to his plot of land in the territory owned by the Hulk, unable to pay his rent this month he takes a beating form the Hulk gang, the once feared Wolverine takes a beating and doesn’t fight back. With the threat of their return and fearing for his family he accepts an offer of old friend and former Avenger; Hawkeye. Offering him a job to travel with him across the country to deliver a package. The two set off on a cross country road trip coming into a bit of trouble and diversions time to time. It becomes a road movie as the duo set off on a road trip that's sprinkled with many Marvel references to other heroes throughout. It works extremely well as a stand alone story. Its not your typical superhero story, its more of a alternative take on the superhero tale, the bleak environment and sombre colours set the tone. As the story progresses, flashbacks tease what happened to the Wolverine that night and what changed him. The shocking revelation adds to the already great story. Dedicating most of the chapter to that pivotal moment in Logan’s history, so much story had hung on this moment and it doesn’t disappoint.

It can seem like a short read as it can be light on the dialogue but for big on action, artist Steve Mc Niven is able to reimagine the fate of the Marvel Universe. His movie blockbuster style of panels and double page spreads make for some unforgettable images. Both he and Millar are allowed to flex their imaginative talent in this story setting. This story posses some fantastic art and detailed panels, with fun nods and references of Marvel characters scattered throughout. Mark Millar crafts a fantastic tale, it’s really well told. It has slightly familiar elements in the case that it feels like a Mad Max setting with a reluctant Clint Eastwood style hero. This is a fantastic story, injecting a fresh and fun twist to make for an innovative and classic story.The involvement of the Hulk pays homage to the original first appearance of Wolverine in The Incredible Hulk #181 in 1974. An excellent story, this version of Wolverine has seen a resurgence recently due to the Old Man Logan iteration of Wolverine getting his own series being part of the Marvel Universe. It’s also the storyline is rumored to be the influence for the upcoming third Wolverine movie.

It’s a big bold action story, that’s thrilling, exciting and imaginative. The story is a creative take on a different Wolverine than we’re used to. It fuses superhero elements with a in a western like tale of a man’s quest for peace. Pitting Logan against with who he wants to be against the man he truly is. It’s a fantastic story that's become a modern classic and one of the greatest Wolverine stories.

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev Review

After reading all of Frank Miller's Daredevil work and Mark Waid's initial Daredevil series I decided to get into the other famous and excellent run on the character from the early 2000's by writer Brian Michael Bendis with artist Alex Maleev. These dark and gritty tales became a highly acclaimed run on The Man Without Fear. The main take away from the run was that it outed Daredevil's secret identity to the public, something that Matt Murdock had to deal with all the way up to Waid's 2011 run. So after completing and enjoy both Miller's and Waid's run on Daredevil I wanted to get into the other big run on the character in between both of the aforementioned writers.

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s 50 plus issue stint on Daredevil remains one of the most influential creative runs in comics. Their run on Daredevil started in it's second series, starting in December 2001 until January 2006 was at the time was the longest running tenure on Daredevil, which was only surpassed last year.

Daredevil was started anew in 1998 with Kevin Smith's Guardian Devil story arc launched the new series. With issue #16 Bendis joined the series with Maleev joining with issue #26. Their award winning run lasted until issue #81, making it one of the longest running and most critically acclaimed runs for any writer on the character. Its been regarded as one of the greatest creative tenures in the comic giants history, stating that it rivaled Miller's influential work on Daredevil. 

These three massive trade paperbacks collect the entire Bendis and Maleev run. Each of the graphic novels collect around 20 issues, consisting of between 3- 4 story arcs of this best selling series.

Book 1 #16 - 19 and #26 - 40; Wake Up, Underboss and Out
Book 2 #41 - 50 and #56 - 65; Lowlife, Hardcore, The King of Hell's Kitchen and The Widow
Book 3 #66 - 81; Golden Age, Decalogue and The Murdock Papers, What If Karen Page Had Lived? and Marvel Ultimate Team-Up #6-8

Wake Up #16-19, with art by David Mack.
Ben Urich, Investigative reporter for the Daily Bugle. His current assignment is the murder trial of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. So why is Urich spending all his time with the catatonic son of a costumed criminal and how is Daredevil connected to a child he doesn't even know?

Underboss #26-31
Newcomer Sammy Silkie, plans to overthrow the Kingpin/Wilson Fisk and take his place. There is a connection between this uprising and the contract on Daredevil's life? The pulp noir crime drama begins here as the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev start their epic run on Daredevil, also features a special silent issue.

Out #32 - 40
Daredevil's secret identity is exposed to the world! Matt Murdock's most guarded secret is sold to a tabloid newspaper. What can will the Man Without Fear go to reclaim his life? The volume ends with a three part intriguing court room drama story with artist Terry Dodson.

Lowlife #41-45
Matt Murdock is forced to reckon with the problems and legal ramifications that emerged as a result of his public outing. One of Daredevil's most dangerous foes returns to take over the NYC underworld as Matt dwells on his problems, as a new love appears at the most dangerous and complicated time of his life.

Hardcore #46-50
Matt Murdock life gets a lot more troublesome. He's simultaneously faced with murder charges, a new romance, being outted by the tabloids, the return of one of his deadliest foe's Typhoid Mary and the Kingpin's attempt to restore his fallen empire bring on a shocking and surprisng ending.

King of Hell's Kitchen #56-60
A year on since Daredevil did the unimaginable, beating Wilson Fisk to within an inch of his life and declaring himself the new Kingpin. Now that the Yakuza has come to stake their claim for Hell's Kitchen, targeting Matt Murdock leading to an unforgettable battle royale.

The Widow #61- 64
The Black Widow returns to her ex-lover Matt Murdock, on the run she in laying low as Daredevil comes face to horrible face with Jigsaw as assassins are aiming for Blakc Widow's own head.

The Universe #65, Special 40th anniversary double length issue. This story backtracks over the time period that Matt Murdock was outed and fills in some holes in the already heavy plot from the points of view of other heroes in the Marvel Universe with guest artists while setting up the next story arc in the series.

Golden Age #66-70
Following his release from prison, Alexander De Bont, former Kingpin of Daredevil's earliest days. setting his sights on the outed Daredevil enlisting the help of classic Daredevil
villain, Gladiator. This unique story is told in three different time periods featuring distinctive art and coloring in each era. A classic crime noir story.

Decalogue #71-75
Covering what happened during Daredevil's year-long reign as the new Kingpin. His cleaning up of Hell's Kitchen revealed in all the bloody detail. Told from the perspectives of a support group who've been affected by Daredevil.

The Murdock Papers #76-81
The climatic end to Bendis and Maleev's epic run. Their award winning run has reached its conclusion. The return of Wilson Fisk makes was for a thrilling finale. Fisk has in his possession concrete evidence that Mudock is Daredevil and in exchange Fisk demands complete immunity for past crimes. Daredevil and guest stars are on the hunt for the papers in a stunning finale.

The end of this final volume also features bonus issues. What If Karen Page Had Lived? is an imaginary story if the worst event in Matt's life didn't happen, if she survived the attack spiraling off to another chain of events. the three part story collected in Marvel Ultimate Team-Up #6-8 features the escape of Frank Castle/The Punisher from prison with Spider-man and Daredevil after the dangerous vigilante.

Following Frank Millers momentous work on Daredevil, few writers achieved the same level acclaim. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev became the next great creative team for The Man Without Fear, their award winning four year work was the next great Daredevil run.

It brought readers back to the crime noir roots of success that Miller planted over two decades earlier. Their work emulates Miller's time on Daredevil, integrating the street level tone that Miller introduced and making it part of Daredevil's character. Their first story arc; Underboss is influenced by Miller's seminal Born Again story, The Kingpin's knowledge of Daredevil's identity is now made public. Bendis takes what Miller had introduced and takes it to new heights without retreading old ground. Within the first year of their four year run it introduced the biggest change to the status quo for Daredevil on a level not seen since Miller's run. It laid the foundation for the stories to come and beyond that's felt all the way to current Daredevil series, showcasing that this newest run was off to a very strong start.

The stories centered on the daily humanity of the hero: Matt Murdock’s personal life. It reversed the narrative taking it from a typical superhero comic and making it into a crime story that included a costumed hero. Its grounded stories are so real are a reason behind its influence. Bendis understood that plot of stories is very important but so emotion and character that's even more critical. Matt Murdock was flawed man, sometimes his actions were so distanced from what we’d expect of a classic Marvel hero and as a Lawyer he repeatedly compromised his oath-bound ethics—but this enriched the mythology greatly. The art by Alex Maleev created certain visuals for the series that matched the dark and gritty storytelling. It had wonderful sense of mood: dark, gritty and foreboding.

The outing of Daredevil's identity is the single greatest element factor of the run, it a common superhero trope that's been explored in a way no other superhero comics had ever done. There was no quick fix or close call like so many other masked heroes have faced, it's existed all the way to the current series and it's due to be rectconned in the new Marvel Universe reboot; All-New, All-Different Marvel. The revelation made way for great stories to come for the series and The Man Without Fear.

Bendis and Maleev continued what Miller had started, in the 80's Miller redefined Matt Murdock's world, but Bendis has pushed it to new heights without retreading old territory. The run inspired Mark Waid's 2011 Daredevil series as a counterpoint to all the dark stories and misfortune the character had been put through. Bendis and Maleev's four year work on Daredevil continues to be one of the major high point of the characters history. It is the eptionme of dark gritty and realistic Daredevil. All collected in these three big paperback volumes giving over 50 issues of brilliant and unforgettable Daredevil stories.

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Vol.2 Review

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Vol.2 is the continuation of one of the most influential and acclaimed comic book runs of the Man Without Fear – Daredevil. Frank Miller continues his highly successful run of the series with Inker-Penciler Klaus Janson collecting Daredevil #173 – 184 from August 1981 to July 1982. Their character defining run continues here on the second of three collected trade paperbacks that covers the midpoint of their four year run. 

Frank Miller continues his gritty noir take of Daredevil, street level crime and unraveling legal conspiracies while infusing the series with the tone that has become so synonymous with the character. This was the era where Miller first introduced the ninja element to the series, creating the ninja cult The Hand and introducing Stick, Daredevil's former mentor and - perhaps most importantly – Elektra, returning for a lengthy story arc that would become what the series was best known for. It achieved a height of success and acclaim years before Miller later returned to the series to for the amazing story arc Born Again.

This is the book that's the core of Miller and Janson’s run and everything great about Daredevil, I got this book long before I purchased Volume 1 and 3 of the series due to its recognition. The Gladiator makes a sympathetic appearance in an early story line, even fighting alongside Elektra and Daredevil. It’s the return his former flame and the escape of Bullseye that weighs most heavily for our hero, with issue #181 Miller’s began writing in a new spectacular fashion.

Elektra remains to be one of the greatest parts of the Miller’s time on the series. Her first appearance in the previous collection marked in debut Daredevil #168 and this era of stories is what’s been viewed as the highlight of Miller’s original run on series, putting his biggest addition at the forefront of a story that was dubbed The Elektra Saga. She was earlier introduced as a long lost love interest to Matt Murdock who became an assassin. This is the main story arc of the collection, The Elektra Saga, (starting with her debut in Daredevil #168 from Volume 1 and issues #174-182), the conclusion of the story became one of the most shocking and iconic aspects of comics, the imagery is unforgettable. All of the previous plot points cumulated in Daredevil #181, it was a great story with superb action sequences. The double length issue a big deal for its time and still holds up as a significant read more than thirty years later and still considered as one of the major high points of Miller’s Daredevil run. It’s highly likely the one story line fans think of in relation to Miller’s original run in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Miller was at the top of his game, doing his best work as writer and artist, the duel between Bullseye and Elektra is iconic. Its outcome results in Daredevil gradually became a darker kind of hero, this kind of drama and urban crime stories began to attract attention. The revamping of the series might have seemed controversial amongst fans, but it clicked with new readers, increasing sales. Miller had taken a second-tier Marvel character and turned him into on of Marvel’s most popular. It’s really with this era that Frank Miller and Daredevil began to break new ground. It was also in this period that the comic returned to monthly status rather than bi-monthly just three issues after Miller came on as writer. It also highlights Daily Bugle Investigative Journalist Ben Urich as a important player, whom has his own share of the danger as he seeks to uncover truth and conspiracy.

The Punisher first meets Daredevil in a dark and controversial story line “Child’s Play” that concludes the collection. The Punisher/Frank Castle and Daredevil, they are both after a drug pusher who is selling drugs to children. The two crime fighters come into conflict with each other, mostly down to their methods of dealing with the perpetrators. It made for a fantastic story just after the previous story. This one is very different kind of tale, but its dark and gritty, things you’ve come to expect from this interpretation of Daredevil. It was a great story to end the collection.

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volume 2 wherein Miller continues his highly acclaimed run, introducing more aspects to Daredevil continuing the most influential period for the character almost redefining a darker interpretation of the hero and stories. The showdown between Elektra and Bullseye remains one of the most iconic moments in comics. Miller's take on Daredevil was characterized by darker themes and stories that hit its peak with issue #181 in this volume. The clash between two Daredevil enemies is one of the most visually iconic and shocking scenes in Marvel history. It stunned readers and the drama was wracked up a few more notches. This is the high point of Miller’s initial tenure on Daredevil. It has so many elements that made the series so great and became a classic. It showcases both Frank Miller and Daredevil breaking new ground, entering a new level of stories and success. If you only pick up one of these trade paperbacks collecting Miller’s original run on the same, let this be the one.The creative team of Miller and Janson’s continue their daring reinvention of the character, raising the series to new heights.