Review- WOLVERINE- OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 4: OLD MONSTERS

WOLVERINE- OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 4: OLD MONSTERS (Marvel, First Printing, 2017; Softcover)

Collects Old Man Logan #14-18 (cover dates January- April, 2017)

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artists: Felipe Andrade (#14, 15) and Andrea Sorrentino

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire (#14, 15) and Marcelo Maiolo

What happened? Everything was moving along just fine until now. Issues 14 and 15 were abysmal dreck. The new Howling Commandos are a pathetic retread of DC's Creature Commandos. Felipe Andrade's artwork in this two issue arc left me cold.

It was more than the art that soured me on those two issues. Lemire's writing seems like it went off of the track there too. Jubille and vampires? Come on, man. It felt like Lemire had a dartboard of random plotlines and then had to patch them all together.

Fortunately #16 is right back on track like nothing ever happened in #14 and 15. Logan is still trying to right the wrongs of the past, only something goes wrong and he realizes that he needs to right the wrongs of a future yet to occur in his alternate future timeline. Lots of timeshifts, dreams, nightmares, and hallucinations make this a game of leapfrog for the reader, trying to leap from one lily pad to the next to keep up with what is really happening and what Old Man Logan thinks is really happening. It's honestly a lot of fun. The book ends on a note where you just know it's going to take an even bigger jump.

This can become a great risk. Jumping works so long as you firmly know where you are going. When you are merely jumping to avoid something or get away to the next point then the potential for catastrophe is great. Let's see what Lemire can pull off in Volume 5...

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone-

Paper stock: Thin coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. This book is on the thin side and feels like a fat periodical.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock.