On the Rack: Logan Legacy 3

As a Wolverine fan, recent events have left me devastated. Logan Legacy is the follow up to the event and tells the events after Wolverine’s death from the perspective of his closest allies and enemies. As much as Wolverine’s death pained me, Charles Soule paid fitting tribute to Logan, so I expected Logan Legacy to follow suit. Sadly, the first two issues were disappointing. Fortunately, each issue has a different creative team attached and the third issue, focusing on Wolverine’s arch-nemesis Sabretooth, managed to impress me. Written by Kyle Higgins with art by Jonathan Marks and colours by Lee Loughridge, the issue stands alone and is a fitting tribute to what may be the most dysfunctional relationship in the entire Marvel Universe.

In the wake of Logan’s death, Victor Creed travels to Mogadishu to join a rebellious militia, but the lives he takes are not enough to satiate him. Ultimately, Creed is an animal. He finds great satisfaction in violence and indulges his blood thirst at every opportunity, but he is also conflicted. Sabretooth’s rivalry with Wolverine is well documented, but after Logan’s death Creed has one major regret, he wasn’t the one to kill him. The entire book centers on this struggle; in many ways Wolverine’s death is Sabretooth’s victory except that he wasn’t the one to deal the final blow. Creed spends the length of the story coming to terms with the fact that his rival is gone, and in the process he does some very despicable things. Higgins characterization of Creed is dead on; he captures Sabretooth’s sadism and anger perfectly. This was a large part of what made the book so satisfying to read. Sabretooth is a terrifying man with virtually no conscience, so the twisted remorse he has for not killing Wolverine almost humanizes him.

The compelling story is made even more engaging by Jonathan Marks’ and Lee Lougheridge’s beautiful art. The monochromatic pages resemble watercolour paintings. Marks creates a balance of light and shadow with fine detailed inks that do not betray any heavy lines. Lougheridge’s colours complete the effect. Night scenes are washed with inky blues, and shades of yellow suggest the heat of the African sun. Action scenes are given urgency by layering images over one another. Overlapping panels and overlapping characters within them, shown from multiple perspectives generates the illusion of speed and recreates the closeness of battle. The book was filled with panels that I couldn’t stop staring at, some were so mesmerizing that I had to flip back through to find them again when I’d finished reading. Marks and Lougheridge are the perfect team to capture Higgins story, their art compliments it ideally.

It’s so easy to be disillusioned by comic events. The rare and dramatic events of the past have changed and readers are now over saturated with mini-series claiming to change the landscape of the universe. Worst yet is the fallout from these events; issues address the aftermath from the perspective of every character imaginable. Death of Wolverine: Logan Legacy looked like another one of these gimmick series created to capitalize on the main event. I won’t hide my disappointment with the first two issues, but the third has risen to the occasion. Focusing on Sabretooth and how he copes with Wolverine’s death, the story is captivating and the art is mesmerizing. Ironically, Creed’s sadistic regret at not being the one to kill Wolverine makes this issue a compelling tribute to their relationship. With four more issues still to come, I can only hope that the rest of Logan Legacy is as gratifying as this issue was.