Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Vol. 2: Bordertown

Old Man Logan (Collected Editions)

by Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino (Illustrator)

In a lonely corner of Canada, the quiet town of Killhorn Falls seems like the perfect place for Old Man Logan to retreat to and make peace with his new life in the present-day Marvel Universe. But there's never any escape for the man who was once Wolverine. When Lady Deathstrike and her Reavers come for him, can Logan protect the people of Killhorn Falls — and the only thing in the present that he hopes will survive to meet him in the future? This is the X-Man at his most fundamental: his back to the wall — and survival riding only on his wits, his determination and his Adamantium claws! It's the ultimate cage match, and everything Old Man Logan cares about is on the line!

Collecting: Old Man Logan 5-8, Uncanny X-Men 205

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, X Men, Comic Book, Fiction

111 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2016

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a story ain't broke, just repeat it. In a desolate part of Canada, Old Man Logan finds a place to retreat, when Lady Deathstrike and her Reavers come for him. It's easily the best volume in the series so far (from two!), but basically just the same (great) story we've read before, again and again! 8 out of 12, Four Stars.

2017 read

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Man Logan continues to be haunted by his demons in Bordertown. Believing his dystopian future might still happen, he heads to a small gravel quarry mining town in the Great White North to protect his future wife, Maureen, who’s presently a kid. But long-time enemies like Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers are surprised to discover Logan is seemingly back from the dead and set out to settle some old scores…

The second volume of the Old Man Logan ongoing has some decent moments and strong art but the main story is a bit flimsy. I still really like this older version of Wolverine who’s been through the wringer and then some. I totally buy his jaded voice when he sees Deathstrike again, his inner monologue telling him to say the same words he always says, go through the motions he always does – I know he means he’s lived encounters like these before in his past but it feels very meta, like the character is getting sick of doing the same stuff over and over again. And when he meets Jubilee again it’s an awkward but quietly moving reunion.

His decision to head to his future wife’s town was pretty stupid though. He should know given his advanced age and extensive experience that wherever he goes, trouble follows, and while his intentions were honourable he made things worse by bringing the Reavers in his wake. Logan basically created all of the problems in this story and had to save the town from the danger he brought to it!

Andrea Sorrentino’s art continues to impress. He does landscapes really well so the snowy Canadian wilderness looks beautiful and the action-packed villain uprising flashbacks in the final issue were awesome too. His work has been of consistently high quality across three volumes now.

Jeff Lemire’s script comes off as contrived and as generic a Wolverine story as there can be but it has the occasional glimpse of strong characterisation and Sorrentino’s art is great. Bordertown is a weak follow-up to the better first volume - it’s not a bad comic but definitely feels like a pointless addition to the series.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Logan is still trying to come to terms with living on an alternate Earth where his future hasn't happened and so heads to a ridiculously remote town in Canada. This is my one issue with the book. Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers find Logan almost immediately. He could live there for a 100 years and they would have no way to find him. Lady Deathstrike always talks about honor but then just starts killing people randomly, so much for honor. That's one of those things I've always found infuriating with the writing of her character, personality inconsistencies. There's also a Christmas Carol type issue with Jean Grey that I thought was the best issue in the book. In addition, Marvel reprints Lady Deathstrike's first appearance so they can charge more money. That being said, it's a Barry Windsor-Smith drawn book so it's well worth a read.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story so far! Want to read more comics with Yuriko in them.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when he thinks he's found some place to settle down for a bit, an old enemy shows up on Logan’s doorstep …

Honestly, this volume was kind of a letdown. My main beef is that it's such a generic Wolverine story. You could remove Old Man Logan and replace him with 1980’s Chris Claremont X-Men Wolverine and the story would be the same. There's nothing that marks it as a uniquely OML story, or even a Jeff Lemire story. Wolvie’s past is full of people out to get him. If it wasn't Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers it would be Sabertooth, or the Hellfire Club, or the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or just about anybody, really. This just felt like a filler arc ...

And this is also the second volume in a row that's padded out with material by a creative team not touted on the front cover. People plunking down their cash for Jeff Lemire’s Old Man Logan must be a bit startled to see the story end two thirds of the way through the book, to be replaced by Mark Millar’s OML (volume 1) or Chris Claremont’s X-Men #205 (a mostly solo Wolverine adventure). It seems like a cheap ploy to boost the page count …

If I sound too down on it, I don't mean to. It's not bad, per se, just … generic. It's readable, but not special.

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I somehow forgot to review this one in my last batch of Lemire reviews but holy crap, it’s so good!

What’s it about?
Logan decides to go to a town in Canada to do some work there, he starts caring about some of the people there and of course villains come to town so it’s time for him to kill some s***!

Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is more in depth than what I described (do you really need much more description to get you interested?) and is really good.
The art is fantastic! The panels are all so well drawn and amazing, I love the art so much!
The characters are very interesting.
The action scenes are FREAKING BAD-A**! Lemire puts both an extremely interesting story and lots of great action in one comic and it’s better than most (though not all) superhero stories I’d say.
This story is never predictable.
The ending is great.
The issue with Logan and Jean Grey is simply amazing and very nice!
There’s an old school Wolverine issue at the end which I enjoyed, of course I usually have fun with the older Marvel action stuff!

Overall:
Great comic for sure! I highly recommend it for people who are tired of the same old superhero stories over and over again and to people who like bad-a** superhero stuff!

5/5

[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly can't even get past the art in this series. Will you look at this?


And this?



I mean it's just beautiful!!!!

The story that goes along with it is just as beautiful. I mean, Wolverine/Old Man Logan basically has a second chance. He is in a different time stream and he wants to make sure all the horrible things that he did, like being forced to kill his fellow X-Men, do not happen. He has the chance to protect two different ladies that he loved at one time or another (even though they are much younger than our "old man").

Logan is just so full of pain. I may just be crying because the movie "Logan" is so fresh in my mind still or literally because I'm just a big cry baby, but I just feel so bad for Logan. He just wants to be happy like everyone else, why do people have to keep on coming at him?

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.8/10
Like the previous volumes ( except the first one by Mark Millar ) this one is also ok but not great. I don't think i will continue the series.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still think this has better ideas than the execution given.

So what did I like? I still enjoy the artwork. Especially the kills or death hits, they look like some Injustice/Mortal Kombat shit. I also liked the idea of Logan protecting his future love and it not being...too creepy? Maybe. it's still kind of creepy. Logan, poor old logan, you have a weird life. Still, found the scenes sweet. I also liked him tearing through fuckers like they bitches cause he wolvie and that's how he rolls.

What I didn't like? This brooding Logan. I don't mind self-reflection or thought, it's just so much negativity. I was getting annoyed. I'm glad the last issue began turning that around. Also fuck the villains, so cliche it hurt. So over the top it made me laugh when they all came to track down logan. Seemed to convenient.

So I'ma give this one a 3 out of 5 cause it's still entertaining, just like the first volume, but also filled with dumb moments. I will continue though. Current all New Wolverine is better though. I should get back on that.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read again!

Wolverine goes to the northern side to meet the young Maureen, his future wife and well he ants to protect her and look over and its an interesting thing but when trouble comes into Killhorn Falls and Lady Deathstrike and Reavers target the townspeople its upto Logan to defend them and take down his enemies at the same time protecting Maureen and its such a great tale hitting at what is important to Logan and making Yuriko such a great villain and also in the backup feature a story of the past of the first time they went against each other and showing the brutality of it and it was so good and the two stories work great in tandem!

Plus a short breather story where Jean removes doubts from Wolverine's mind and shows him that future he is from will not happen and a chill night with friends and I love the story and it makes you appreciative for this character and how finally after having the life he has led maybe he is getting a breather or a second chance or whatnot and its deserved and Sorrentino's pencils are just too good! A MUST RECOMMEND!

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, the story is alright, but I think the whole idea of bringing this character to Earth-616 is ultimately pointless, there's way too many Wolverines around for this to feel any different, the best parts are still the flashbacks. I thought the original Old Man Logan book was more than enough on its own, and I just can't dig Sorrentino's art.

I might grab a couple more volumes until I' m bored of it, Dead Man Logan seems to be the most interesting.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having finally come to grips with the fact that this isn't his timeline, Old Man Logan is here to stay and not going to murder everything. But of course, he's still burdened with his guilt, and sets out to protect the girl who would become his wife.

Comics are hella weird.

Of course, that doesn't go well, and the Reavers and Lady Deathstrike attack. Uh oh.

The first three issues of the story deal with that, and it comes to a satisfying (if depressing) conclusion. The real stand-out though is the fourth issue of the trade that has Teen Jean Grey from All-New X-Men taking Old Man Logan on a whistlestop tour of the Marvel Universe to prove that there's no threat of a villain uprising. It really feels like Old Man Logan has finally come to a complete level of acceptance in terms of being part of the Marvel universe after this issue and we can finally move forward with his story.

The story's fairly good, but of course the art is what elevates it into something amazing, because Andrea Sorrentino is amazing on whatever he draws. Some of his double page spreads are poster-worthy. I really can't emphasize enough how gorgeous and inventive his art is.

We've turned a corner with this volume, and that promises good stuff moving forward.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stylistically intriguing but its odd storyline makes for a tedious journey where Old Man Logan decides to run away from everything straight to what used to bring him happiness only to see trouble somehow track him down and ruin it all for him in a bloody finale.

For someone who should have had a gazillion of life-changing decisions to make, this sure wasn't wise.

Still fun for what it is. Just not anything impressive.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Logan-ry, just nothing too beyond what we've seen from him before, in whatever incarnation.

As odd as it was, I probably enjoyed the teenage Jean Grey taking Old Man Logan on a Christmas Carol -esque tour of places important to him more than the hardscrabble preceding issues. But that's probably cos I'm such a big lore-head.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Logan is attempting to solve issues from his previous life or prevent them from occurring. Gory and gruesome just likes it predecessor but I just found like everything fell into place a little too easily.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty sold, but again, nothing we haven't seen before. I will say the artwork, for me, was better in this volume.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story.

Still AMAZiNG AS FUCK artwork. Loving every panel of it! Bloody and brutal and Logan-y all around!

[Obsidian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I liked this volume a little less than vol. 1. That is mainly because Lady Deathstrike has always been my least favorite foe of Wolverine and the shoe-horn of another comic from Uncanny X-Men that did not match the style and color scheme of the previous issues. It really felt tacked on and I wish they left it out.

Vol. 2. collects Old Man Logan #5-8 and Uncanny X-Men #205.

Now that Logan realizes that he is in a different time before the fall and that the fall may actually not happen, he wonders what he should do. He chooses to go in search of the place he first met his wife. And then...comes across her as a young girl. I had some imprinting flashbacks form Twilight so that was a great thing to see come up via this comic. I honestly didn't get why Logan even went in search of his wife. Forget the whole people could be looking for Wolverine in this version (even if it's not the right one) he's older and slower and so could potentially cause harm to other people if he's not at his peak. Either way, I think this was just a set up to show Logan he can't ever have anything good and he's destined to be alone.

We see Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers and how even older and slower, Logan is going to hit that berserk stage and cut them down to size. I was kind of bored though to be honest. I just guessed that somehow Logan was going to get out of it. And I am really tired of Lady Deathstrike's speeches. Girl let it go. Either way though, it was cool to see the panels of the fights.

From that we have Logan back with this version of Jean Grey and others with them doing their best to be by his side. I maybe sniffled when we had Logan and Jubilee back together again.

From that though we jump into the Uncanny X-Men issue and just no. It didn't work at all. We just saw Logan and Deathstrike fight a few seconds ago. Why we go into it again in this issue I don't get it. Maybe just to show how Logan will keep going until the end when there's a kid involved? Eh. Pass on it.

I am really interested in volume 3, but will get to that when I get a free moment.

[Funfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I enjoyed Green Arrow and Hawkeye THIS is the best superhero book Lemire (and Sorrentino) created so far imo. Big shout-out to colorist Marcelo Maiolo, too! He makes Sorrentinos stunning, dynamic art work well with the heavy and depressing tone of "Bordertown".

Only downside: Vol 2. just includes 4 issues (again?), which is a biiiiit thin for 14euro (not counting the Uncanny X-Men extra, because it is ugly as hell, sry :D).

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this. I gotta say though, Logan sure has a fucked up life. Dude just can't seem to ever catch a break, can he?

This volume has Logan taking off on his own (as he often does) to head out to some northern town to check up on Maureen. In the original Old Man Logan timeline, it was Maureen who Logan eventually marries and has children with. Sadly, in this timeline, Maureen is just a child and although she is too young for the kind of love they once had, Logan is determined to see that no harm befalls her.

Of course, with Logan's luck, shit goes south real fast.

Enter, the Reavers.

Solid action throughout this book. Andrea Sorrentino kills it on picture duty! Some awesome two-page spreads that were stunning and the kill-cams were a lot of fun as well. Grizzly and bloody Wolverine action. The best kind.

It's a bleak story though. No surprise with Lemire writing, I guess. Dude loves his bleak storylines.

Still...Sad, bleak, bloody, Wolverine always makes for a good time and that's what this story was. I wish it had left out the random Uncanny X-men issue. Felt a little out of place. The jarring artwork change didn't match the rest of the book. Other than that little gripe, it was a top-notch Wolvie tale.

Bring on the next volume.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is still probably the best Wolverine series I've read. In this one Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers track Logan down to the Canadian wilderness town he's been hanging out in and we get to see quite the battle between Wolverine and the Reavers. Think 30 Days of Night but with superheroes and villains instead of vampires. We also get another flashback issue showing more about the big super villain uprising that lead to Old Man Logan's horrible future. The art remains top notch and fits the story perfectly. Very impressed, I'd recommend this series to any Wolverine fan, especially if you liked the Logan film.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have come to the conclusion that it’s because I have just recently gotten back into comics ( 26 year gap ) that I seem to have a vastly different view on them. Oh well. This volume was F’ing amazing!! Violent action, what a Wolverine comic should have, some heart and sad moments and some revenge. All capped off by a issue with Jean taking old man Logan on a tour to ease his fear about his worlds villain apocalypse. Can’t wait for the next issue.

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm Wolverine. Or, I was. That...that was a long time ago.
I buried the Wolverine. Or, I did. That...that was a long time ago.
But then I had to dig up the Wolverine. I needed him for one last job. But that...that was a long time ago. Not as long ago as the burying Wolverine, but...that was a medium long time ago.
Problem is, wherever there's Wolverine, the trouble follows.
But what I realized is that it's not the Wolverine. It's me. It's Logan.
The trouble follows me.
And it doesn't follow me. It IS me. I AM the trouble.
There's a dark past in my rearview mirror, and objects in mirror are closer than they appear. And darkness is slimming, so even though I see darkness in my rearview, and it looks like a lot of darkness, it's even more darkness than it looks like to me because of the slimming and the mirror.
I can't outrun it. Not forever. But I can sure as hell try. At least until McDonald's switches over to breakfast. Then I can take a break and get a hash brown or 6, then continue outrunning the darkness again. For now. Not forever.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*

This second volume lives up to the first one.

Bordertown covers the 3 first issues where Logan, in order to make sure that young Maureen (his 'future' wife in the Wastelands) is safe, brings chaos and destruction into this remote canadian place when Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers appear to settle old scores.

So old scores are settled in a staggering orgy of violence. Old Man Logan is not our regular Wolvie and his traumatic more recent past doesn't include any belief in redemption.

Last issue is on a more tearful register. Young Jean tries to help Logan with his insecurities at night-when all villains launched a full-scale attack in his timeline-and brings old friends for the occasion. Actually the most interesting parts are Logan's memories of that fateful night.

I'm still not a huge fan of Andrea Sorrentino's artwork but I freely admit he uses an interesting and innovating storytelling to tell the tale.

OML is arguably the best mutant title on the shelves these past months.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m digging this title so much.

It’s exactly what a Wolverine title needs to be; grim, violent and badass. This version of Logan is the most haunted by the past, for good reason. It maintains the western vibe of the original Mark Millar arc, but I think it actually surpasses it in emotional maturity as well as payoff.

I can hardly wait to crack open the next installment!

[Shell Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was short and to the point of protection vs bringing pain.
I love Logan/wolverine.

[mj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot to log this on goodreads really sorry gang

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mind-numbingly rote until the final issue which adds the Young Jean Grey and redeems the book enough that's I'll come back for another serving.

[Danijel Jedriško · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bordertown" is really more a continuation of the original Millar's "Old Man Logan" storyline than something new and original that Lemire created. However, this whole Lemire's run on the "Old Man Logan" story is a massive improvement over that unreadable "Warzones" Bendis wrote. I really like "Old Man Logan" storyline and Bordertown really gives an insight into his own demons, his own humanity. He really needs to go looking for his lost life in the new world, but even in that quest his own sins won't leave him alone. That's the biggest message "Bordertown" is sending. Logan can escape his own reality, he can even escape a portion of his guilt, he can retain some hope that he'll find love, but he can never escape the chaos around him. No matter the reality, no matter the needs, his responsibility lays in diverting chaos from those that are "normal". As things stand now, even in this Lemire's run, that normality is denied for Logan. He is maybe old, his healing factor is maybe slower, but he has experience and patience. Something, all of us who love Wolverine will agree, he didn't have before.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freed of the constraints of setting up the new Old Man Logan and Extraordinary X-Men series, Lemire is able to tell a deeply personal story in OML v2, and it really excels.

Logan is still intent on changing the future, but this time he's focusing on protecting people who were hurt in his future. It's a delightful extension of OML's time travel tropes that doesn't forget about where he came from. Of course, things don't go as he expects, and therein lies the story.

There's great excitement here and personal pathos, plus the return of some old foes, and continuing nice integration with Extraordinary X-Men. During a period when the X-Men comics have been mediocre, OML is one of the few standing above the crowd.