Wolverine #72

Wolverine has been a hard series to keep track of. First of all, it comes out once every 2.5 months. Even when it does comes out, it's sometimes out of order. Also, I thought this was going to be the last chapter of the Old Man Logan arc. Once again I was wrong. The last chapter will be a giant-sized one-shot that comes out later this year, hopefully. Despite all these confusions though, I have thoroughly enjoyed this run.

As with every other issue and every other Mark Millar story, Wolverine #72 is just a bunch of cool moments put together without fleshing them out any. As a matter of fact, only two things happen in this issue. The two things are really, really cool though and you will be glad you read it.

Usually I spend most of my reviews on the story of the comic book, but there are two reasons I will be flipping the script. First of all, Mark Millar stories don't really have any substance. There's not much to talk about. More importantly however, Steve McNiven's art is amazing. He is the one who tells the story in this comic book.

He hooks you with his opening scene. The chaos of the situation, from the exploding sky to Red Skull standing over a defeated Captain America, is truly masterful. You don't even have to read Millar's dialogue to know that Skull is gloating, Cap is hurting, and Skull is going to kill him.

The fight between Skull and Wolverine is the best part of this issue. First of all, Skull's trophy room is spectacularly drawn. McNiven manages to fit some kind of symbol of the fallen heroes, whether it's Iron Man's armor, Cap's shield, or Silver Surfer's board, into every panel. The whole scene was a giant Easter egg for fans of Marvel. To top it off, McNiven draws a heck of a battle. You see bones being crushed and emotion flowing from the characters. That last panel where Wolverine finishes the fight is truly beautiful.

Steven McNiven doesn't just do fight scenes though. He's fantastic at capturing the emotion of a situation. His way of depicted the tragedy at Wolverine's home is both haunting and artistic. Wolverine just stands there looking at the same thing we are and you can sense the rage building up inside him. McNiven's clever use of a splash page with just words was superb too. Things like this make Steve McNiven the best artist in the business.

Old Man Logan is a really entertaining read. I compare it to a summer blockbuster. It has tons of action and little substance. McNiven's art compares to the special effects in movies like Transformers. If you like seeing Camaros turn into giant robots, check out Steven McNiven's Wolverine fight with the Red Skull.