Old Man Logan: Beyond the Wasteland

Artist Andrea Sorrentino and writer Jeff Lemire keep finding new problems to throw at the would-be Wolverine from the future currently trapped in our time.

The latest arc, which kicked off in OLD MAN LOGAN #16 and continues on February 1 in issue #17, not only pits the hero against the Brood in space, but also flashes back to his home of Wasteland where an incredibly powerful villain makes their presence felt.

Though they’ve collaborated on nearly every issue of the current series, Sorrentino actually pre-dates Lemire on the character as he drew the Brian Michael Bendis-penned five issue Secret Wars limited series from 2015. After spending all that time together, he’s come to understand this alternate reality Logan better than many and continues to do so month in and month out.

We talked with Sorrentino about his continuing relationships with both Old Man Logan and Lemire, plus splitting time between space and Wasteland, each of which offer their own unique threats.

Marvel.com: With this current arc, Old Man Logan will split time between space and the Wastelands. Do you enjoy mixing up locations like that within a single story?

Andrea Sorrentino: [We have done] this for every OLD MAN LOGAN arc I’ve worked on, splitting between present and memories of the future/past of Logan. I think it was a great way to show how Logan related with this new Marvel Universe he’s in, but at the same time exploring some corners of his past that the readers didn’t know about yet. The day of the villains uprising, his first meeting with Maureen, his research for a safe place outside the Wastelands, and his homecoming to Nevada.

With this new arc, things are a bit more mixed-up in a different way. Present and past blend into each other in a way that won’t be exactly clear from the beginning and that will lead to some very crazy things in the last issue.

And it was very interesting to work on it because it gave me the chance to work with different locations and different moods and feelings. I like to have the chance to try new challenges and this long run on OLD MAN LOGAN gave me for sure the possibility to experiment a lot.

Marvel.com: The space section will also feature Logan taking on the Brood. How is it putting your own spin on one of the most dangerous alien races in the Marvel U?

Andrea Sorrentino: The Aliens saga is one of my favorite movie sagas ever. And “Alien” is probably the first horror movie I ever saw when I was a kid, so you can imagine the imprint it had on my vision of horror stories. And Jeff wrote [this story] so well that I couldn’t do less than my best to try to keep his level with my art.

So it was challenging, but also very stimulating. And generally, the more depressive, lonely, moody, and enraged the situations are, the better my art fits, so I’ve got to thank Jeff because he gave me the chance to take a crack at [the Brood].

Marvel.com: Looking at some of the samples, you do a lot with the page whether it be the smaller, square spotlight panels or spreads with lots and lots of rectangular panels during a fight scene. Are those elements that are in the script, something you come up with or a combination of the two?

Andrea Sorrentino: Yes, I’m used to doing that, especially when it comes to a double spread or frantic action scenes. Generally, it’s something I do to give the scene a specific pace or to try to drive the eye of the reader in some direction to better follow the action. I think it’s not something you can really write in a script, because it’s very personal to the vision that the artist has on the sequence he’s drawing.

So it may happen that I turn a four-panel double spread into a 32-panel one, or that I change a few things in a page to better fit my visual idea for the scene.

And I’m so lucky that Jeff loves when I do it! So I’m just taking all the freedom that I can, when I can.

Marvel.com: What can you tell us about the threats Logan faces in the Wastelands? Word is that they’re some of the biggest he’s ever faced in that dangerous place.

Andrea Sorrentino: I just teased my followers on Twitter that this arc will show a villain so menacing that they will see Doom and Ultron kneel to him. And it’s a brand new villain, so I’m really, really curious for the reaction the readers will have to him!

Marvel.com: You’ve been working on this version of Logan for over a year now. Do you feel like your understanding of him as a character has changed in that time?

Andrea Sorrentino: Almost two years actually, and yes, usually the more you work on a character, the more you understand about him/her. Also, all the arcs that Jeff has written for me on OLD MAN LOGAN are very heavy on the characterization to the point that, through the captions, you can really feel the weight of the tragedies Logan passed though.

And I think the more I’ve delved into this, the more I’ve tried to give him, through facial expressions and body language, a look of a tired, beaten, but still hopeful man.

Marvel.com: You’ve worked with Jeff even longer. How would you say your collaborative relationship has evolved in that time?

Andrea Sorrentino: Jeff is an incredible and talented writer, an amazing artist and a beautiful person. I love to work with him, but I think the key in our work relationship is that we genuinely love each other’s work and we’re open to mix and blend our ideas in a way that gives, as a result, a product that picks the best from both our point of view and makes is unique.

Andrea Sorrentino and Jeff Lemire continue to put their protagonist through his paces in OLD MAN LOGAN #17 on February 1!