Marvel’s Black, White & Blood anthology is alive and well, and the proof is in the fact that Logan: Black, White & Blood #1 follows the finale of the last edition after just one week! The years-long-running series now sets its sights on Logan, albeit after already tackling “Wolverine” before, and this time it’s more about focusing on Logan outside the superhero suit than anything else. It’s a strong issue with three well-curated tales.
The lineup of creators for this edition is strong, with three stories that feel very different. That’s not always the case with this series, making this a good curation by editor Mark Basso.
Kicking things off is “Arms Race” by Tom Waltz and Alex Lins in a story set in 1951 Korea. This is Logan, pre-adamantium, trying to do his best behind enemy lines after his entire platoon is killed. Waltz does an impeccable job capturing Logan’s thoughts via captions, while Lins leans into the streakiness of blood splatter on the ground and in the air after Logan does his dirty work.
What sets this story apart from other flashback Wolverine fights in the heat of war is a berserker rage sequence. Visualized in a double-page layout, Lins has a red takeover in all the backgrounds as Logan loses himself to his rage. It’s a great representation of Logan’s berserker rage, complete with a cool-down moment to end the layout.
Further making this opening tale linger with you is a nice nod to a certain Russian program. It makes this story feel important to canon, elevating it beyond the usual “Black, White & Blood” short story.
Adam Kubert does it again!
Credit: Marvel
Next up is “Times Square Red” by Saladin Ahmed and Adam Kubert, set in 1970s New York City. The location of this detective mystery is on the adult theater streets, a real thing at the time in NYC. Some Christian religious slayer is taking lives, and Logan is on the case.
Outside of the slightly gumshoe vibe of the captions, this story homes in on Logan’s ability to problem-solve and draw out his prey. There’s a neat concept of raising hormone levels in the killer, which also connects to a weird but funny clown joke. You’ll have to read it to believe it.
Completing the excellence of this story is Kubert’s art, with all the staples we’ve come to love from his work. That includes a vertically drawn double-page layout and some great berserker moments for Logan, complete with a bloody knife in the foreground to maximize the danger. The use of red is great, particularly in how it shades the adult film theater district as the buildings are all cast in red.
Larry Hama and Dave Wachter wrap things up with “Red Claws.” This story is set at a time when Logan wandered the woods of northern Saskatchewan naked. He’s barely human, mostly animalistic when he comes upon a hurt mother wolf and its puppies. Told mostly without dialogue, Hamma and Wachter capture the animal side of Logan well here, while also showing there’s a kind of justice of the wild Logan adheres to.
Logan: Black, White & Blood #1 stands out not by reinventing the anthology wheel, but by using it exceptionally well. From wartime tragedy to gritty ’70s noir to primal wilderness survival, this issue captures different sides of Logan, soldier, hunter, detective, and beast, making it one of the most thoughtfully curated entries in the series yet.
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