Old Man Logan #39, by Ed Brisson, Ibraim Roberson, and Carlos Lopez, sees Logan returning to the Xavier Institute for help with his weakened healing factor. Will they be able to help him with his healing-factor woes?

Returning to the Xavier Institute after his recent adventure in NYC, Logan runs into a few of the students and finds out that Glob Herman has a date, his first since his see-through mutation developed. Cecilia Reyes, an X-Men’s doctors, gives Logan some bad news about his healing factor. Not only is his injured eye not healing, but his adamantium skeleton is poisoning him without his healing factor at its highest levels. Dr Reyes tells him he needs to cool it and stay safe, but Logan tells her that’s not an option. Meanwhile, Glob goes on his date and gets a rather unpleasant surprise.

This is a very good jumping point for new readers. Ed Brisson does a great job of catching readers up with Logan’s current status quo, while also establishing just how bad Logan’s healing factor is right now. Old Man Logan’s mutant ability was established as weaker ever since he came to the 616 universe, but Brisson has really emphasized how weak it is and shown how Logan’s lifestyle has made it even worse. It’s part of what sets Brisson’s run on the book apart from Lemire’s. Lemire mentioned that his healing factor was weaker, but it was rarely an issue, whereas Brisson has made it a cornerstone of his stories. It adds an interesting dynamic to the character. For long time readers, though, this is a familiar story. The 616 version of Logan dealt with this same thing before, just before his death. That said, a vulnerable Logan is an interesting Logan.

The subplot of Glob Herman’s date is very engaging. Even for new readers that wouldn’t know who Glob is, Brisson is able to capture the character and his excitement and fear about his date. It’s also very relatable. Everyone has been nervous and self conscious before a date, so it’s the perfect way to get first timers invested in what’s happening. Most of the stuff about Logan’s healing factor is very dry for folks who haven’t been following the series. It’s mostly there to get everyone caught up with what’s been happening with the book’s star. It’s necessary, but he parts with Glob are the best parts. Of course there’s more to the whole date than meets the eye and the cliffhanger ending guarantees Old Man Logan neophytes will come back. Brisson makes them care enough about Glob to want to see what happens next.

The art by Ibraim Roberson is light years ahead of the art in the last few issues. This issue hinges on the drama of Logan’s talk with Cecilia Reyes and Glob’s date, and Roberson’s acting and figure work put the reader right into it. Glob Herman is a see-through bag of of bones and organs, yet Roberson is able to capture all of the emotions he’s going through in this issue using the way his eyes are positioned. It seems like a little thing, but it’s quite impressive.

Old Man Logan #39 pulls double duty. It’s a great place for new readers to jump into the book and it moves things forward for readers that have been with the title for a while. Glob’s subplot is the heart of the book and is a nice spotlight for an underused character. There’s something for everyone to love in this issue.

Grade: A-