UPDATED: We have been contacted by two writers of the Logan’s Run series, Paul Salamoff and Jason V. Brock disputing credit as reported in this article. As a result, since we went by the official Bluewater credits, we’re removing any reference to the writers with the exception of William F. Nolan. Any other information can be found by visiting the Bluewater Publishing link below – SB.
Bluewater Publishing picked up the rights to William F. Nolan’s cult scifi Logan’s Run comic books back in 2009, and since then has been pushing us to Last Day with a series of comics and collected trades.
This Cosmic Treadmill takes us forward to the ageist post-nuclear future society and the story of our runner Logan 6 and pairmate Jessica through a series of adventures to destroy the controlling mind of The Thinker.
Scifi fans should be encouraged to check out the extended universe of the Logan’s Run novel trilogy, 1976 film and short-lived 1977 television series.
The future world of Logan’s Run is rule based, appealing to gamers and nerds of all kinds.
You are required to turn yourself in to a Sleep Shop on your 21st birthday to be gassed for your Last Day. Runners fight the system by escaping the big sleep and the grasps of the Sandman. The Sandman is equipped with a gun to take down runners, with six different kinds of ammunition from the immobilizing Needler to the extreme pain on every nerve ending Homer. Logan starts as a Sandman before trading that in for a life on the run, the only way to survive past 21! Your age is reflected in the color of a gem, embedded in your hand.
It turns black on Last Day.
The starting point for the Bluewater titles is Logan’s Run: Last Day.
The four issue series is the origin of Logan-6 on his Last Day, finally making the run for it. Quite literally on his way out, he meets his partner, or pairmate Jessica who fight their way to Sanctuary through a pack of Warriors-esque pre-teens on the Thinker’s side called Cubs and down to the depths of the sea to a pre-war Atlantis called Molly.
The beautiful artwork by Daniel Gete is reminiscent of the work of Kieron Gillen on Phonogram, making for a very nice read indeed.
The second trade, Logan’s Run: Aftermath is the direct sequel to this story. Though the art team changes multiple times over the course of the book, the story is still solid.
An advantage of these books is that series author William F. Nolan is involved with writing or co-writing many of the titles, including the one shot Logan’s Run Solo that features a future tale of an older nomad chased to the Wastelands by a current runner, only to be confronted by his own history!
The 85 year old writer gets co-writer credit on this book as well as the most recent in the series, Logan’s Run: Rebirth. The series is two issues in, with the third issue debuting in October.
Rebirth has my favorite art team of any of these books with future star V Kenneth Marion on pencils and inks, backed by Andres Alfonso on colors. Marion’s clean line is reminiscent of that of Marc Silvestri and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him graduate to some bigger titles. Currently he is also drawing for Boom! Studios.
In all I think Bluewater has a winner on its hands.
This series may be overlooked and under ordered at shops, from the nature of many of the publisher’s unauthorized biography comic book titles. Fans of scifi, specifically reboots of Doctor Who, Star Trek and more will enjoy the books. There is no time travel, but this future history tale of man against oppressors resonates with anyone, especially these days. His pairmate Jessica and his nemesis Tara also adds a bit of spice to Logan’s journey and is resolved with three-way blowout action scene in Aftermath.
Check out the Bluewater website or Amazon to get your hands on these books, especially if you are only twenty years old, you may not get a chance to read them before Last Day.
Unless you have the guts to RUN!
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