MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #1
Ross Hutchinson
Recap
Marvel Comics Presents returns to the shelves for a third volume for the first time in 11 years with three tales. The first two take us back to the era of the Second World War and the last returns us to the present:
Wolverine: The Vigil Pt1:
In wartime France, the Nazi's seek to speed up the consolidation of their thousand-year Reich by tampering with dark forces but that meddling may be the world's undoing if not for the man called Logan, who the world will come to know as The Wolverine!
Namor: The Atom Bomb:
A war weary Namor is dragged back into the Second World War by the U.S Army only to discover to his horror that the race of man has come up with their deadliest weapon yet: the atomic bomb.
Captain America: First Ride:
Captain America ironically brings us back to the present. In a tale about allowing children to be who they are by building understanding through the most powerful tool of all: talking to each other.
Review
Wolverine: The Vigil Pt1:
This first chapter of what is an ongoing story that will stretch across several decades is my favorite of the three. Charles Soule writes a great opening, squeezing in enough action and some tragedy while leaving us with some burning questions at the same time. This chapter plays out like the opening scene of the first Hellboy movie. A Canadian soldier during WWII Logan comes face to face with supernatural evil (unleashed because of the Nazi’s) in the form of a demon and is unexpectantly burdened with the great responsibility of facing that evil again in the future. Soule uses a third person narration technique which is great at establishing a sense of dark foreboding. Art is solid from Siquero and Young while D’Armatta’s colors give the whole thing the menacing atmospheric mood it deserves when dealing with dark things like Nazi’s and demons.
Namor: The Atom Bomb:
Greg Pak writes an interesting Namor and cleverly blends fact with fiction. His Namor is war weary and tired of the slaughter that World War II has brought and Pak uses the detonation of the two bombs in Japan as the catalyst for Namor rejecting his former Allies after he confronts the Army about the first bomb only to realize that there is a second and rushes to stop it but fails. Michael Garland’s muted color palette is a good fit for the story and several of the images are truly haunting in their composition of showing the devastation that the bombs wrought. Tom Coker’s facial cross hatch style and use black is outstanding! There is also a nice cameo by a certain 40’s era version of a comic character which is a nice touch. It’s an excellent effort which does a great job of retelling a tale from one of the darkest times in human history.
Captain America: The First Ride:
By contrast, this tale by writer Anne Nocenti begins when the action ends. Nocenti writes Cap’s voice to perfection and her Tony Stark is equally glorious. The exchange between the two characters at the beginning of the story is literal perfection. The tale is a story about communication and balancing a parents overbearing need to protect their child with letting that child be who they are (I connect deeply, as a father of a prepubescent daughter with this) and Nocenti does it with perfect aplomb. Cap is never pushy but says just the right thing balancing the feelings of both the fearless young girl and her concerned mother throughout the story. Greg Land’s art is solid and D’Armatta’s much brighter palette here is a great foil for the previous two stories much darker tones. This story is pure Cap at his best.
Final Thoughts
A very worthy first issue which honors the great serialized and stand alone storytelling of past Marvel Comics Presents volumes with excellent writing, fantastic art and put together in a smart and engaging package. This is a really good way for Marvel to kick off their celebration of 80 year anniversary.
If I have any criticism at all it relates to the actual cover of the book. The cover art by Art Adams is awesome but the spacing of the text and informational trade dressing feels cluttered. That being said, it's a minor gripe and I thoroughly enjoyed this first issue. If the rest of the issues are as strong as this one readers are in for a treat!
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #1: Back with a Bang!
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10
