By Benjamin Morin — “Her time has come,” exclaim the opening pages of Joe Casey’s newest superhero adventure, the All-America Comix One-Shot. Through this story, Casey and artist Dustin Nguyen introduce the world to its newest superheroine: America Vasquez. If the character on the cover looks vaguely familiar, you would be forgiven for mistaking her for Marvel’s own Miss America Chavez. Casey, not-so-subtly, riffs on his previous character to bring her seemingly more in line with his original vision. Within that context, this issue pairs high-energy action with cosmic potential in an engaging 32-page read.

Our narrative focuses on the titular hero America as she recounts a “normal” superhero’s day through her social media feeds. Readers are thrust headfirst into a world that mirrors the Marvel Universe. America interacts with various Avenger type pastiches such as WMD Man/Captain America, The Wraith/Vision, and just blatantly Thor; alongside their villainous counterparts such as “Imperator Doud,” a metal-clad ruler of a small European nation. This leads to the world feeling familiar yet fresh with potential at the same time.

When it comes to the writing, Casey’s plot grabs the reader from page one but his dialog is somewhat off-putting. The titular character is a hot-headed teenager and Casey’s dialog tries to capture the essence of modern slang but ends up coming off very forced. Instead of America’s voice sounding like an actual person, she ends up sounding like a stilted caricature of her target demographic. At the end of the day each person can read dialog differently, but for me it just felt off.

Nguyen’s art is a standout addition to this book. His style suits the frantic energy and bombastic action scenes, while also capturing the subtle emotions found in America’s interactions with her friends and family. Simpson’s coloring pairs well with Nguyen’s style to create some visually striking panels. This becomes especially true later in the issue when we get a glimpse of the fragile cosmic reality living at the edges of the narrative. It feels like the artists are having fun and getting to experiment with unique visuals at the same time.

The narrative throughline reads very much as an introduction to Casey’s characters and the world while plotting out a promising cosmic journey into the nature of reality. However, the uncertain nature of the series publication gives me pause. Originally slated for a 2016 release date, this story was seemingly shelved until its appearance this week with no further solicitations listed anywhere. This becomes even more worrying as the main substance of the issue is set up for a plot that does not look like it is continuing. As the beginning of an ongoing, this issue succeeds in spades, but as a one-shot it falls short by offering an incomplete story.

Overall: All-America Comix crafts an engaging narrative despite some dialog issues. This is a series rich with potential and a solid first issue that left me wanting more. 8/10

All-America Comix One-Shot Review

All-America Comix
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Her last name is VASQUEZ! Her first name…says it all! And when confronted with the hidden secret of the universe, you won’t believe the cosmic truth she uncovers! Brought to you by the Wildcats Version 3.0 team of JOE CASEY and DUSTIN NGUYEN—reunited for the first time in fifteen years!
Release Date: July 1, 2020
Buy It Digitally: All-America Comix One-Shot via comiXology

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Benjamin Morin currently studies Journalism/Mass Media at Johnson University. He is a comic book enthusiast and aspiring filmmaker.