By Zack Quaintance — The first thing that jumped out at me right away about Road to Empyre - The Kree/Skrull War #1 — which as the name suggests is paving a road to Marvel’s forthcoming major event, Empyre — is that it’s well-built to orient new readers. Now, I don’t think that anyone off the street (even those who have a cursory knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) could just jump in here, but it’s friendly to those of who who have read around some of the titles that seeded what’s going on here.

This starts with the inside cover of the book, which starts a recap of another book written by Robbie Thompson, last year’s Meet the Skrulls. Groundwork is laid on that inside cover, and then the recap is finished off in earnest by the first two pages. It’s great and efficient, and I (someone who did not read Meet the Skrulls but peeped all of the fantastic Marcos Martin covers) felt oriented right away. So, job one for a book that’s supposed to be building toward a big event, accomplished. 

The second part of this comic’s job is, perhaps, even more difficult than the first. Empyre is an event that involves large swaths of past Marvel continuity dealing with the Kree and the Skrulls, past continuity that extends well beyond Meet the Skrulls. With that in mind, the book’s second task is to also orient the reader within that. I have a bit more familiarity with their histories, but I could definitely use a refresher before Empyre (because so much ground is covered and all). And that’s what this book delivers, and not just any refresher, but one rendered by the art team of Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez, who at this point are easily one of Marvel’s bests. 

This could have all been a real slog, but the Rodriguez/Lopez artwork really gives it a boost, making even familiar material shine in a new and different way (much as they did recently throughout the excellent History of the Marvel Universe project, which was a collaboration with Mark Waid). Anyway, now we get to the third and final duty of this book — which is to excite the reader for the event that is to come. I think it succeeds there. The Rodriguez/Lopez artwork essentially leads the reader right up to it, like a trail of gumdrops in the forrest, incentivizing each page turn with the promise of more until one is thoroughly immersed. At least, I know I certainly was.

Overall: A nice primer and recap that sets the stage for Marvel’s upcoming Empyre event. There’s quite a bit of exposition for that dumped, but it’s all rendered stylishly by Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez, making it a real treat to consume. 8.0/10

Road to Empyre - The Kree/Skrull War #1
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artists: Mattia De Lulis (Present Day Sequences)
Javier Rodriguez & Alvaro Lopez (Flashback Sequences)
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Solicit: EMPYRE IS COMING! The build-up to Marvel's massive event series of the spring begins here-but in actuality, it began a millennia ago, with a challenge on the moon! In the wake of INCOMING, everything has changed for the Kree and the Skrulls. And out in the cold on Earth, the Warner family (MEET THE SKRULLS) need to work out what has happened and what it means for the future of their family and their race! And that means educating their kids on just how the Kree and the Skrulls first went to war!

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.