By Zack Quaintance — The Marvels #1 is an interesting comic that feels like it was culled from the past in multiple ways. First and foremost, it deploys the more grounded approach to the Marvel Universe that has been the sensibility of Marvels since that landmark book hit in the mid ‘90s (though in spite of the title, it’s unclear if this book is connected to that series in anything outside of sensability). It’s just a tad more realistic (just a tad…there’s still a scene here where Captain America jumps from space), and regardless of how grandiose the superhero action gets, there’s still thought paid to the little people — to us, essentially — as witness.

At the same time, The Marvels #1 is a dense and patient comic, one that shuns the decompressed, film storyboard friendly writing for the trade trends that have all but defined superhero comics of the past 10 years (maybe even 15). And it does all this with fantastic visual storytelling from the team of artist Yildiray Cinar and colorist Richard Isanove. The pages in this comic are packed and substantive, and even throwaway characters like a tourist couple taking a Manhattan superhero tour get interesting traits and plenty of lines. It reminds me in a good way of the early ‘00s superhero comics (many of which were also penned by this book’s writer, Kurt Busiek) that I read coming up.

There’s also something else in The Marvels #1 that has fallen by the wayside a bit in today’s superhero comics, and that’s a slow letting of plot threads, a seeding of small ideas here and there with a likely intent of having them blossom into major arcs later. This practice seems much less prevalent in today’s market, where even the Big 2 corporate superhero books designated as ongoing are at times lucky to make it to 12 issues (to say nothing of 20!). The short market life of most titles in recent years, combined with the writing for trade mentioned earlier), seems to have firmly pushed many creators away from planning ahead with future arc foreshadowing in the background. But The Marvels #1 dives right in.

So, I personally liked all of that. It felt good, it felt familiar, like going home to a denser time for these types of stories. The question I had on my mind as I enjoyed this book, however, was how it would be received by many readers, especially those who value the new and the progressive. I’m not entirely sure there’s a lot here for those type of readers, even if the creators seem bent on adding new characters and new designs intertwined with this thoughtful exploration of the Marvel Universe’s past, forgotten, and present. And I’m certainly not going to sit here and gush just because some stuff I remember fondly from my days as a younger reader has been revived. I’m self-aware enough to admit that there are qualities of this book that feel dated, even if they are in fact qualities I myself enjoyed.

In fact, the mysterious villain at the end of this book comes just a hair short of speaking directly to all of this in a closing villain monologue, wherein they note, “The past has been eventful. The presents bubbling away alarmingly, and the future…well, the future’s quite volatile, isn’t it?” This — whether intentional or not — feels like The Marvels #1’s thesis statement.

Overall: The Marvels #1 has sprawling and ambitious goals, seeking to touch on many different corners of the Marvel Universe throughout time. To do so, it deploys a sort of long-form, nuanced superhero comics storytelling that feels just a bit dated. Still, there’s more enough in this issue to bring me back to see where it all goes. 8.0/10

REVIEW: The Marvels #1

The Marvels #1
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Yildiray Cinar
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Kurt Busiek (MARVELS, Astro City) is back, with the biggest, wildest, most sprawling series ever to hit the Marvel Universe, telling stories that span the decades and range from cosmic adventure to intense human drama, from the street-level to the cosmic, starring literally anyone from Marvel's very first heroes to the superstars of tomorrow. This first issue includes an invasion from orbit, a picnic in Prospect Park, super hero sightseeing in Manhattan, the All-Winners Squad in 1947, Reed Richards during his time in military intelligence, cosmic beings beyond space and time- and that's only for starters. Featuring Captain America, Spider-Man, the Punisher, the Human Torch, Storm, the Black Cat, the Golden Age Vision, Aero, Iron Man and Thor, and introducing two brand-new characters, all beautifully drawn by Yildiray Cinar (X-MEN, Legion of Super-Heroes, IRON MAN) in the opening act of a thriller that'll take us across the Marvel Universe...and beyond. Plus: Who (or what) is KSHOOM? It all starts here. And it goes...everywhere.
Price: $4.99
Buy It Here: The Marvels #1

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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.