A whole new world…
Creative Staff:
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Esad Ribic
What They Say:
WHEN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE IS GONE, ALL THAT REMAINS IS BATTLEWORLD! LEARN THE SECRETS OF THIS BRAVE NEW REALM!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The beginning of Secret Wars was all about the end of everything that had come before with the Marvel Universe. While there are obviously outs with it in terms of storytelling, it was brought to a close in a solid enough way that it worked to close out one of the longest chapters of shared continuity out there. What it did was provide a raft or two from that side into what came next, and that’s something that makes cautious appearances here as the main series gets underway. There’s a dense layer of material to be had here to be sure, and unpacking it all takes a lot of time in this extra sized installment. Which is good, because it does feel meaty and worthy with what it wants to tell. But it also feels terribly familiar in both good and bad ways.
Admittedly, my first impressions upon reading the book was that it reminded me of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as it delved into the way the planet of Latverion worked with Doom as its god and all below subservient to him. The kinds of interactions, talks of trade almost around the edges, and the exposition of the way the world works is certainly interesting and intriguing, but it comes at the expense of being an information dump rather than something engaging in a way. What helps to salvage it a bit is that as it progresses and we see more interactions among the elite, such as the Braddocks of Avalon and Sinister from Bar Sinsister, it has more of a Game of Thrones feeling to it with position being jockeyed for, threats made and sentences carried out. Most amusingly, with The Shield wall that defends this region, we see outside of it all the things that lurk within the world that wants to make its way in. And it’s obviously very reminiscent of The Wall from Game of Thrones with some nice quirks added to it.
The exploration of this world is certainly intriguing with the power structures, the various kingdoms that Doom has set up and the way that it’s altered itself over time to become what it is. The variety isn’t endless, as we do get a look at the map at the end, but the intrigue is there, particularly with his high court and those that attend him. We also get to see how the Thors are the law of the land for their god Doom and that makes for some interesting areas, though difficult at first as we see one new to the corps ascending after being deemed worthy. The book also gives us the sliver of how all of this will be dealt a dangerous blow as Thanos and his group that survived the end of everything has had their ship discovered in Utopolis, and that the craft being identified as pre-schism has it quarantined. It’s a curious group that’s coming through with this here, one with dark intent to be sure, and it’s easy to imagine how it will spill out as they see a whole new world to conquer.
In Summary:
Going into a big event like this with all the groundwork laid out there, Secret Wars is something that needs to be dense in order to tell the tale. That doesn’t always mean it’s going to be engaging though, at least for a good chunk of fans who are looking for something wilder. Here, the book feels restrained, cautious and very heavy on the exposition and foundational pieces, which it needs to present so that we understand all the associated books with it and the nature of the kingdoms. That said, once it gets moving and you settle into the discovery phase, there’s a lot to like and a lot of re-reading value to it in order to see the nuance and little teases that Hickman has put into the book, and to really savor the creative interpretations Ribic has gone through here to present these incarnations of the characters. It’s definitely an interesting ride, not an easy one at times, but also one that I think when read in full for this main series, will flow even better.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 13th, 2015
MSRP: $4,99
