Markley’s Fever Brain: Around the World
by Wayne Markley
Every week there are new books from a variety of publishers. In this blog I am going to look at two very different number one launches, one from Marvel and one from DC. Both are revivals of old characters, but they are done in very different ways and with very different results. I am also going to look at the first volume of Marvel’s reprinting of material that was original printed in South Korea, The Avengers K, which I found to be quite the surprise.
Perhaps Marvel’s biggest launch of one of their own characters since the 1990s and the debut of Jim Lee’s X-Men and Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man is the new Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze. The book got all sorts of national attention in the news, including CNN, ABC, and NPR. All of this press drove tons of people who never read comics into comic stores looking for this one book. As in the past with the death of Superman, the death of Captain America, and to lesser extents and for different reasons, Buffy and Dark Tower. In the case of the two deaths, people were looking for the books hoping to make some money down the line or they wanted to be part of that day’s “it factor” (whatever was the popular water cooler talk of the day). With Buffy and Dark Tower it was fans of the properties intrigued that their interests were in a new format. In all four cases, the sales quickly declined as the people that were chasing these were not comic readers nor were they convinced to become comic readers due to these experiences. This leads me back to the Black Panther. Due to all the press, the first issue sold huge numbers and has had multiple printings. It got all of this press because the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, won the MacArthur Genius Award this year and is a noted and celebrated write. Writing a comic is so unusual it became major news (this I cannot explain).
As for the book itself, it is well written and beautifully drawn. It is only two issues in so I cannot say a great deal about it as there is not a lot going on. The book reminds me a lot of what Christopher Priest did on his run on Black Panther as it is very political and is obviously a very complex story. I suspect by the time this first story arc wraps up it will be great, but it is far too early to tell. This could become just another walk down the path that Priest walked, but this is a better looking book than those. I am hoping there is something very unique coming soon to take the book on a new way. I also have some concern on how long Brian Stelfreeze will remain on the book. Stelfreeze is not known for making a monthly deadline, so hopefully this book will prove to be the exception as the art is very nice and I would hate to see it change. (Editor’s note: Chris Sprouse is drawing issue #5 which begins a new storyline.)
Future Quest is the first book out of the gate of DCs newest attempt to do something with the Hanna-Barbera characters. It is taking all of the classic superhero characters from the HB 1960s library and combing all of them into one book. So you have Birdman, Galaxy Trio, Frankenstein Jr., Herculoids, Mighty Mightor, Space Ghost, and Team Quest. Yes, my favorite; Jonny Quest and the gang. The first issue just came out and it is written by Jeff Parker and art is by Evan “Doc” Shaner and the previously unannounced Steve Rude. It is a fun romp that feels a little forced as you are mixing characters that really do not fit that well together (as Jonny Quest is an action series firmly based on Earth and most of the other characters are traditional superheroes or space characters). The art is beautiful even though the shift from Shaner and Rude is a bit sudden. Of course it ends with a cliffhanger and the story will likely go six issues so it can be collected into a trade. I would recommend this book if only for the nostalgia value of seeing all of these classic characters again. I wish they could have done a straight Jonny Quest comic set in our world, but alas I will have to settle for the great Comico run. I do have one minor complaint about this first issue though. In an attempt to boost sales, DC had seven different covers on this book. I am opposed to multiple covers on any book but seven is a bit silly. If you do not have faith the book will sell and find an audience, then you should not have published the book. Do not even get me started on Marvel and Star Wars #1 where there over 50 different covers.
A book I found to be a real surprise and I thought was great is Avengers K Book 1: Avengers Vs. Ultron. This is a magazine sized perfect bound comic reprinting three Avengers stories that were first printed in Korea, all featuring Ultron. I loved this book. It was well scripted by Jim Zub (originally written by Si Yeon Park and translated by Jieun Park), with nice art by Jae Sung Lee, Min Ju Lee, Jae Woong Lee, Hee Ye Cho, Ji Hee Choi and In Young Lee. Even though there are so many artists you can never tell the differences as the art and story flow like a stream. It is one of the easiest to read books I have seen in a long time. The art is open and not overly cluttered and looks like American comics with a tinge of manga. An overall fantastic presentation.
There are stories all featuring the Avengers and Ultron. It clearly borrows from the established Marvel continuity, as in the first story Ultron is created by Hank Pym and is called Ultron 5. In the second story he is called Ultron 6, and in the third story he is just called Ultron and it introduces Jocasta. Each story jumps ahead in time as with the third story the Black Panther has been added complete with cape from his early appearances, plus Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man are now Avengers. There are also references to Hank Pym’s mental issue and breakdown but they do not re-do the Yellowjacket story. Even though each of the three stories can, and do, stand alone, they do build upon one another and you should read them in the order they are printed. These stories are a mix of comics with some of the movie’s aspects thrown in but it works so well together that I did not mind the cross pollination.
Another thing that stood out to me when reading this was the coloring. The art is so open, for a lack of a better word, so the colors really shine through adding a whole new dimension to the art, like I mentioned last time in Twilight Children. The stories are a quick read, but they felt like reading the Stan Lee Avenger stories from the mid-1960s. My only complaint is there is not an editorial page giving background on the stories, such as how much Jim Zub had to re-write the stories. Were the original stories very different and were these written to retrofit Marvel continuity. When were they original published? Why so many artists? Is that the norm in Korea? Etc. Overall though a fun adventure filled romp filled with drama and a touch of humor.
That wraps it up for this time. A couple of fresh starts and a rarely seen book from Asia that are all well worth checking out. One last thing is I would like to mention is the passing of Darwyn Cooke. There is nothing I could say to do his work and legacy justice. He is a true star in the field of comic books who will be sorely missed. If you are unfamiliar with his amazing work you really should check out Graphic Ink: The DC Comics Art of Darwyn Cooke for an amazing overview of his career, and some of the best stories in the modern era. Everything I have written here is my opinion and in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. I can be contacted at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or at Facebook at Wayne Markley. As Always,
Thank you.
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