Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either provided by the respective creators/companies, or were purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
BIFF! BANG!! POW … WOW!!!
By Jerk-Bot
DAREDEVIL #1 (monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $3.99) (9 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Mark Waid (script); Chris Samnee (art); Javier Rodriguez (colors) and VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters).
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 (monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $3.99) (6 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? James Robinson (script); Leonard Kirk and Karl Kesel (art); Jesus Aburtov (colors) and VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters).
MOON KNIGHT #1 (monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $3.99) (7 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Warren Ellis (script); Declan Shalvey (art); Jordie Bellaire (colors) and Chris Eliopolis (letters).
There’s no denying that the Marvel NOW! initiative has been a success for Marvel Comics. Re-starts for Captain America, Thor, the Avengers and the X-Men all resulted in sales surges – at least initially — and they all sent the characters and titles in intriguing new directions.
Creatively, the results have varied. While some of the Marvel NOW! relaunches have been very strong (thanks to writer Jason Aaron’s “heavy metal Gods” atmospherics, Thor hasn’t read this well in years), a few have had mixed results (Brian Michael Bendis’s two X-Men books have been model of inconsistency) and others still have been extremely divisive (while some are falling all over themselves for Dan Slott’s “Superior Spider-Man” and Rick Remender’s “Captain America,” I haven’t really enjoyed either).
Regardless, Marvel NOW! has continued to sweep across all of the publisher’s characters and books, with title relaunches and reboots coming in “waves.” The second of these included the aforementioned Spidey book (which will soon be rebooted with a new No. 1, and reverting back to its original “Amazing Spider-Man” title designation) and a couple of other new, Spidey-related books (including the amusing but poor-selling “Superior Foes of Spider-Man” title).
And I’ve already fallen in love with Charles Soule and Javier Pulido’s “She-Hulk,” which is part of the Marvel NOW! “Third Wave,” which also includes supposedly second- and third-tier characters like Daredevil and Moon Knight, as well as Marvel’s “First Family,” the Fantastic Four. (You can read my review of “She-Hulk” here)
The acclaimed and steady sales title “Daredevil” has returned with a new No. 1 issue, but with the same creative team: writer Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee. Formerly the “Guardian Devil” of Hell’s Kitchen, blind attorney Matt Murdock and his costumed alter ego have moved to San Francisco, along with new law partner Kristin McDuffie (Matt’s longtime professional partner and longtime pal, Franklin “Foggy” Murdock,” is there as well, but is undergoing cancer treatment).
In this first issue, Matt – who’s now “outed” himself as Daredevil — helps track down the kidnapped daughter of the city’s assistant mayor, thus establishing a “working relationship” between the hero and city officials.
Things aren’t as rosy with the Fantastic Four, now under the creative control of writer James Robinson (“All-New Invaders,” DC’s “Starman”). The flashback-heavy first issue sees Sue Storm (aka, the Invisible Woman) putting down her thoughts on recent events that have led to the “fall” of the veteran super team.
Joining them this month with a new No. 1 is “Moon Knight,” a character that’s had a hard time sustaining a regular title (even Bendis, Marvel’s top writer, couldn’t make people stick around much longer than a year).
The writer with the daunting task of “re-booting” the Marvel equivalent of Batman is Warren Ellis, whose Marvel output has been enjoyable eccentric (see his “Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.” for proof) . The Ellis-penned Moon Knight is now embracing his fractured personalities, and finds himself on the trail of a serial killer who preys on the physically fit.
THE GOOD.
All three books do a fairly good job of introducing newcomers to their characters and concepts without getting too bogged down in exposition. (Though of the three, Daredevil has the easier task because “Road Warrior,” a digital-only “Infinite” comic, filled in the gaps between this new volume and the previous one.)
They’re all pretty action-centric, particularly the breathlessly paced Daredevil issue, which features more sterling work from Chris Samnee, perhaps one of the most unheralded but talented pencilers who are currently working in the industry. Check out this two-page spread from issue No. 1:
That’s not meant to slight the other two books, though, which also have strong art. It’s particularly nice to see Leonard Kirk (“Agents of Atlas,” DC’s “JSA”) getting back to a regular monthly.
And, given the continuity-heavy muddled plotting of the previous “Fantastic Four” series (not one of writer Matt Fraction’s better Marvel efforts), it’s smart of Robinson to get these characters back to Earth and away from the time- and dimensional-hopping that got boring so quickly.
THE BAD.
While it’s hard to judge how these series will turn out after one just one issues, there are a few problems, some of them minor. The “mystery” of what’s going on with Foggy is all-too-predictable, something that hasn’t really happened in Waid’s previous “Daredevil” run.
And the darkness of the material in both “Fantastic Four” and “Moon Knight” is a little overwhelming. It’s hard to see new audiences embracing them for long if this is the tone they’re setting and maintaining throughout their run.
THE UGLY.
Even the presence of Ellis (DC’s “Transmetropolitan”) might not be enough to save this new incarnation of “Moon Knight” from a premature end. Even if this attempt, like the prior Bendis one, does make it clear that the character isn’t just a Batman knock-off.
And there’s some question as to whether a story line in which the Fantastic Four “falls” can take its time developing. A second issue, which also arrived in March, only inched the plot in a forward direction. (Though, given that this is the usually-dependable Robinson, we’ll have to get in some time and leeway.)
Also, the $3.99 price point isn’t exactly new-reader-friendly either. (Especially when the previous “Daredevil” series was a $2.99 book.)
IN CONCLUSION.
Of the three books, “Daredevil” is easily the most enjoyable, and with Waid and Samnee remaining on the book, it has to be considered the one most likely to succeed and continue.
However, both “Fantastic Four” and “Moon Knight” do have enough intriguing elements to make them worth checking out – especially if you’re already fans of these particular characters.
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Daredevil); 6 out of 10 (Fantastic Four); 7 out of 10 (Moon Knight)
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff)