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| SECRET WARS No. 0, June 2015 |
To say this “Free Comic Book Day” prologue is the start
of something big for “Marvel Worldwide” is a significantly large
understatement. After approximately seven months of hype by the New York City
based publisher, this is the title where “time runs out” and “everything ends”
for the Marvel Universe… and its various alternatives such as “Ultimate Marvel”
and “Marvel 2099”. Such a cataclysmic storyline, advertised as “the most
important comic series of 2015”, should arguably whet the appetite of even the
most disenchanted collector. But if that doesn’t then almost certainly the
wildly wonderful Alex Ross wrap-a-round cover, featuring a legion of super-hero
luminaries, will do.
Unfortunately Jonathan Hickman’s script for this apocalyptic appetiser is actually far from “the perfect primer for the mega-event of the year” as it solely focuses upon the tedious efforts of Valeria Richards and her super-intelligent friends to build a ‘life raft’
prior to the incursion event. This sedentary conversational-based piece
hardly echoes the titanic cosmic struggle promised on this issue’s front page
and as a result proves a bitter disappointment.
Indeed a simple ten-page montage relaying the events of the “Time Runs Out” storyline from the “Avengers” and “New Avengers” books would probably have proved a far more informative, entertaining and exciting read. Instead “the all-star creative team” merely hint at the exploits of the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and their bond-breaking battles when “everything turned upside down and inside out…” Sticking in its place to some simple, though well-illustrated, panels of Reed Richards’ children regrettably discussing that they’re only going to be able to save “a few dozen people”.
Indeed a simple ten-page montage relaying the events of the “Time Runs Out” storyline from the “Avengers” and “New Avengers” books would probably have proved a far more informative, entertaining and exciting read. Instead “the all-star creative team” merely hint at the exploits of the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and their bond-breaking battles when “everything turned upside down and inside out…” Sticking in its place to some simple, though well-illustrated, panels of Reed Richards’ children regrettably discussing that they’re only going to be able to save “a few dozen people”.
Infinitely
more engaging is this special edition’s second story “Attack On Avengers”, a charming
‘What If?’ eight-pager which sees the Avengers from the Marvel Universe clash
with the Titans from Haijime Isayama’s “popular manga” “Attack On Titan”.
Originally commissioned for the Japanese magazine “Brutus”, and “presented in
English for the first time”, this action-packed fist-fight leaves the reader absolutely
no time to breathe as it starts after the “colossal titans” have already emerged from the waters
of New York Harbour and begun to eat people.
Admittedly there’s little in the way of depth to this plot, but for once, that’s immaterial as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron and the incredible Hulk, to name but a few, bravely best several of the gigantic humanoid creatures. Indeed the only problem with this scintillating fun-fest is its brevity and that it ends just as the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive with the song track “hooked on a feelin’” playing in the background.
Admittedly there’s little in the way of depth to this plot, but for once, that’s immaterial as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron and the incredible Hulk, to name but a few, bravely best several of the gigantic humanoid creatures. Indeed the only problem with this scintillating fun-fest is its brevity and that it ends just as the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive with the song track “hooked on a feelin’” playing in the background.
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| Writer: Jonathan Hickman, Artist: Paul Renaud, and Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos |
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