Marvel Now Point One

This book is chock-full of intros, and it is actually a pretty solid value. If you want a chance to preview a lot of the 2nd-tier Marvel NOW books, you can’t do better than seeing the creative teams try to sell you on the ideas and concepts with a few pages.

Nick Fury and SHIELD: I’m intrigued by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross’ take. Ross has always been a solid artist, but this work is really impressive. It almost has a European flair to it; maybe it’s the inking, but with this creative team and the solid roster I’ve heard about, I may actually sample this book! Spencer hasn’t impressed me so far, but I think this preview has convinced me to try Secret Avengers #1.

Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy by Bendis and Steve McNiven has a long way to go. I LOVED DnA’s take on the Guardians, so I don’t see how I’m going to get over my annoyance at the restart to the series without them. I admit, this book is pretty, and putting Iron Man on the team is interesting. But I’m just not sure I can shell out $3.99 for a book that will make me wonder “what if my fave writers were still doing this?” every month. This is probably a library read for me.

Nova by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness has a similar issue. Again, I adored DnA’s take, and Richard Rider has been a favorite of mine for years. So I’m pretty certain I’m not the target audience for this book. Putting in Diamondhead as a nod to Rider’s past is a good move, but this Sam Alexander kid is just so young. This is the kind of book that makes me think “wow, I’ve been reading comics too long and I need to leave this for my kids!” And maybe that’s the trick. If this is $2.99 and my daughters want to see more of this kid, I may buy it for them.

Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have a new take on the YA where they are 18. That still makes me feel old, but man, this art can make me forget a lot of things. I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up this series or not, but wow, the book is going to be gorgeous. And using Miss America Chavez is brilliant too. She’s got a great look and belongs in the spotlight like this.

Ant-Man and the FF by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred is an easy sale. Allred’s art would make me pick this up alone, and with the line-up Fraction has put together, I was never going to pass this up. She-Hulk, Medusa, and Scott Lang? Done. Let’s just hope this is sane Fraction. He can go off the rails sometimes!

Forge and Uncanny X-Force by Dennis Hopeless and Gabriel Hernandez Walta is a near miss for me. I like Forge, I like Cable, and I’m intrigued by the high concept. But I’m not a big fan of Walta’s art. The tech looks good, but the characters do not look on-model enough for me. I would never in a million years have guessed that was Forge without the dialogue. With Salvador LaRocca on art, I think I’ll give issue 1 a chance.

Grade: Varied from Good to Average