Raven's Haven: Marvels

Sunday, 13 November 2016

Code of Honor (1997) # 1-4, Conspiracy (1998) # 1/2, Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) # 1-6

(I originally read these comics in mid/late April 2016)

'Code of Honor' was a sequel of sorts to Kurt Busiek's and Alex Ross' 'Marvels' with our man on the street a New York beat cop bearing witness to events in Marvel history over a period from the early '70s to the early '90s. Not that you would glean that from the artwork, as period detail is non-existent and the slew of so-called "artists" responsible, mostly producing hideously garish and dated work in Photoshop, clearly didn't communicate at all, resulting in characters looking completely different from page to page. (There's even a speech balloon referring to a character not being black, even though they were drawn that way earlier in the story!) There's also an issue with one artist ('perpetrator' would be closer the mark) using obviously black models for white characters. Chuck Dixon's script is as serviceable as you'd expect but taken as a whole 'Code of Honor' is a miserable failure.

'Conspiracy' is a short but involving 'X-Files'-type tale by Dan Abnett that posits the theory the "accidents" that gave birth to the Marvels were actually orchestrated as part of a shadowy government conspiracy. Igor Kordey contributes great, actual painted art as with his and Abnett's previous collaboration, 'Wonder Years.'

'Marvels: Eye of the Camera' is the much belated, true sequel to Marvels, picking up where the original left off. Photojournalist Phil Sheldon is diagnosed with terminal cancer and must come to terms with his own mortality while pondering upon his legacy and what the Marvels have meant to him. Another good story, though it pales in comparison to the original (and Jay Anacleto is no Alex Ross). What disappointed me here is that the story references events in Marvel history over a ten to fifteen-year period, from the mid-'70s to the late '80s, but Phil's daughters, pre-teens in the mid-'60s, are still only in their late teens come the conclusion of the story. While the original moved in 'real time' from 1939 to 1973, the decision seems to have been made to make this one unfold in 'Marvel time'. despite the changing fashions of bystanders suggesting otherwise. Confusing!

Code of Honor (1997) # 1-4 and Conspiracy (1998) # 1/2 are collected in:

Softcover:

Marvels Companion (US)

Marvels Companion (UK)

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) # 1-6 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (US)

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (UK)

Softcover:

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (US)

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (UK)

Friday, 11 November 2016

Marvels (1994) # 0-4, Ruins (1995) # 1/2

(I originally read these comics in mid/late April 2016)

Re-read 'Marvels', last week. In what is often derided as Marvel's worst decade both creatively and economically, there's no doubt it was a '90s highpoint - even the highpoint - and Alex Ross' photorealistic painted artwork made a huge splash the likes of which it's hard to appreciate in the wake of legions of imitators swamping the market with inferior product. I don't know if Kurt Busiek's written anything this good since.

The story follows Daily Bugle photojournalist Phil Sheldon as he documents the brave new world of the "Marvels": larger than life figures exhibiting incredible powers, or what we take for granted as super-heroes, and how the world, specifically New York, reacts to them. It alights on the touchstones of the first wave of Golden Age heroes, sixties' anti-mutant hysteria, the coming of Galactus and finally the death of Gwen Stacy. 'Marvels' makes these characters and events seem fresh and wondrous again and though I'm by no means a proponent of painted comics (the speech balloons float on top of, rather than integrate with, Ross' art), I can't deny its magic. It's a tale of fantastic events from a human perspective and it still has the power to move.

...And then there's 'Ruins'.

Whereas 'Marvels' inspires hope and condemns a society that wishes to drag its heroes down, 'Ruins' is a two-part twist on the concept where everything that came about to birth a world of super-heroes in Marvel's 616 universe went wrong to create a dystopian hell full of diseased mutant freaks and concentration camps.

Writer Warren Ellis' appeal is lost on me. 'Ruins' is repulsive. It's the meanest-spirited, most cynical, most depressing piece of garbage from Marvel that I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It's also boring as hell, despite its brevity. If you must see a cannibal Nick Fury being propositioned by an underage prostitute Jean Grey only to blow her brains out two panels later, this is the comic for you.

Sample dialogue:

Rick Jones (to wife, Marlo): "You cheap slut! I warned you! I'm gonna break every bone in your smackhead face!"

Utter trash. I'd have thrown it in the bin except I might be able to recoup a few quid from some unsuspecting sap on eBay.

As an extra (or even a palate cleanser), here's Alex Ross' cover art for the first edition of the 'Marvels' trade paperback.