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Marvel Boy #1-6
Marvel Boy
We`re always being told that super hero books are nothing but adolescent power fantasies. Fine. Here comes the ultimate adolescent power fantasy! So speaks Grant Morrison, writer of the runaway hit comic, Marvel Boy. Don`t let the name fool you; Marvel Boy is no tights-wearing pushover. He is Noh-Varr, the youngest member of a diplomatic team of the alien Kree. After voyaging for years, these alien super heroes reach Earth, only to be blown out of the sky. Only Noh-Varr survives, and is captured and tortured by the mysterious Midas Organization. Escaping, he vows vengeance on all mankind. But with Morrison weaving this tale, don`t expect cliche superheroics or a squeaky clean protagonist. Instead, get ready for Dr. Midas, a criminal billionaire who`s so obsessed with Cosmic Rays that he bathes in them, Exterminatrix, who arrives in issue #3 to make life heaven and hell for Marvel Boy, Hexus, the Living Corporation, Bannermen, a trio of U.N. super soldiers whose bodies are laced with adamantium and enhanced by gamma-rays and have we talked about our ticked off protagonist yet? The Marvel Style began with the Sub-Mariner, says Morrison. And like Bill Everett's Prince Namor, I wanted my hero to be an outcast, a fiery rebel with an appetite for righteous mass destruction. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
7 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,791 books4,563 followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
August 27, 2024
A Kree ship is shot down and Noh-Varr is the only surivor... and is quite pissed! Midas, the man who shot Noh-Varr down, pursues him for the Kree technology in his possession with all of his resources, including his daughter...
Back in the day, I read Wizard magazine (RIP) religiously, even when I wasn't reading comics anymore. Marvel Boy briefly dragged me out of one of my comic hiatuses. Was it worth it? Meh.
The Noh-Varr character was created as a throwback to the days when Namor the Sub-Mariner was wreaking havoc one minute and saving lives the next. Morrison was clearly having fun with his Marvel Boy, gouging swear words into New York by knocking down buildings, etc. Noh-Varr was a fairly original character for a mainstream super-hero comic. He could eat garbage to help hasten his healing process, run up walls, enhanced physical attributes, and had access to cool Kree weaponry.
But didn't you say "Meh?" Yes, I did. While I liked the Noh-Varr character, most of the other characters were pretty bland. Midas had an old set of Iron Man armor but was pretty much your stereotypical villain. Oubliette was okay but not very original. I did like the Bannermen but I don't think they made another appearance.
The ending was okay but I wish Morrison would have done another Marvel Boy miniseries. From what I understand, the character has been nerfed a bit in his subsequent appearances. Like most Morrison comics, he throws a lot of big ideas at you but doesn't develop most of them. It's a 3 but that's all I could justify giving it.
2024 Reread I liked this a little more on the reread but I still had problems with it. It's a little too fast paced and sometimes I felt like I turned over two pages at once. Noh-Varr's motivation is a little weak - war against the human race after one dickhead shot down his ship. How about settling that one dickhead, Midas, and focus on getting back home? Still, it was a fun read and JG Jones art was gorgeous. The living corporation seems like an extension of cities as a virus from one of Morrison's other works, Doom Patrol or The Invisibles? I can't remember which. Still giving this a three.
Back in the day, I read Wizard magazine (RIP) religiously, even when I wasn't reading comics anymore. Marvel Boy briefly dragged me out of one of my comic hiatuses. Was it worth it? Meh.
The Noh-Varr character was created as a throwback to the days when Namor the Sub-Mariner was wreaking havoc one minute and saving lives the next. Morrison was clearly having fun with his Marvel Boy, gouging swear words into New York by knocking down buildings, etc. Noh-Varr was a fairly original character for a mainstream super-hero comic. He could eat garbage to help hasten his healing process, run up walls, enhanced physical attributes, and had access to cool Kree weaponry.
But didn't you say "Meh?" Yes, I did. While I liked the Noh-Varr character, most of the other characters were pretty bland. Midas had an old set of Iron Man armor but was pretty much your stereotypical villain. Oubliette was okay but not very original. I did like the Bannermen but I don't think they made another appearance.
The ending was okay but I wish Morrison would have done another Marvel Boy miniseries. From what I understand, the character has been nerfed a bit in his subsequent appearances. Like most Morrison comics, he throws a lot of big ideas at you but doesn't develop most of them. It's a 3 but that's all I could justify giving it.
2024 Reread I liked this a little more on the reread but I still had problems with it. It's a little too fast paced and sometimes I felt like I turned over two pages at once. Noh-Varr's motivation is a little weak - war against the human race after one dickhead shot down his ship. How about settling that one dickhead, Midas, and focus on getting back home? Still, it was a fun read and JG Jones art was gorgeous. The living corporation seems like an extension of cities as a virus from one of Morrison's other works, Doom Patrol or The Invisibles? I can't remember which. Still giving this a three.
January 23, 2016
Noh-Varr - Ensign Marvel - is a crewmember on board the 18th Kree Diplomatic Gestalt Interstellar Schooner, traveling back to their home world after a string of heroic interstellar feats of diplomacy that have made its crew heroes. unfortunately... disaster strikes! the crew must quickly navigate across millions of parallel realities until they finally manage to make it to our world - or at least our world according to Marvel comics. upon entry into our planet's airspace, the ship is quickly shot down by the avaricious villain known as Midas and all of its crew are obliterated. all except Noh-Varr, who is taken captive as an object of experimentation by the merciless Midas. young Ensign Marvel soon develops a very bad attitude - one which will come to define his entire purpose in life. and so an angry rebel is born! a rebel poised to strike against our very own Earth!
what I described above takes place in the first 20 pages or so. it is an amazing first chapter. unfortunately, they are the best part of the graphic novel.
anyone who follows comics knows that the celebrated Grant Morrison is some sort of mad genius. he reshapes, he obliterates, he turns things upside down and inside out and he just doesn't give a fuck. all of that is present in Marvel Boy, in spades. but it just doesn't work out. he lobs out brilliant ideas (as well as a ton of crazy weapons) but those ideas get lost in all of the sloppiness. this may sound like the worst possible advice to give a visionary like Morrison, but he needs to learn how to control himself. everything being tossed at the reader hurly-burly only amounts to a lot of noise and confusion. what is needed is a solid anchoring in an actual character. he has characters of interest and weight in all of his classics: The Invisibles, The Filth, Seven Soldiers of Victory, All-Star Superman. but that is not the case here. the potentially appealing Marvel Boy is all surface and so this reader had no connection to the often absorbing but just as often ridiculous proceedings that surround him. other characters - in particular the atrociously absurd and quasi-incestuous Midas as well as his trite and nonsensical daughter Obliette - suffer just as much from the lack of depth. overall: a lot of ideas but also a lot of lazy writing.
the art by the estimable J.G. Jones doesn't help matters. he is a beautiful illustrator but it seems as if he got lost in Morrison's absurdities - and so all of his effects and experiments and gorgeous imagery, all those bells & whistles, eventually became just as wearying as the storyline. a real waste there.
and a real waste of Marvel Boy! this is a fascinating character who would later go on to accomplish many key things in the Marvel universe. just check out his bizarre powers: enhanced insect DNA which makes him triple-jointed amongst other things; his spit contains nanotechnology that creates hallucinations and allows mind control; he can consume anything - cardboard, trash, whatever - to regain his strength; he can re-route his neurological impulses (being tortured? who cares! let's just turn that physical pain into the sound of a beautiful symphony!); he can go into a "White Run" which allows him to push anything not related to fight or flight from his mind. power-wise he's an embarrassment of riches. the story he is surrounded by is just plain embarrassing.
what I described above takes place in the first 20 pages or so. it is an amazing first chapter. unfortunately, they are the best part of the graphic novel.
anyone who follows comics knows that the celebrated Grant Morrison is some sort of mad genius. he reshapes, he obliterates, he turns things upside down and inside out and he just doesn't give a fuck. all of that is present in Marvel Boy, in spades. but it just doesn't work out. he lobs out brilliant ideas (as well as a ton of crazy weapons) but those ideas get lost in all of the sloppiness. this may sound like the worst possible advice to give a visionary like Morrison, but he needs to learn how to control himself. everything being tossed at the reader hurly-burly only amounts to a lot of noise and confusion. what is needed is a solid anchoring in an actual character. he has characters of interest and weight in all of his classics: The Invisibles, The Filth, Seven Soldiers of Victory, All-Star Superman. but that is not the case here. the potentially appealing Marvel Boy is all surface and so this reader had no connection to the often absorbing but just as often ridiculous proceedings that surround him. other characters - in particular the atrociously absurd and quasi-incestuous Midas as well as his trite and nonsensical daughter Obliette - suffer just as much from the lack of depth. overall: a lot of ideas but also a lot of lazy writing.
the art by the estimable J.G. Jones doesn't help matters. he is a beautiful illustrator but it seems as if he got lost in Morrison's absurdities - and so all of his effects and experiments and gorgeous imagery, all those bells & whistles, eventually became just as wearying as the storyline. a real waste there.
and a real waste of Marvel Boy! this is a fascinating character who would later go on to accomplish many key things in the Marvel universe. just check out his bizarre powers: enhanced insect DNA which makes him triple-jointed amongst other things; his spit contains nanotechnology that creates hallucinations and allows mind control; he can consume anything - cardboard, trash, whatever - to regain his strength; he can re-route his neurological impulses (being tortured? who cares! let's just turn that physical pain into the sound of a beautiful symphony!); he can go into a "White Run" which allows him to push anything not related to fight or flight from his mind. power-wise he's an embarrassment of riches. the story he is surrounded by is just plain embarrassing.
February 11, 2023
Truly the first great comic of the 21st century, bringing another level of energy to the superhero medium that has almost become the standard today. Nobody like Grant Morrison could run around with the Marvel playground quite like this... Dangerous and sexy and sci-fi overkill that is Marvel Boy!!
March 25, 2019
Hodnocení částečně ovlivňuje, že jsem si před čtením přečetl Morrisonův komentář. Grant chtěl vytvořit super mega cool superhrdinskej komiks pro novou generaci, a tak tu Marvel v doprovodu výbuchů běhá po barácích, tahá se s latexovou slečnou a řeší obří korporaci co staví koncentrák. Já mu to žral.
May 3, 2014
Man oh man this was a fun read. I'm actually really surprised Marvel Boy doesn't come up more often when people talk about Grant Morrison's best work, because I really feel like this is one of my favorite stories of his I've ever read. It's solid, classic Morrison: incredibly huge ideas, chaos, rebellious teenage anarchists, "greater consciousness", all that jazz, but it's somehow very accessible this time.
Reading The Invisibles, Morrison's most critically-lauded series, makes you feel like you're on acid. Reading Marvel Boy just reads like MORRISON was on acid. Instead of feeling trippy and misplaced and thrown out of your own ability to understand reality (which I admit is pretty fun, but still), you just get to experience all of these bonkers ideas from the comfort of your own brain.
Also, this book is FUNNY. It's got to be the hands-down funniest book Morrison has ever written. Here's a choice line of out-of-context dialogue that made me laugh out loud:
"I haven't liked you ever since you killed my friends."
I mean, come on. That, plus the well-executed and surprising satire on greed and corporate expansion, among other things, really makes this book shine beyond the massive action and mind-bending alien stuff.
Also, they could not have picked a better artist for this. J.G. Jones adds so much life and movement to every panel, it feels like you're watching a movie, only it's somehow better than a movie because you realize these types of plots and concepts could never accurately be portrayed onscreen.
I'll stop raving now, but you seriously owe it to yourself to read this. I only wish the "Prepare yourself for Marvel Boy 2: #001!" notice at the end of the book had come true, because there was so much more Morrison could've done with this. But, as it stands, it just works as in incredible work of comic art that I can't believe is set in the Marvel universe.
Reading The Invisibles, Morrison's most critically-lauded series, makes you feel like you're on acid. Reading Marvel Boy just reads like MORRISON was on acid. Instead of feeling trippy and misplaced and thrown out of your own ability to understand reality (which I admit is pretty fun, but still), you just get to experience all of these bonkers ideas from the comfort of your own brain.
Also, this book is FUNNY. It's got to be the hands-down funniest book Morrison has ever written. Here's a choice line of out-of-context dialogue that made me laugh out loud:
"I haven't liked you ever since you killed my friends."
I mean, come on. That, plus the well-executed and surprising satire on greed and corporate expansion, among other things, really makes this book shine beyond the massive action and mind-bending alien stuff.
Also, they could not have picked a better artist for this. J.G. Jones adds so much life and movement to every panel, it feels like you're watching a movie, only it's somehow better than a movie because you realize these types of plots and concepts could never accurately be portrayed onscreen.
I'll stop raving now, but you seriously owe it to yourself to read this. I only wish the "Prepare yourself for Marvel Boy 2: #001!" notice at the end of the book had come true, because there was so much more Morrison could've done with this. But, as it stands, it just works as in incredible work of comic art that I can't believe is set in the Marvel universe.
June 24, 2010
More mind-bending imagination from Grant Morrison. I find I really enjoy reading other authors - great dialogue or art - but Morrison consistently gives my brain an extra jolt of reality expansion. Makes me want to write as creatively and weirdly as he seems to always do.
February 9, 2020
Invecchiato maluccio, devo dire. Però ancora meritevole di essere letto.
Noto come - a distanza di ormai di 10/20 anni - molti prodotti nati nei primi anni 2000 rimangono, oggi, figli del loro tempo e incapaci di superare la celeberrima "prova del tempo" che trasforma storie passeggere in pietre miliari. Molte di queste storie non hanno la stessa potenza del loro originale esordio. Indubbiamente all'epoca si presentavano come prodotti rivoluzionari, pieni di grinta e vogliosi di alzare la voce per farsi sentire e attirare l'attenzione, rompendo ogni taboo perché ormai era il 2000 ed era ora di andare avanti. Purtroppo, molti rimangono come intrappolati in una sottospecie di bolla temporale e si contano veramente su poche dita le opere che ancora oggi, nonostante tutto, reggono. Un esempio? Ultimate Spider-Man.
Questo Marvel Boy possiamo dire che è una di quelle opera "abbastanza" sopravvissute. Dico abbastanza, perché mostra l'anima punk di Grant Morrison, libero di dire e fare quello che vuole con l'Universo Marvel con un personaggio tutto suo. Oh, anche con gli X-Men aveva carta bianca. Ma erano gli X-Men, certi standard erano da rispettare. Qui invece se la viaggia senza alcuna battuta d'arresto.
Il suo Marvel Boy S'incazza, prende a calci cose, sbraita, critica, fa un gran casino, va contro il sistema e possiamo dire che Morrison lo usa un po' come "personaggio summa" di molte delle tematiche sviscerate nel suo periodo Vertigo. Proprio per questo, ancora oggi è una discreta bombetta da leggere per tutta una serie di critiche sociali che sono tutt'ora molto attuali, dicendola lunga su come e quanto ci siamo "evoluti".
Però, porca miseriaccia ladra, si vede proprio che è un prodotto dei primi anni 2000.
Noto come - a distanza di ormai di 10/20 anni - molti prodotti nati nei primi anni 2000 rimangono, oggi, figli del loro tempo e incapaci di superare la celeberrima "prova del tempo" che trasforma storie passeggere in pietre miliari. Molte di queste storie non hanno la stessa potenza del loro originale esordio. Indubbiamente all'epoca si presentavano come prodotti rivoluzionari, pieni di grinta e vogliosi di alzare la voce per farsi sentire e attirare l'attenzione, rompendo ogni taboo perché ormai era il 2000 ed era ora di andare avanti. Purtroppo, molti rimangono come intrappolati in una sottospecie di bolla temporale e si contano veramente su poche dita le opere che ancora oggi, nonostante tutto, reggono. Un esempio? Ultimate Spider-Man.
Questo Marvel Boy possiamo dire che è una di quelle opera "abbastanza" sopravvissute. Dico abbastanza, perché mostra l'anima punk di Grant Morrison, libero di dire e fare quello che vuole con l'Universo Marvel con un personaggio tutto suo. Oh, anche con gli X-Men aveva carta bianca. Ma erano gli X-Men, certi standard erano da rispettare. Qui invece se la viaggia senza alcuna battuta d'arresto.
Il suo Marvel Boy S'incazza, prende a calci cose, sbraita, critica, fa un gran casino, va contro il sistema e possiamo dire che Morrison lo usa un po' come "personaggio summa" di molte delle tematiche sviscerate nel suo periodo Vertigo. Proprio per questo, ancora oggi è una discreta bombetta da leggere per tutta una serie di critiche sociali che sono tutt'ora molto attuali, dicendola lunga su come e quanto ci siamo "evoluti".
Però, porca miseriaccia ladra, si vede proprio che è un prodotto dei primi anni 2000.
September 29, 2014
I like Noh-Varr. I like his anti-establishment idea, I like that he's a lone-wolf and that he goes after the guy (Midas) who killed his friends/mentors. I like the attack on Multi-National-Corporations from Grant Morrison. I liked Plex, the Green goo assistant/hive-mind of the Kree Empire that helped Noh-Varr on his mission.
Midas and his daughter were kinda stupid.
I would like to see more of him, and since this is a 14yr old book republished, I know I've already seen more of him (During Dark Reign).
On the whole though, this intro is kinda ho-hum, but I did like the main character, so I suppose it wasn't that bad. In terms of Grant Morrison, it's very accessible and easy to understand (so if you think GM is too dense and hippy-trippy, maybe try this?)
You won't miss anything if you don't read this though. Noh-Varr seems like he could torch Earth if he decided to (and not just funny curse words in flaming ruins).
I feel like this will work for Anne and Jeff's sons. He's cool, he kicks ass, has an attitude and doesn't answer to anyone.
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Midas and his daughter were kinda stupid.
I would like to see more of him, and since this is a 14yr old book republished, I know I've already seen more of him (During Dark Reign).
On the whole though, this intro is kinda ho-hum, but I did like the main character, so I suppose it wasn't that bad. In terms of Grant Morrison, it's very accessible and easy to understand (so if you think GM is too dense and hippy-trippy, maybe try this?)
You won't miss anything if you don't read this though. Noh-Varr seems like he could torch Earth if he decided to (and not just funny curse words in flaming ruins).
I feel like this will work for Anne and Jeff's sons. He's cool, he kicks ass, has an attitude and doesn't answer to anyone.
Get this review and more at:
May 22, 2014
Menuda puta locura que es esto, pero quien bien te quedas después de leerlo. Y sirve para no perder detalle del evento Marvel del momento "Original Sin".
Muy loco todo, muy locas todas y muy muy disfrutable.
Muy loco todo, muy locas todas y muy muy disfrutable.
September 12, 2020
Late 90s/early 2000s was a lawless time for Marvel comics wasn't it?
Interestingly, this the only Morrison comic I've read beside Arkham Asylum, and it seems to represent some opposite end of his creative spectrum. It's really not bad, but there are too many ideas, and not enough well thought-out execution. It almost seems like it just became a dump for ideas that he just wasn't able to fit in other comics he was working on in the same era. Also, a lot of what's supposed to come off as cool hasn't aged too well, especially a lot of the design choices. Jones' really nails some of the more creative page layouts, though.
More than anything else, I respect it for what it tried to do, even if it didn't succeed all or even most of the time.
Interestingly, this the only Morrison comic I've read beside Arkham Asylum, and it seems to represent some opposite end of his creative spectrum. It's really not bad, but there are too many ideas, and not enough well thought-out execution. It almost seems like it just became a dump for ideas that he just wasn't able to fit in other comics he was working on in the same era. Also, a lot of what's supposed to come off as cool hasn't aged too well, especially a lot of the design choices. Jones' really nails some of the more creative page layouts, though.
More than anything else, I respect it for what it tried to do, even if it didn't succeed all or even most of the time.
December 31, 2020
This has Morrison’s usual preference for action over character, but luckily I already care about Noh-Varr from other stories I’ve read. This was interesting to get more background on him, and I enjoyed the second half of the book quite a bit. 3.5/5 stars.
October 9, 2020
(realistically a 2.5, but goodreads doesn't like decimals)
not quite sure what the fuck i just read tbh. i know noh-varr is a rather insufferable member of young avengers, but beyond that, i'm having a hard time understanding why any of what happened in this book happened. they use hexus, the living corporation, build them up to seem like a major threat, and then resolve that storyline in one issue to lean into the true narrative, which is a gaslighting, emotionally abusive father who literally becomes the fantastic four in one body attacking his own daughter who he experimented on while she was still inside her mother and noh-varr, loses, becomes stuck in some alternate dimension, and then noh-varr ends up in shield custody, and obliette, the daughter, becomes a muslim terrorist in everything except name as a sandbag.
like, i'm tempted to just throw up my hands and say, "well, that's comics for you" but it didn't feel like anything got resolved or even happened really. very confusing, not my favorite work of morrisons
not quite sure what the fuck i just read tbh. i know noh-varr is a rather insufferable member of young avengers, but beyond that, i'm having a hard time understanding why any of what happened in this book happened. they use hexus, the living corporation, build them up to seem like a major threat, and then resolve that storyline in one issue to lean into the true narrative, which is a gaslighting, emotionally abusive father who literally becomes the fantastic four in one body attacking his own daughter who he experimented on while she was still inside her mother and noh-varr, loses, becomes stuck in some alternate dimension, and then noh-varr ends up in shield custody, and obliette, the daughter, becomes a muslim terrorist in everything except name as a sandbag.
like, i'm tempted to just throw up my hands and say, "well, that's comics for you" but it didn't feel like anything got resolved or even happened really. very confusing, not my favorite work of morrisons
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2023
Storia carina, ben scritta, che scorre senza intoppi.
Impossibile non contestualizzare la freschezza che ha portato nel mondo Marvel quando uscii, ma forse aver letto il nome Morrison ha creato un hype non indifferente, e correlato alle storie più moderne questa non ha picchi rilevanti, ma ripeto, all'epoca deve aver dato un bello scossone.
Da leggere più per l'importanza storica che per picchi narrativi rilevanti, resta una storia godibile e divertente.
Impossibile non contestualizzare la freschezza che ha portato nel mondo Marvel quando uscii, ma forse aver letto il nome Morrison ha creato un hype non indifferente, e correlato alle storie più moderne questa non ha picchi rilevanti, ma ripeto, all'epoca deve aver dato un bello scossone.
Da leggere più per l'importanza storica che per picchi narrativi rilevanti, resta una storia godibile e divertente.
April 11, 2014
A colleague lent me this to give me a better understanding of what exactly is going on in Young Avengers. And I must admit I'm still a wee bit confused... not my favourite Marvel, thanks in part to an odd villain in Midas, and the oddity of his creeepy protectiveness of Oubliette who he dresses in fetish gear with her arse cheeks hanging out. Eh?! Maybe I shouldn't read graphic novels when I'm drunk. Certainly shouldn't review when I'm drunk. Oh well, feelings are real innit?!
October 19, 2019
Ugh. Morrison. You write a fantasy world for yourself and its interesting enough eventually to wrap around my mind to give me FOMO.
Kink queens with daddy issues aside, I want to read the next volume.
Kink queens with daddy issues aside, I want to read the next volume.
February 13, 2020
A fascinating cultural artifact that could only have come out of the narrow window of time that gave rise to the Matrix, Marvel Boy is peak My Shit. Our titular hero, Noh-Varr, is very explicitly a terrorist wreaking havoc on the military-industrial complex and American iconography at large, declaring "cosmic jihad" on the rest of the world. Superpowered teenage misanthropy? HELL FUCKIN' YEAH!!! It stands as a fascinating rebuke to the path that the superhero would ultimately take post-9/11: navel-gazing and insular at best, outright fascistic and nationalistic at worst.
It has a lot in common with Mark Millar's The Authority, but while the interesting aspects of that series were drowned beneath the writer's insufferable penchant for Edge, Marvel Boy's evocative ideas and presentation outweigh the aspects of it that are dated in ways I don't like (A lot of the language here is dated, the way the Free Market is weaponized in Issue 3 is pretty bad, Noh-Varr's Kree Empire itself comes off as a little fascistic and Exterminatrix is uh...yeah.). Not that it isn't edgy - this is an insanely 2000s book, after all - but it's edgy in a way that directly appeals to the Matrix fan in me.
Moreover, I kinda wish Superheroes were like this more often: middle fingers firmly raised towards authority, able to save the day without being devoted to saving the status quo along with it, closer to superpowered rebels and revolutionaries than superpowered Cops. It's a torch that's only being picked up relatively recently in the mainstream with characters like Immortal Hulk's reinterpretation of the title character and Lio Fotia in the film Promare, and I wanna see more spins on this idea! I really like Noh-Varr, but like the rest of the book, he's a cultural artifact of the time when he was written. A better, modern, sophisticated version of this story is still waiting to be told, but for now, Marvel Boy still has a lot to offer for a reader willing to forgive its obvious flaws. For the sheer audacity of its premise alone, it gets a thumbs-up from me.
It has a lot in common with Mark Millar's The Authority, but while the interesting aspects of that series were drowned beneath the writer's insufferable penchant for Edge, Marvel Boy's evocative ideas and presentation outweigh the aspects of it that are dated in ways I don't like (A lot of the language here is dated, the way the Free Market is weaponized in Issue 3 is pretty bad, Noh-Varr's Kree Empire itself comes off as a little fascistic and Exterminatrix is uh...yeah.). Not that it isn't edgy - this is an insanely 2000s book, after all - but it's edgy in a way that directly appeals to the Matrix fan in me.
Moreover, I kinda wish Superheroes were like this more often: middle fingers firmly raised towards authority, able to save the day without being devoted to saving the status quo along with it, closer to superpowered rebels and revolutionaries than superpowered Cops. It's a torch that's only being picked up relatively recently in the mainstream with characters like Immortal Hulk's reinterpretation of the title character and Lio Fotia in the film Promare, and I wanna see more spins on this idea! I really like Noh-Varr, but like the rest of the book, he's a cultural artifact of the time when he was written. A better, modern, sophisticated version of this story is still waiting to be told, but for now, Marvel Boy still has a lot to offer for a reader willing to forgive its obvious flaws. For the sheer audacity of its premise alone, it gets a thumbs-up from me.
December 11, 2020
Noh-Varr's ship is shot down and he winds up on Earth. It... disagrees with him. In the scope of the greater intergalactic universe, Earth is a violent backwater planet constantly at war with itself. Noh-Varr is smarter, stronger, and with better tech, and he comes in contact with some of the worse forces on Earth... and a few cosmic powers that would abuse Earth's few defenses. There are no superheroes, just Noh-Varr on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. and fighting off his own villains.
This series really is so Jack Kirby inspired it's nuts. Especially the Fantastic Four, which I guess is fundamental to the Marvel universe as a whole. The cosmic rays of the F4, the Kree, Doctor Doom, Morrison really does the equivalent of what they do with DC. Throw a bunch of crazy ideas out there, paint a picture of this larger grand universe we've barely seen, and take some pot shots at human culture along the way. After two decades some of the story is a bit dated - references to reality TV would probably be replaced by social media nowadays - but in other parts it's proved kind of timeless. We're still held under the throes of capitalism and greed, corporations still own our ideas and intellectual property, and we're still fighting each other.
A lot happens in such a short 6 issues, and unfortunately the sequel to this series was cancelled so we never really get a good ending. The arc comes to a close, of course, but the final pages set up a big cliffhanger that doesn't matter. Oh, and the lettering throughout is awful. Not always, but the specific font and colour of Noh-Varr's Plex system is terrible. For how much information is revealed through Plex, it's awful to read. But the series still stands, and the great (but utter trash jerkwad) Noh-Varr is a cool character to follow around.
This series really is so Jack Kirby inspired it's nuts. Especially the Fantastic Four, which I guess is fundamental to the Marvel universe as a whole. The cosmic rays of the F4, the Kree, Doctor Doom, Morrison really does the equivalent of what they do with DC. Throw a bunch of crazy ideas out there, paint a picture of this larger grand universe we've barely seen, and take some pot shots at human culture along the way. After two decades some of the story is a bit dated - references to reality TV would probably be replaced by social media nowadays - but in other parts it's proved kind of timeless. We're still held under the throes of capitalism and greed, corporations still own our ideas and intellectual property, and we're still fighting each other.
A lot happens in such a short 6 issues, and unfortunately the sequel to this series was cancelled so we never really get a good ending. The arc comes to a close, of course, but the final pages set up a big cliffhanger that doesn't matter. Oh, and the lettering throughout is awful. Not always, but the specific font and colour of Noh-Varr's Plex system is terrible. For how much information is revealed through Plex, it's awful to read. But the series still stands, and the great (but utter trash jerkwad) Noh-Varr is a cool character to follow around.
October 9, 2019
Miałki... To słowo dobrze oddaje tom przygód niejakiego Noh-Varr, najmłodszego członka dyplomatycznego korpusu obcej rasy zwanej Kree, a który miał ten nie fart, iż po zawędrowaniu w okolice Ziemi zostaje zestrzelony. W efekcie zajścia, które sprowokował nijaki Dr. Midas, cała załoga młodzieńca ginie i pozostaje on sam na terenie wroga. Może liczyć na wsparcie jakieś kosmicznej jaźni, usytuowanej w zielonej brei i finalnie zmierzyć się z przeciwnikiem, który za wszelką cenę chce położyć łapska na pozaziemskiej technologii. Chciwość i zemsta. Motywy stare jak świat.
Już pal licho, że przeciwnik to gość zakuty w pancerz, który wygląda na taki, jaki po pijaku by lepiej zrobił Tony Stark. Wystylizowanie córki Midasa, która podąża za Marvel Boy'iem, na typową dominę, dodatkowo prawie momentalnie czując do naszego herosa miętę... Nie powiem, ciekawe. Tylko po co, skoro całość jest tak nudna. Niby dzieje się od groma rzeczy. Sam chłopak postępuje tak nielogicznie. Po co w ogóle jest coś takiego jak infiltracja, aby zobaczyć czy rzeczywiście wszyscy na tej planecie są wrogo nastawieni. Nie, wpadnę na miasto i zrobię rozpierdziel. Tak będzie logiczniej. Jeszcze te wątki, jak tego Hexa, żywej korporacji, które urywają się po jednym zeszycie.
Wpadłem tutaj, zachęcony lekturą Young Avengers, ale zrobiłem błąd. Marvel Boy nawet w wykonaniu takiej wygi jak Morrison samodzielnie jest tak słabą postacią. Wypadek przy pracy jak się patrzy, oby jak najrzadziej. Tym bardziej, że powinno to też jakoś wyglądać i trzeba przyznać, że to jedyny element, który uratował tą pozycję od soczystej pały. Nie polecam. No chyba, że na sen.
Już pal licho, że przeciwnik to gość zakuty w pancerz, który wygląda na taki, jaki po pijaku by lepiej zrobił Tony Stark. Wystylizowanie córki Midasa, która podąża za Marvel Boy'iem, na typową dominę, dodatkowo prawie momentalnie czując do naszego herosa miętę... Nie powiem, ciekawe. Tylko po co, skoro całość jest tak nudna. Niby dzieje się od groma rzeczy. Sam chłopak postępuje tak nielogicznie. Po co w ogóle jest coś takiego jak infiltracja, aby zobaczyć czy rzeczywiście wszyscy na tej planecie są wrogo nastawieni. Nie, wpadnę na miasto i zrobię rozpierdziel. Tak będzie logiczniej. Jeszcze te wątki, jak tego Hexa, żywej korporacji, które urywają się po jednym zeszycie.
Wpadłem tutaj, zachęcony lekturą Young Avengers, ale zrobiłem błąd. Marvel Boy nawet w wykonaniu takiej wygi jak Morrison samodzielnie jest tak słabą postacią. Wypadek przy pracy jak się patrzy, oby jak najrzadziej. Tym bardziej, że powinno to też jakoś wyglądać i trzeba przyznać, że to jedyny element, który uratował tą pozycję od soczystej pały. Nie polecam. No chyba, że na sen.
March 7, 2024
While cleaning out the closet, I extracted this post-millenial run of yet another quirky Morrison miniseries. It appears to have been his last for Marvel at the time, apparently having exhausted its appetite for subversive comics like Marvel Boy. The blurbs (maybe even written by Morrison himself?) cloak Marvel Boy as teen boy wish-fulfillment, and does it ever: our villainess Oubliette struts and suggestively thrusts her hips in the Mighty Marvel Manner, garbed in softcore sado-masochistic fantasy gear. Yet my individual issues are labeled "teen" and sealed by the Comics Code Authority, which I can only hope is a satirical tweak.
This run has your typical batshit Morrison thought experiments, with Kree supertechnologies and consciousness-transcendence piled higher than a Bridgeman's Lollapalooza. That's perfectly fine on its own, but this series is more disciplined than Morrison's later work, oddly grounded by the romance between a Teenage Boy and his Kinky Bondage Mistress. Morrison also snarks his way through comics orthodoxy and smartly lades on the post-capitalist critique; issue 3, where Boy takes on Hexus the Living Corporation, is quite a treat. It also doesn't hurt that J.G. Jones' artwork is uniformly excellent.
If you made it past "our villainess Oubliette struts and suggestively thrusts" in this review, then Marvel Boy is probably the right comic for you. Recommended for immature audiences only.
This run has your typical batshit Morrison thought experiments, with Kree supertechnologies and consciousness-transcendence piled higher than a Bridgeman's Lollapalooza. That's perfectly fine on its own, but this series is more disciplined than Morrison's later work, oddly grounded by the romance between a Teenage Boy and his Kinky Bondage Mistress. Morrison also snarks his way through comics orthodoxy and smartly lades on the post-capitalist critique; issue 3, where Boy takes on Hexus the Living Corporation, is quite a treat. It also doesn't hurt that J.G. Jones' artwork is uniformly excellent.
If you made it past "our villainess Oubliette struts and suggestively thrusts" in this review, then Marvel Boy is probably the right comic for you. Recommended for immature audiences only.
May 17, 2018
A very sci-fi infused comic but rather fast paced. Noh-Varr is of the Kree race and with some others was travelling on a peace delegation mission before being shot down over earth. Noh-Varr the only survivor is a bit ticked off about this and wages war.
The only thing on his side is a strange super computer entity which resides in his ship but keeps contact with him and helps steer his path to become a somewhat anti-hero protecting the earth even though he is angry and doesn't much like them.
One of my favourite parts is him going up against the parasitic corporation, that's an intriguing enemy.
Although never actually referred to as Marvel Boy during this mini series he does show a lot of tropes that could garner him the name as he battles through until he finds out who shot down his ship and why.
The only thing on his side is a strange super computer entity which resides in his ship but keeps contact with him and helps steer his path to become a somewhat anti-hero protecting the earth even though he is angry and doesn't much like them.
One of my favourite parts is him going up against the parasitic corporation, that's an intriguing enemy.
Although never actually referred to as Marvel Boy during this mini series he does show a lot of tropes that could garner him the name as he battles through until he finds out who shot down his ship and why.
March 14, 2023
Noh-Varr iba tranquilo en su nave exploradora kree con su novia y sus amigos y zas, conoce a la humanidad: amigos muertos, novia convertida en cenizas, secuestrado. ¿Qué podrá hacer nuestro pobre chico?
LO BUENO: Grant Morrison le regala a Marvel un nuevo personaje con mucho caracter, personalidad, fuerza, y con el futuro abierto, y una historia que es pura acciòn-sci-fi , pero sin ese que a veces se le va de la mente, y nos da momentazos como ese enemigo que es un virus una empresa y que si se descuida, te destruye el planeta, además de pura rabia, violencia e inteligencia. El arte del gran J.G.Jones es para aplaudir y nos da una obra Top, que esta un peldaño abajo de lo que nos dio en WANTED, pero de resto, es un deleite verlo, en diseños como en narrativa todo es top.
LO MALO: Que solo hayan sido 06 números¿si le hubieran dado una serie de 12?,hubiera sido el cielo.
LO BUENO: Grant Morrison le regala a Marvel un nuevo personaje con mucho caracter, personalidad, fuerza, y con el futuro abierto, y una historia que es pura acciòn-sci-fi , pero sin ese que a veces se le va de la mente, y nos da momentazos como ese enemigo que es un virus una empresa y que si se descuida, te destruye el planeta, además de pura rabia, violencia e inteligencia. El arte del gran J.G.Jones es para aplaudir y nos da una obra Top, que esta un peldaño abajo de lo que nos dio en WANTED, pero de resto, es un deleite verlo, en diseños como en narrativa todo es top.
LO MALO: Que solo hayan sido 06 números¿si le hubieran dado una serie de 12?,hubiera sido el cielo.
February 28, 2024
What do you get when you sit down one of the best comic book writers of this generation and put him with a master of art? Marvel Boy! This book by Grant Morrison and JG Jones is fantastic! I believe one should pick up this book on the two names I just said right there. To me, that is as heavy hitting as possible. The story is a fun one, though I felt it could have been slightly longer in portions, giving more time to develop an attachment to the circumstances and the twists and turns the story gives us. I actually believe if it had been another issue I would have given it 4 stars for sure! The Story is about a lone survivor of a crash who extracts vengeance on the planet, only to discover a greater evil lurks...the one that caused the crash which killed all his loved ones! Definitely a story that is tailor made for the comic book medium and is executed masterfully!
September 28, 2021
It just doesn't work, which is a shame because I love Morrison so much and it feels like a total waste to have basically their only non-"New X-Men" Marvel title be this. There's just too many ideas all fighting to be the thing its about, and yet it feels obvious when it gets where it's going.
I want to rate it higher because it IS a lot more interesting than almost any of the contemporary Marvel fare I'm getting to on this read-through, but I'm definitely rating based on how disappointed I'm feeling.
If you're interested in Grant Morrison, pick up basically anything else they've written ("Invisibles" is a personal favorite).
I want to rate it higher because it IS a lot more interesting than almost any of the contemporary Marvel fare I'm getting to on this read-through, but I'm definitely rating based on how disappointed I'm feeling.
If you're interested in Grant Morrison, pick up basically anything else they've written ("Invisibles" is a personal favorite).
July 18, 2018
Although I like Grant Morrison, I find that the majority of this story feels unremarkable in regard to the larger Marvel comics universe. The single issue where Marvel Boy takes on a living evil company named Hex is phenomenal and easily could be five stars, but the surrounding issues, while not bad, do not necessarily make Marvel Boy as endearing of a character as other Marvel Knights characters and certainly does not hold up to the quality of Christopher Priest’s run of Black Panther for Marvel Knights. Still, there are worse graphic novels than this.
May 1, 2024
grant morrison confuses me sometimes, his writing isnt BAD here, but its just fine. the art is VERY 2000s, its not too bad tbh. went back to this one for context for the young avengers / runaways civil war tie in. for the first few issues i didnt believe that Marvel Boy had entered 616, it felt like the mass terror and destruction he was causing should have been met with a stronger response. other than that ig it was fine. overall, prob never gonna read it again, and wouldnt recommend it unless u really wanted the context
December 19, 2025
Aside from the Twin Towers in one panel and Bill Clinton in another, this really feels like it could have come out today. The art is stellar, and even the coloring is solid, given that a lot of coloring from this period was overly plastic looking. Though I guess Marvel is less likely to publish something as “edgy” as this these days. It’s Grant Morrison at their most “Warren Ellis,” snarky and subversive, the story and art both influenced by The Authority, with some similar DNA to some of their other books from this time, namely New X-Men, The Filth, and maybe We3. It’s good stuff.
February 20, 2019
A pre-9/11 book that seems weirdly prescient in retrospect. There are a lot of good ideas in it, although they are occasionally undermined by a slightly puerile desire to shock. It reminds me, of all things, of Kirby’s OMAC series: ideas are introduced and discarded with that sort of frenetic speed, and it’s honestly thrilling. And you aren’t ever going to be able to convince me that Hex Corp — the parasitic living corporation! — doesn’t actually exist.
May 28, 2019
Better with ideas than execution, it falls right into the middle of typical Morrisonian interdimensional whatever, but with the added pleasure of a remix of 60s and 70s Marvel/Kirby cosmic space weirdness. Jones's art plays up the porny boy's club aesthetic of the time, but still works reasonably well. Not sure I'd look at it again. Recommended for fans, or context for the Gillen/McKelvie run on Young Avengers.
July 8, 2019
Okay, I guess? Grant Morrison has created so many wonderful things—this is not one of them. It has some great moments, but everything is just too quick, too light. I can’t see or feel the characters. I don’t believe them. Art is pretty good, ideas are fine and sometimes fun—but not up to the world building standards of Grant Morrison’s classics. Outfitting one of the main heroes in dominatrix gear is pretty silly—not sure who it serves, certainly not the story or the character.
February 25, 2023
This book is really neat. Feels like a more streamlined and digestible version of Morrison’s ideas they explored with The Invisibles and will explore in The Filth. A real shame Marvel didn’t let him do more with the character, and he and the cast have fallen into lesser hands to be used as supporting characters. Probably the most interesting post-Starlin use of the Kree I’ve seen. This is exactly the kind of book Marvel is scared of now, and that’s why it rocks.
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