Marvels, Vol. 1: As Maravilhas

The Marvels (2021) #1-6

by Kurt Busiek, Yildiray Cinar

O roteirista do fenômeno Marvels, Kurt Busiek, retorna com um épico que novamente engloba todo o Universo Marvel conhecido; uma saga estrelada por todos os grande personagens da Casa das Ideias em uma aventura de escopo pouco vezes visto nos quadrinhos de super-heróis! X-Men, Homem-Aranha, Capitão América (e quem mais você conseguir imaginar) encaram um desafio com raízes nos primórdios da Marvel!

The Marvels (2021) 1-5

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

120 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2021

About the author

Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.

Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.

During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).

Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.

In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.

In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.

In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.

Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.

Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,

Reviews

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kurt Busiek is building an epic within the Marvel Universe, as he teams up with Yildiray Cinar on interiors and Alex Ross provides covers to one of the most boring Marvel series I have read. This series follows every single Marvel Character you can think of, plus a few new ones, as the roots of everything to come out of this universe is being traced back to the fictional country of Siancong. We are also introduced to Kevin Schumer, an Alex Ross-designed character with secrets of his own and a mysterious object called Threadneedle, as a question begins to form of how does this all connect in the end?

Kurt Busiek has a plan, but a rough idea of that plan is impossible to see as of yet, as this series drags its heels through 5 meandering issues where nothing happens so it can set up more issues where nothing happens. Busiek is usually a great writer, and I’m sure this book will eventually start to pick up, but I shouldn’t have to pick up more than one trade to enjoy a story. I couldn’t even imagine the people who are picking up this series in single issues monthly, as this volume was so forgettable I don’t know how one could retain any of this boring information being drip-fed over a 5 month period. The artwork by Yildiray Cinar is fine, but this book just did nothing for me. It is The Resistance of Marvel comics, except The Resistance gets decent eventually, this has not so far. There just isn’t anything here worth enjoying.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ummmm...what?

After reading that all-over-the-place first issue I tend to agree with her.

I generally like Busiek's work a lot but I feel he may have bitten off more than he can chew with this title, which I guess is and isn't a continuation of the universe from the original Marvels?

I'm willing to give the next volume a shot because I read this one expecting everything to be resolved by the last page which ultimately coloured my experience with even more bafflement.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wannabe epic is a sprawling mess of slow-paced set-up.

The narrative jumps around the decades. Frustrated that the Vietnam War happened too long ago to fit in modern continuity, Kurt Busiek presents us with Sin-Cong, a southeastern Asian country that has all the colonialism, Ugly American diplomacy, covert operations, and even the feel and look of the 1950s and 1960s, but is set in the early 2000s. Pre-cosmic rays Reed Richards and Benjamin J. Grimm get involved in a black op to hunt monsters in the jungles that has them bumping into all sort of obscure old supporting characters from the Marvel Universe. In the present day, from the dozens of characters bopping around in seemingly random scenes, a small strike force slowly coalesces to face a mysterious black dome that has formed over the renamed Siancong. And through it all, the Punisher abides.

For no good reason Prince lookalike Ace Spencer is dragged in from the 1980s and teamed up with a cosmic sort of dude who looks like David Bowie and goes by the name Threadneedle.

The title would have us think this is a sequel to Marvels so in the midst of all the heroes, a civilian punk named Kevin Schumer traipses along taking pictures of everything on his phone.

I might pick up the second volume, but I certainly won't care if I never get around to it.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have NO idea what this book was about, and after six issues, there is no resolution in sight. That said, writer Kurt Busiek excels in characterization, and there was enough great interplay between classic Marvel characters to keep an old Marvel Zombie like me entertained. The art, by Yildiray Cinar, is easy on the eyes, and you get a decently sized book for your buck (Six issues)....that said, the sixth issue, which focuses almost entirely on the bland big bad, nearly bored me to tears, and took an entire star away from the rating.

I enjoyed this well enough, but I'm not sure if I'll be compelled to return when the second volume hits in 5 or six months.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something dark is brewing in the Marvel Universe. Something that stretches back to its founding, and engulfs every character you can think of, and even some you can't. And it all begins in the small country of Siancong.

Kurt Busiek clearly has an end-goal in mind here, but it's taking a long time to see even the sides of it, let along general shape. There are a LOT of characters involved in these five issues, some of whom only show up for a few pages at a time, so it feels as if their plots move along at glacial speeds. There's a forward thrust about a big black bubble appearing over Siancong, but there's so much else going on around that little plot development that it's easy to dismiss as unimportant.

The artwork's also fairly bland. Yildiray Cinar's art does the job it's meant to do and not much more than that; you would think that all of the different locales and characters involved would give him a chance to spread his wings and do something different, but it's all just bog-standard superhero art, which is fine, but could be so much better.

I love the idea of this kind of book - it's ambitious, and could be something special if it comes to fruition. But I worry that it'll get lost under its own weight, or worse, won't get to reach the conclusion Busiek is aiming for without being cancelled, so it'll either be unresolved or rushed over the finish line. For now the set-up is fine, but I have a lot of worries going forward.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful Alex Ross covers and some nice writing by Mr. Busiek. If you are a fan of the older marvel universe this story fits in perfectly. Recommended

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the world did I just read!?

I like non-linear storytelling. I like stories that focus on individual characters and individual parts of a storyline. And this Busiek comic obviously does that, but it's a mess. There's just no obvious through-line to the point where it literally feels like you're missing issues.

I like some of the new characters, though the introduction of a totally new Vietnam stand-in seems a little silly. The plotlines? Well, I'm not even sure what those are. Fate worshippers, monsters, black domes, ....

What a mess.

[Anja von "books and phobia" · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sehr mich die Welt der Superhelden auch fasziniert, fand ich es spätestens nach meinem ersten Marvels-Band unglaublich interessant, wie es ist, in einer Welt zu leben, in der es eben Superhelden gibt. Aus diesem Grund zog es mich auch zum ersten Band von „The Marvels“, denn hier vermischte man beides miteinander.

Dies zeigte man auch sofort, denn neben Einsätzen von Captain America, Thor und Iron-Man, lernte man auch Kevin kennen, welcher z.B. das ausgemistete Fantastic-Car nutzt, um damit Touristen-Touren zu machen. Doch nicht nur das, denn ein paar andere Spielgeräte hat er auch. Interessant war hier vorallem, dass er sie als völlig normal empfand. Egal ob Gerätschaften die unsichtbar machen oder ein Jetpack, er wusste wie man sie nutzt und was verbessert werden muss. Dies verdankte er vorallem seinem Onkel, für den die Technik der Helden und Schurken zur Ware geworden war.

Ich mochte diese Einblicke in Kevins Leben total, da sie die harte Realität zeigten. Dies traf auch auf der Seite der Helden zu, welche z.B. zur Unterhaltung von Armeen herhalten mussten. Tja und mittendrin gabs dann auch noch so einige Geschehnisse, die mich als Neuling im Comic-Bereich ganz schön überforderten. Dies lag jedoch nicht wirklich an der Handlung, sondern eher an der enormen Anzahl an Charakteren, die ich teils nicht kannte und nicht zuordnen konnte. Jedoch machte man das Ganze unterhaltsam, in dem man Kevin mit einbaute, der zwischen ganzen Helden ebenso hilflos wirkte.

Optisch konnte mich der Band jedoch auf ganzer Länge begeistern. Alle Charaktere waren echt gut gelungen, zumal ich mich gerade in Kevin auch noch richtig hineinversetzen konnte. Ich konnte hier richtig mitfiebern und verlor egal ob bei der Fahrt mit dem Fantastic-Car oder einem Kampf nicht die Übersicht. Dazu gabs dann auch noch satte Farben, die das Ganze noch eindrucksvoller machten.

Fazit:

Ja, dieser Band haute in Sachen Helden und Schurken dermaßen auf den Putz, dass ich ein wenig den Überblick verlor. Trotzdem muss ich sagen, dass dies ein absolut fesselnder Band war, der mich gut unterhielt und mit spannenden Ereignissen punkten konnte.

[Dan Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sprawling continuity-emcompassing absurd epic is very much my shit with superhero comics. This is basically a DC team book but with Marvel toys. No complaints!

[Acton Northrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely reads like a series that’s going to be more satisfying the further it goes but this is Busiek indulging his inner Englehart to the hilt and using Marvel history’s most obscure pieces in order to build a larger mosaic. What that mosaic will amount to remains to be seen, but at least it isn’t
a “Grand Design”-style recap series, it seems to be building to a story that needs the entire history of Marvel continuity in order to work. I’m intrigued to see where it goes, and with any luck we’ll get an annotated edition down the road. It definitely seems like a book where the Easter Eggs are (at least) half the point.

[Alex Sarll]

On the one hand, it's pretty much Kurt Busiek doing Astro City in the Marvel Universe, seemingly able to grab whichever characters he fancies, from mainstays to utter obscurities, but without being constrained by the usual grammar of crossovers and events. We're as likely to find the comic focused on quiet character moments between them as on world-shaking threats, or indeed to move them to the background in favour of spending time with a guy named Kevin who isn't one of them, even as he lives in their shadow.

On the other, the fulcrum of the story is Siancong, a south-east Asian country invented solely to finesse the origins of various Marvel characters whose original ties to the conflicts in Korea or Vietnam would now make them too old. Which causes as many problems as it solves (French colonial adventures in the 21st century? Really?) even before you get to the optics of Americans casually rewriting the history of a region which has already had plenty of that in real life. There feel like half-efforts here to acknowledge that in the speeches about how for too long Siancong has been a pawn of other nations, but they never quite overcome the awkwardness. I hesitate to call it orientalism per se, when Marvel long been just as happy to add nations (usually tinpot and/or massacred) to the map of Europe too, but it certainly feels like American exceptionalism, a willingness to mess with the map of anywhere beyond the USA because eh, who cares, right? Which I think bugs me more coming from Marvel because the bulk of their line takes place in what I understand to be a recognisable New York. At least DC play equally fast and loose with their homeland - indeed, I think it was Busiek who first came up with the solution of DC Earth being bigger than Marvel's, let alone ours, which is how come the DC US has room for all those extra cities like Metropolis, Opal, Gotham...

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long-time fan of "Marvels" as well as Busiek's writing (not everything, but most of it). I had some expectations for this and it was a little bit different.

First, it's one big story, not single issues or short arcs like the recent "Snapshots". This TPB has six issues and does NOT conclude the story. It's starts out jumping back and forth both from the past to the present, as well as between various characters which was a little bit disorienting. It's a lot of info to take in immediately, but know that all of it is relevant and does support the story later.

Second, this isn't the traditional "Marvels" approach using the "man on the street" perspective. One character is used for that a little bit, but it isn't the driving viewpoint. This is more of a standard superhero story where various characters are brought together to deal with a threat and in this case it isn't just the A-listers, but a few C-listers and a couple of unknowns.

The first couple of issues are a little hard to stay with, primarily because the reader starts to wonder, "where is this going"? It does come together and if I had paid more attention early on things would have made more sense later. While there is a standard super-villain, Busiek gives them depth and sympathy along with some slight commentary on world-politics around a specific area of the world.

He packs quite a bit in, and I found it to be a well-rounded story, with multiple layers that's building to a climax. Not sure if newer/younger readers will appreciate it or have the patience though. The art isn't bad, and seemed to look better as the issues numbers increased. The last issue feels like the penultimate chapter but I don't think it will end in just one more issue. Not outstanding, but a solid piece of storytelling.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

São os 30 anos da obra-prima de Kurt Busiek e Alex Ross, Marvels, que prestou uma homenagem à história da Casa das Ideias, encantando novos e antigos leitores ao redor do mundo. Para as comemorações, a editora Marvel preparou diversas inciativas, entre elas, Retratos (coordenada por Busiek) e Marvel (coordenada por Ross). Entretanto, na minha percepção, o quadrinho que mais prosperou nesta homenagem foi este aqui, Marvels: As Maravilhas. Na história, que corre ao redor da nação fictícia de Sicong - uma espécie de Vietnã - algo muito estranho está prestes a ocorrer e que chama a atenção de diversos heróis da Casa das Ideias, das mais diferentes procedências. Tempestade, Rapina, Gata Negra, Capitão América, Doutor Estranho, Justiceiro, Aero, Homem de Ferro, Homem-Aranha, são alguns deles, promovendo uma mistura interessante e inesperada. Completa o maravilhamento a arte do competente desenhista turço Yldiray Çinar, numa história em quadrinhos empolgante e divertida que homenageia o background e a história do Universo Marvel.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am remarkably disappointed in this book. I guess I was e pectins a six issue miniseries but instead it’s the first six issues of a series (which will become a miniseries when it gets cancelled after 8 issues) and the last issue is just a blur of exposition which would have been better solved as an OHOTMU entry. Lady Lotus doesn’t feel like she’s going to be interesting enough to make up for being such a basic Dragon Lady archetype.

And a war in Southeast Asia? This feels like Busiek wanted to set it in the 80s but they made him set it in the now, but in a marvel time now. So we have Reed Richards & Ben Grimm in fake Vietnam 17 years ago so the Marvel time thing is happening again.

Thank God I read this on Hoopla. I can’t imagine paying money for a trade of this, much less dishing out for floppies.

[Sananab · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I thought I was reading the big famous story by Kurt Busiek called "Marvels" but, in fact, I was reading a completely different thing called "The Marvels". I kept asking myself, "Why is this famous?" I did not care for this.

[David Turko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a long-time fan of Busiek's writing but I was a little let down by this one. Busiek is planning some epic marvel story however it goes at such a slow pace and he packs so much in this comic that it just left me confused. Still, Busiek writes great characters, and to see him write so many different Marvel characters in this was a treat. The art is decent yet there wasn't anything special about it either. Overall I enjoyed it but I'm not sure if I can recommend it.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story mashing together a number of disparate Marvel characters to deal with a threat in the fictional nation of Siancong. The whole thing is very much like Busiek's Astro City in feel, which is a very good thing. The only frustration with the book is that - outside of one flashback tale with Reed Richards - it ultimately feels like it's all prologue... and ends abruptly in the middle of another flashback. Hopefully the next volume will pay off! (B+)

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

No idea where this story is going at all, though I have to imagine a bit of the usual "long build-up and one-book denouement" that is common to these stories is going to happen.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In an attempt to address some continuity errors that have popped up thanks to Marvel’s floating timeline, Marvel introduced the idea of a fictitious war in a country called Asian one that can now be used for the origins of Iron Man, Punisher, etc.

This book attempts to tackle this fictitious war and weave a complex story around how several Marvel heroes have become involved in one way or the other.

Kurt Busiek is a writer of whom I’m very fond of. Astro City is a comic that I would place in my personal pantheon of all timers (especially the first few collections). The Avengers run he wrote is among the best ever published for the eponymous team. Untold Tales of Spider-Man is perhaps my second favorite run on the beloved Wall Crawler. Finally, the original Marvels is one of the best singular graphic novels of all time (and the sequel is excellent too). Long story short, Busiek is a creator who I will almost always be seated for.

The strengths of Busiek’s work is the worldbuilding. He knows continuity more than most creators this side of Geoff Johns and Al Ewing, and he’s a master at pulling forgotten stories and concepts and utilizing them in a really cool way.

Because of that, Busiek is the perfect man to pen this series. He knows the history of the Marvel Universe like the back of his hand and is able to cleverly retcon various characters’ involvement in this long war. That’s the fun of this series. It’s fun to take a tour through the Marvel universe and see unexpected characters pop up. One particularly fun sequence involved pre-cosmic storm Reed Richards and Ben Grimm working with a pre-MODOK George Tarelton and a pre-spandex Batroc to investigate the strange monsters that proliferate Siancong.

Another fun subplot focuses on a kid who gives tours of NYC’s superhero scene, taking customers to witness Superhero battles in a beat up old Fantasticar. This sequence is very much in Busiek’s wheelhouse, showing the removed, street level POV of these characters. The concept of this kid scavenging leftover gadgets and weapons from these battles also reminded me of Spider-Man: Homecoming (a movie which feels very indebted to Busiek’s aesthetic).

The art by Yildiray Cinar is very strong. It reminds me a lot of the work by Brent Anderson on Astro City. Each character is well rendered. The action is always easy to follow. Storytelling is rock solid. It’s not art that will stick out to me, but it’s very good work and I hope this artist continues to work on Marvel titles.

However, in spite of all of this, I found this volume to be a tad underwhelming. Perhaps this is due to it only being the first half of a story, and maybe the impact will be fully revealed once I finish Volume 2, but this just isn’t offering very many fresh ideas. Most of what’s here has been tackled before (and better) in Busiek’s other works. Much of Astro City and even the two Marvels miniseries he previously did were about how a vast cast of characters played a role in the life of one person (or even one city). The idea of an extra dimensional observer pulling strings has already been done in Astro City (and it wasn’t my cup of tea there, either).

These ideas still work fine here, but they’re just not quite as fresh or exciting. It feels like Busiek playing the hits.

But, as a Busiek fan, I would gladly pay money to support him getting to play the hits again. This is a perfect comfort food comic. So, if you’re a die hard, I would solidly recommend this volume. If you’re uninitiated to the work of Busiek, I think the original Marvels and the early Astro City stories should take priority over this.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurt Busiek is the kind of comic book writer who has a healthy respect for history and continuity, while packing his stories with adventure and mystery. This book represents that well. Using the entirety of the Marvel comic book universe as his backdrop, Busiek plucks various characters - members of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, along with solo characters like Daredevil - and brings them into a sprawling, decades-spanning narrative, either as main characters, cameos, or in ways that don't (yet) seem connected to the main story (what is the Punisher's role in all of this?). As someone who seldom reads Marvel comics anymore and has very little understanding of the current continuity, this book feels tailor-made for me. I don't need to understand the X-Men's current status on Krakoa to accept Storm's role in being their representative in this adventure. And I love Busiek's use of obscure characters like the golden-age Vision. Superstar artist Alex Ross provides the covers of the original issues and artist Yildiray Cinar has the kind of art style that I really appreciate: clean, easy to follow, simultaneously realistic and larger-than-life, reminiscent of classic artists like John Byrne or John Buscema. Sadly, this book is a collection of the first six issues of a series, and nowhere near a compete story in itself. A lot of it's set-up and we flash backwards and forwards in time and by the end, we don't even get back to the great set-up that we get halfway through the first issue. Busiek's playing the long game here, instead of writing to the trade. To be continued indeed.

[Simon Chadwick · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word…meh.

I loved Kurt Busiek’s Astro City, so these seemed like a no-brainer. It’s a sprawling epic that touches upon much of Marvel’s rich history, with forgotten characters, diverse situations, and plenty of new ideas to boot. And yet, somehow, it doesn’t quite work. The focus of the story concerns the fictitious country of Siancong and how the heroes of the Marvel universe have interacted with it across the years leading up to a modern day crisis. But what with all the time-hopping, linear stories, historic characters, legacy situations, and new creations, there’s not much time for any meat on the bones. It’s all a bit something of nothing.

And then there’s Threadneedle. He’s just too David Bowie to be anything other than David Bowie, so every appearance jars. And didn’t Busiek play with this Bowie-esque character in Astro City with the Broken Man?

It’s not dreadful, by any means, but it’s not the epic it wants to be. A shame, really.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deception powers, activate!

..make this look like the classic 'Marvels' miniseries by Kurt Busikek, but in NO WAY connect it to that. Busiek took an interesting idea he had (making a miniseries set it in three books written in different times of the Marvel universe and thread it together) and just burned it to the ground. There's a main protagonist that's telling large chunks of the story and piecing some of the plot together as if they're just now remembering it themselves.

Largely, we're left fumbling around as new characters are added and others disappear. By the end of the first volume, we're nowhere near understanding the scope of what's going on. This has been ambitious, but not hitting its mark so far.

Bonus: There's a David Bowie looking god-tier character called...Threadneedle(?!)
Bonus Bonus: Do we need ANOTHER character named Warbird? This one is half Wakandan/ half Shiar

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Astro City format just doesn’t work well when shoehorned into the Marvel universe.

Part of the problem is that this whole concept feels very much of the 1960s and 70s, but it starts 17 years ago. That’s 2005, and it just doesn’t feel like it.

Siancong is Marvel’s version of Vietnam, but due to the details invoked such as French occupation, even that imaginary country comes across exactly like Vietnam, when it should feel like North Korea.

Worst of all, I’m not even sure what this story is about. I’m not talking about the plot, which is a basic mash-up of the Vietnam war with the machinations of the Mandarin, with various (and seemingly random) superheroes showing up to mess around. I mean that I don’t sense an overarching point to all the goings-on. It may well come together in the next volume, but I’m not terribly interested in finding out.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying really hard to withhold my judgement here, because this is a series that I think shouldn't be collected in six issue chunks. Busiek seems to be building a story on a huge scale here, but he's doing so in a way that feels meandering at the moment, jumping back and forth in time, using tons of Marvel characters. I have absolutely no idea if this will come together later as a cohesive whole, but it absolutely is not plotted out as something that's meant to be read six issues at a time. Nor one issue at a time, so I can't imagine the experience of trying to read this monthly. Maybe I'll wait until this series is done and come back.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kurt Busiek's attempt to bring Astro City into the Marvel Universe. Threadneedle and Kevin Schumer seem to be characters straight out of Astro City. The story revolves around SianCong, a fake Vietnam, manipulated by several other countries over the years and constantly at war. The story goes through an issue of setup and then by the 6th issue, we still haven't returned to that point 10 days in the future. There's just way too many characters and story points. Even the great Kurt Busiek couldn't turn this sludge into gold. Maybe when or if it's all finished, it will make sense. Yildiray Cinar's art is fine, but lacks anything to make it special.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is pretty solid. Story has a lot of moving parts and a lot of voices - Busiek does a pretty effective job of adding in little touches to give the relationships and characters some impact and depth, but he also jams in so many people that several are neglected. Also, lots of inscrutable nods to ... I guess current Marvel events? Probably not a great idea to read this after not reading much else from Marvel in the last decade plus. Be interesting to see if Busiek can add a little more juice to the proceedings and tie up all the goings-on in and interesting way. Be interesting to see if I remember this series existing by the time it did wrap up.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came in with very high expectations, and maybe that was a mistake. This reads less like a story and more like a collection of super-deep cuts from 60 years of Marvel history. I was hoping that it would build to something more than the sense of satisfaction of knowing that “George Tarleton” is the guy who becomes MODOK. And maybe it will all pay off in the second volume, but man, it’s sure taking its sweet time getting there. If this was written by anyone else, I don’t think I’d bother reading any further.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Comic war so cool! Die Abenteuer waren richtig spannend und ich hatte echt wirklich Spaß beim lesen, vor allem weil einige alte Bekannte Superhelden und total neue auf einem Haufen waren und dabei sind, sich zusammen zu schließen um einen gemeinsamen Feind zu bekämpfen. Kennt man, liebt man. Und hier auch sehr modern gemacht. Ich freue mich schon auf die Folgebände! 😍

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A well-woven tale from Kurt Busiek, spanning seven decades& multiple heroic characters with Lady Lotus being the central spine of the connective history (or, just as importantly 'her-story').
My underlying issue (and not unique to this Marvel series) is the cultural appropriation (& stereotyping) that holds fairly important stands of the story together...

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurt Busiek is pretty much a slam dunk for me. I don't think I've ever read something from him that I did not like. This is just the first part of the story, so it is mostly build up at this point, but I am hooked and really want to know where this is going. The art is top-notch.