Writer: Kevin Grevioux
Artist: Paco Medina
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price - $2.99
The name New Warriors is more than a little tarnished. This is the fourth time Marvel have launched a new New Warriors title, and the third time as an ongoing series. In current Marvel continuity the team are blamed for the explosion of the villain Nitro in Stamford, Connecticut that killed over 600 people and lead to the recent Civil War. It was inevitable that the team would return, and with the Marvel Universe the way it is currently, it is no surprise that they have come back as an anti-registration group, running almost as a counter to the new heroes in training in Avengers: The Initiative.
The book opens with an as yet unknown super-heroine getting instructions from another unknown character with wings, and taking down the classic Thor villain Grey Gargoyle with what appears to be shrinking gas. We are then introduced, by way of a dream sequence, to a young woman called Sofia – although it takes 5 pages before we actually learn her name. We follow her through the streets of New York as she walks past various things designed to set up the current Marvel Universe status quo – Thunderbolts merchandise, registration posters, that sort of thing – and then thanks to a mysterious person who communicates with her through her mp3 player we find out that she’s ‘An “M” who lost the “X”’, or a former mutant who lost her powers in the Decimation storyline.
Meanwhile, some cops find the miniaturised Grey Gargoyle in an alleyway, along with an incredibly elaborate graffiti tag spray painted onto the floor, which looks like it took ages. Later we see Sofia at her waitress job, flirting with a hunky guy in a leather jacket, and then we have her contacted by the same mysterious person that contacted her before to try and recruit her to his cause. The cops find another restrained villain, the hunky guy in the leather jacket is revealed as another former mutant (Last seen as a scrawny unattractive vegan), and we meet the mysterious leader of the group previously thought to be dead. Although he isn’t introduced by name, his apparent lack of deadness is mentioned.
This is Grevioux’s first work for Marvel, and despite a few little missteps as noted above, he acquits himself admirably. While the set-up of the status quo is rather obvious, it is also well-executed, and goes a long way toward filling in the background for anyone not currently buying any other Marvel titles. A little more exposition about the characters we meet in this issue would have been nice, but it’s still early days.
Medina’s art style lends itself well to a story of younger characters, and brings to mind work by Mike Wieringo or Humberto Ramos. Like many artists nowadays he seems to have a slight deficiency when it comes to drawing breasts that behave the way they do in reality, but on the other hand he can draw people of varying builds with different faces, which puts him above many other, higher-profile artists.
Overall, an interesting debut. Not the perfect first issue, but it works well as a set up for future issues. It leaves the reader with a few questions – who exactly are theNew Warriors this time? How did their leader come back from the dead? – but it leaves one with the impression that these will be answered in forthcoming issues. There are far worse books out there, and this one looks like it will improve as it goes on.
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Russell Hillman was born in London but now lives in Coventry. His hobbies include precious little. He doesn’t get out much, but thinks reading a lot of comics makes up for it. He’s wrong.