It’s that time once again for your faithful Padre to dispense with the pleasantries, punch through the bullshit, and deliver unto you my brothers and sisters, a loaded stick of comic review dynamite known as A Fistful of Comics! In this week’s edition we are looking at a bunch of books that were pretty much all good, with only one earning whack on the wrists from the naughty nuns of GHG. Hence all of the tumbleweeds blowing across this week’s title.
And, hey, somewhere.. Clint is smiling.
NEW WARRIORS #1
Stop me if you’ve heard this fanboy story before. I was a diehard New Warriors fan back in the day. I hated what happened to the team during Civil War. I still want to know when the fuck we will get a Night Thrasher film, and the stink of Speedball becoming Penance still lingers like an uninvited fart.
My inter-web tears aside, Marvel brought back the New Warriors this week all decked out in an All-New Marvel NOW! #1 issue by Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World, New X-Men) and Marcus To (Batwing, Cyborg 009). It is a nice mix of some of the old team, a bunch of newbies, and one guy dressing up like one of the old squad. In bringing them back, the House of Mouseketeer Ideas remembered one important thing: make the book fun.
Mission accomplished.
The team isn’t fully formed yet, but the joy comes from seeing how they tackle the day to day problems of fighting crime. Yost presents us with young heroes aware of the mistakes of their respective pasts, but perhaps conflicted about how to move forward. Some want desperately to be heroes, while others just want to live a normal life. A couple learn that quips and quick wit may not always be enough once the ante is upped, and one badass Atlantean in particular is looking for a few good surface dwellers to fight by her side. There is also a really nice moment where Justice solemnly acknowledges that while the world may know who The New Warriors are, it is for the worst possible of reasons.
Marcus To’s pencils are clean and dynamic. This is great superhero comic art on display here. Yost weaves the perfect first issue intro tale. It’s not all shits and giggles though, as there is a pretty serious threat that keeps popping up rather violently and seems to be the plot device which will eventually see the whole team come together. The book’s solid dialogue emphasizes the outstanding characterization that Yost uses to flesh out the personalities of the “new” New Warriors.
The New Warriors are back, congregation. Go, do as the reinvigorated Speedball says, and get your war on.
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