Spinning out of the pages of X-MEN, comes an incredible book starring the world's first mutant, NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER. When the X-Men are confronted with a deadly vampire threat, Namor takes matters into his own hands on a mission that might bring down the entire might of the vampires on their heads...and destroy Atlantis in the process!
STUART MOORE is a writer, a book editor, and an award-winning comics editor.
Among his current writing projects are THE ZODIAC LEGACY, created and cowritten by Stan Lee and published by Disney, featuring an all-new team of teenaged super heroes in a series of illustrated prose novels and graphic novels; DOMINION: LAST SACRIFICE, a comic book series for Amazon/Jet City; and THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE, an original Marvel prose novel. Recent work includes EGOs, an original comic book series from Image Comics, and GARTER'S BIG SCORE, an original ebook novella for Kindle. He also contributed two series, TEACH and OUT WITH A BANG, to the launch of the online comics app Stela. Other comics work includes WOLVERINE NOIR and NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT (Marvel); FIRESTORM (DC Comics); assorted Star Trek and Transformers projects; and the science-fiction graphic novels EARTHLIGHT, PARA, SHADRACH STONE, and MANDALA. Prose writing includes the novel version of Marvel’s CIVIL WAR, and Disney Worldwide's JOHN CARTER: THE MOVIE NOVELIZATION.
That's the whole story. And you know what? I liked it! It's nothing spectacular, but how can you go wrong with underwater vampires? You can't! However, the star of this show (for me) isn't the story, so much as it's Ariel Olivetti's artwork. It's purdy. And you know how much I love purdy art! It's got Alex Ross' painted thing going on, and if you're a fan of that look, you might want to check this out. It doesn't look like this title got a whole lotta love here on Goodreads, but I seriously didn't think this volume was bad at all.
Also, I read this in single issues, so I got the added bonus of the covers! And while I thought Jae Lee's art looked odd in Batman/Superman, Vol. 1: Cross World, I certainly didn't feel that way about Namor. I guess the fact that this story takes place underwater really lends itself to Lee's brand of beauty. The covers look FANTASTIC!
I don't think this title will win Namor any fans, because Aquaman is clearly a superior character, but I still enjoyed it. However, I'd really love it if someone could explain to me why he's considered a mutant. If he's half-human, half-Atlantean...doesn't that just make him a hybrid? What am I missing here?! At any rate, I'm looking forward to volume 2.
2.5: This is painfully average. I obviously read this because of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But I really wished I picked another Namor story to read. Because this was not worth my time or my hoopla borrows. It's not bad, but considering this is about 10 years old and not all that great, it's just not worth it. Basically these water vampires have invaded New Atlantis and Namor has to figure out a way to stop them. That's it. Occasionally it would switch to this painted artwork. That I can only describe as Alex Ross but bad. I know some people liked it, but in my opinion it made Atlantis look bland, and the facial expressions look weird. When I think of Atlantis, I see bright colors, and shiny buildings. But in here, it was just depressing. Maybe that was the point? idk. Not recommended
This was actually not at all bad. I mean, I didn't get into the underwater vampires, at all. Not exactly a compelling storyline under any circumstances, and with Namor's history, why on earth would you lead with underwater vampires? But Namor is kind of fun himself. I like his unapologetic arrogance, which can be really amusing in a character if we're meant to see him as arrogant. And I like that he's intelligent and a capable ruler. I would have liked it much better with a more interesting storyline, though. Four issues of underwater vampires is a bit much for me.
The art looks really good, though. It looks like Olivetti was going for a vibe similar to Land's artwork (who was drawing the main X-Men book at the time), but Olivetti is capable of drawing more than one female face, and he can pose female characters in ways that aren't inherently sexual when they're, like, reading a book or something. Fancy that.
Flat, dull, boring. Lots of posturing, a few attempts at character work, and emotionless battles with undersea vampires that are over before they have a chance to register. A miss for me.
If that sounds interesting to you, then go for it! This isn't anything crazy, but it's decently interesting. I like the premise and hadn't gotten to see Namor like this. There's a recap of his entire timeline at the end, which is great to own and have access to!
The art by Olivetti is impressive! Jae Lee's covers here are gorgeous!
This is all a tie in for Curse of the Mutants, and as far as tie-ins go, this is above average.
It’s a self contained Namor adventure focussed on events in Curse of the Mutants. Issues seamlessly flow together. One could read this on it’s own and enjoy it just fine.
The are is gorgeous. Ariel Olivetti draws the first three issues, and I loved it. His work reminds me of Esad Ribic, and sometimes even Alex Ross. Issue #4 is drawn by Andres Guinaldo and, while good, it’s not nearly as good as Olivetti.
It’s pretty slim pickings when it comes to solo Namor series’. This is a really good one. Was it amazing? No... but if you want a fun, action packed, well drawn Sub Mariner story, this is the thing to read.
Vačšina tohto booku je súčasťou príbehu Curse of the Mutants. Namor je v hlavnej línii podstatný len v jednej scéne, ale inak v príbehu je skôr vedľajšia postava. Séria sa evidentne snažila zviezť na tomto príbehu, ale nebol to dobrý základ. Ak by príbeh, ktorého základ siaha ďaleko do minulosti nebol zbytočne zviazaný, a v istých bodoch zase zbytočne rozťahaný, mohla to byť naozaj zaujímavá záležitosť. Záverečný zošit, v ktorom sledujeme rôzne aspekty Namorovej osobnosti, bol asi najzaujímavejší. Nezachránil to ani art, ktorý sa mi vyslovene nepáčil. Vyzeralo to strašne umelo. Komiks odporúčam iba skalným fanúšikom Namora. Inak vás pravdepodobne nezaujme.
Sometimes the reviews are accurate, it was sadly the case for this one. I foolishly assumed this was an origins story-esque kind of volume when in fact it was very, very much not that.
Aquatic vampires; could've been interesting but the execution left a lot to be desired. This was my first Namor-centric comic run and I woefully mischose; this is a spin-off from X-Men #1 and gave minimal background to both that original plot line and any exploration into Namor. It was a dry, unoriginal monster-hunting plot that had little depth and minimal "showing" but an excess of "telling".
Namor is not an easy character to like but it can be done. Stuart Moore however doesn't succeed in that here. A tangential story to the X-Men series about vampires for...reasons. Yeah, those books and this make little sense. The art doesn't fit the book very well at all. Overall, an unpleasant read.
I know this comic book doesn’t have good reviews in general, but I will just say. I don’t think I am a superhero comic book person in general. Not my thing. It gets boring for me really quick. I did like the underwater setting though.
I liked how things were handled. The conclusion, however surprising, isn't what I would call a plot twist exactly. I still want to know more about the old lady that helped Namor, but I'm happy with how he handled her riddles. I really liked the side-story of the brothers, too; thought it was done well.
My only complaint is that there wasn't much disclosure on Emma's student's importance to the ending. I figure there will be more of that on volume two, but I still think it belonged in volume one. (Emma's short appearance and the way she treats Namor, though -- that's brilliant.)
Overall, it was an entertaining read, but doesn't even come close to Sub-Mariner: The Depths, for example.
Admittedly, I'm not a huge Namor fan, but this didn't give me any reason to become one. I read it with the main "Curse of the Mutants" plotline, but this was definitely much more of a chore--there wasn't much to care about, and it just never seemed to have any sense of importance. The characters were rather hollow, and there wasn't any new, interesting ideas. We do get some gorgeous art from Ariel Olivetti, but as pretty as it is, it doesn't evoke the creepy, deep-sea feeling you would think the series would want. And it's intermixed by some very standard art from other artists, leaving the whole thing sort of disjointed and distracting. Anyway, it wasn't terrible, and I might try one more volume, but unless it's really good, I'm giving up on this series.
Was really excited to read this comic focused on the ruler of the Atlantean ocean realm when I saw the great cover art and beautiful panels. Sadly, Namor, is kind of a dick and definitely a pompous ass.
Wish I liked this more, as the Sub-Mariner is one of the great characters in comics. Script by Moore is ok, and art by Olivetti is painted in the superhero style. Still too much of mutants and vampires, though.