The Marvels #1

The Marvels (2021) #1

by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross (Cover Art), Yildiray Cinar (Artist)

ALL-NEW, ONGOING SERIES! Kurt Busiek (MARVELS, Astro City) is back, with the biggest, wildest, most sprawling series ever to hit the Marvel Universe, telling stories that span the decades and range from cosmic adventure to intense human drama, from the street-level to the cosmic, starring literally anyone from Marvel's very first heroes to the superstars of tomorrow. This first issue includes an invasion from orbit, a picnic in Prospect Park, super hero sightseeing in Manhattan, the All-Winners Squad in 1947, Reed Richards during his time in military intelligence, cosmic beings beyond space and time— and that's only for starters. Featuring Captain America, Spider-Man, the Punisher, the Human Torch, Storm, the Black Cat, the Golden Age Vision, Aero, Iron Man and Thor, and introducing two brand-new characters, all beautifully drawn by Yildiray Cinar (X-MEN, Legion of Super-Heroes, IRON MAN) in the opening act of a thriller that'll take us across the Marvel Universe - and beyond. Plus: Who (or what) is KSHOOM? It all starts here. And it goes - everywhere.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 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

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to pick up the Marvels. It seems to be a cumulative look at the Marvel universe with lots and lots of Marvel characters. These characters are names that we are familiar with and some that I think have been lost throughout time. One interesting thing about this book is that it jumps around a lot. There were a couple of sequences in which I was kind of unable to determine what exactly was going on. I think that any book can be difficult to follow when there is sequencing of time and parts of the times being showcased are actually missing. I think this is one of those series where you have to read a few issues to get a bigger picture of what’s going on because I don’t think that I really got a good grasp of where the plot was going in this first issue. I did like that we got to see a few familiar faces like Captain America, Spiderman. There was an amazing splash page with a few different characters that I know of but I’m not as familiar with. I think that the story has great potential but I think that it may end up being a story that I’ll check out later by trade instead of following it single issue by a single issue. The artwork was amazing and I really did enjoy it.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know I barely remember anything about Marvels, the limited series book Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross delivered to the word, except the hype.

Of course, it’s been a short life time (27 years) and I (rightly or wrongly) picture it now as a little brother to DC’s Kingdom Come. (Marvels actually predated Kingdom Come but that Mark Waid and Alex Ross is more memorable to me, for whatever reason. Memory is a weird thing)

I generally am a huge fan of Busiek, so have to say I was interested.

So, the good- this would seem to be in Busiek’s wheelhouse- relatable superhero stories. I also rather like the art. I’ve mainly seen negative feedback on the art, and yes, if you’re expecting Ross, you will be disappointed, but I like the feel of the book a lot. It’s bright and expressive.

Busiek can tell a story, but there is a lot going on. The book is telling at least three stories at the same time. The stories don’t seem to have any bearing on each other, and maybe that’s the point. Still, it’s a less than fulfilling experience.

It isn’t necessarily a bad comic, just one that feels flat in comparison. In comparison to Busiek’s other work, which has been a string of stories that are impactful, real and memorable. Flat in comparison to a contemporary like Heroes Reborn, a similarly ambitious book that presents a lot of ideas but seems to be presenting more than a series of random drop-ins on a timeline.

(I’ve since read the second issue, which fixes some of the random jumping around. Possibly a better hook for a story for most readers than the proxy-Vietnam arc of the first issue. More in depth. Still, it doesn’t change my opinion much- a good, not great story.)

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 2 out of 5]

La nueva extensión comiquera que actúa a modo de homenaje por el aniversario de la obra maestra perpetrada por Alex Ross y Kurt Busiek está aquí con este último como total mente creativa e impulsor de esta colección. Dejamos de lado las antologías o grapas independientes para algún personaje o evento en concreto y nos tiramos de lleno a una nueva trama que parece que busca abarcar todo este universo y cronología. Aunque este inicio ha sido algo confuso con el elemento de la esfera negra aparentemente fuera del tiempo y a lo largo de varias décadas. Pero entre medias se nos ha presentado a un personaje que parece sacado de la Astro City de Kurt. Desde luego no me esperaba ver a un tour turístico de la "ciudad de los superhéroes" y que estoy deseando conocer más y saber su participación en el evento.

Desde luego que confío en que ya en el próximo número esté totalmente implicade en esta historia. El ansia (y temor porque quizás esto no termine recopilándose en un mismo tomo o TPB) me ha hecho subirme a la publicación en grapa.

[Daniel Klinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing, but it has potential.

I was really excited to try this out. I love a lot of stories by Busier, Marvels related stories, and I love the cover art by Ross. The jumping around in time approach didn't work for me here. I tend to wait until runs like this are in trade paperback form to read them and I should have taken that approach here I think. Nothing about this story grabbed my attention or compelled me to get the next issue by the story's own merit. I'm solely continuing the series based on good faith.

Marvels related stories always appealed to me because of the humanity and deep dive into the main characters. Many of Busiek's stories I like have that same feel. This first issue gave no time to get to know anyone in a significant way. The blurb at the end of this issue gave me a little faith to continue the run, promising deeper looks into characters.

[Rangga Sukmawijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, nomor pertama selalu membingungkan dalam soal cerita. Seperti biasa, kita harus menunggu untuk bisa mengerti secara keseluruhan. Kalau menurut saya, komik ini "berani" karena selain melibatkan banyak tokoh superhero (maksud saya, benar-benar banyak, dan bahkan ada yang benar-benar asing buat saya seperti misalnya Kevin Schumer) juga melibatkan beberapa masa yang berbeda. Khusus untuk "masa sekarang" saya kira cukup masuk akal: teknologi dan perilaku sosialnya cukup mewakili. Jadi, kita tunggu nomor-nomor selanjutnya.

[Rob S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this. A lot. Busiek is a master. One of the all time modern comic book, superhero greats with iconic runs on Iron Man, The Avengers, and others. But this... feels "less than." Too much story. Too few pages. Like SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY. Also, I didn't care for Cinar's pencils or Isanove's colors.

MARVELS caught lightning in a bottle. Groundbreaking. Trying to catch it again is impossible.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the biggest draws for Marvels (the OG) was that Alex Ross art, storywise, it excels when it focuses on the non-supe characters reacting to the superheroes/villains around. This is a super ambitious project, but..... uh.... we'll see :)

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

[Jim Stout]

Off to a great start!

Oh, Kurt Busiak: Here you go, again! Time, space, people, actions, decisions, connection & disconnection, super-powered Wow Factor. Binge at its best!