(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Jacen Burrows (CA) James Stokoe Parental Advisory In Shops: Dec 09, 2020 SRP: $4.99
BLOODSHED ON NOVA THULIUM! • The young TACITAN takes drastic action as the secret hidden on Nova Thulium’s moon comes to light! • In the 41st millennium, heretics invade the homeworld of MARNEUS CALGAR – and only he and his ULTRAMARINES can stop them! • But will Calgar’s perilous battle plan save the Imperium or doom it to the corruption of chaos?
It’s rare where I get to a moment in a comic and make an exclamation out loud. Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #2 delivers a “holy shit” moment that’s sure to send shockwaves through the Warhammer 40,000 fandom. It’s an unexpected reveal that changes everything we know about a character.
Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #2is based on the tabletop miniature game by Games Workshop.It follows Marneus Calgar during his “modern day” battle against the evil forces of Chaos Space Marines. It also has the character reflecting on his childhood and how he became a Space Marine. It’s an exploration of a time we know little about the character. In the game, his recounted exploits are his time as a Space Marine and the numerous heroic moments he participated in as he climbed up the leadership to be the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines.
Gillen fleshes out the history of Calgar as he is trained by Crixus before he undergoes his tests to maybe become a Space Marine. As a young man, not even a teenager, he’s put through battles and training that risks his life. He’s joined by three friends and numerous strangers who come and go in their training. It’s a perilous journey and we see the nobility of the young man as he keeps his eyes on the goal of becoming a Space Marine. In every scene, at every move, there’s a chance of death or injury. We read to see what carnage awaits him in his training and how the character takes his first steps into legend.
And then Gillen delivers a twist that’s unexpected in every way… One I’m not spoiling.
Jacen Burrows‘ art has grown on me. Joined by Java Tartaglia on color and Clayton Cowles on lettering, the art is pretty solid when it comes to the past. The Chaos Space Marines are still lacking in their menace but overall the art feels a bit tighter and improved on the first issue. While it’s still not the grim dark of classic Games Workshop art, it also delivers just enough to fit as a Marvel comic. There’s some fantastic panels though that are sure to inspired model makers in recreating scenes or poses of characters. The past sequences do stand out though as Burrows seems to be a bit more comfortable winging it with a time and world that’s not as based on design and art we’ve seen over and over. The coloring too is a bit darker fitting the “mood” of Warhammer 40K a bit more.
Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #2 delivers one hell of an ending. I gasped out loud and immediately had to check to make sure this reveal was brand new. It completely upends so much of what we know making Marneus Calgar much more than Captain America in Power Armor. This is a second issue that completely outdoes its debut and should create a hell of a lot of buzz.
When it comes to “grim dark,” Marvel and Disney are two companies I don’t associate it with. The partnership between Games Workshop and Marvel for comics based on GW’s popular tabletop games might seem odd. When thinking of other recent acquisitions by Marvel, like Conan, Aliens, and Predator, it doesn’t seem odd at all. There might be a broader plan by the House of Mouse and its comic crown jewel. And after reading Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #1, any apprehension is out the window.
Kieron Gillen handles the duties as scribe for this debut series. The comic centers on Marneus Calgar, the hero of the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter. For those who might not know their grim dark from their dark grim or Space Marine from Ork, Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #1 serves as a decent introduction to the world crafted by Games Workshop.
For those unfamiliar, Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature game that was first published in 1987. It recently launched its 9th edition and is a combination game and model kit hobby. You buy units to build your army. Those units you put together, they’re mostly plastic model kits, arming them as structured by the rules. And if that hobby aspect wasn’t enough, you can paint them up. The game features numerous futuristic armies with the forces of the Imperium of Man taking up the main focus. Mankind is ruled by an immobile Emperor who sits on a Golden Throne and the Imperium has taken over 1000s of worlds across the universe. Their rule is fascist, brutal, and undemocratic. As with expansion such as this, threats exist from all over, both from outside aliens and heretics within.
Gillen has the (un)enviable task of explaining the above to new readers. But, the comic also needs to deliver something new and interesting for long time fans. With over 30 years of material to work from, the comic gives an interesting focused start. Marneus Calgar takes center stage as Gillen has the character reflect on his origin while dealing with modern-day threats. Calgar, for those who might not know, is the Chapter Master for the Ultramarines. That Space Marine chapter is the pride of the Imperium. Many consider them “boy scouts” of the Warhammer 40k world. They’re generally the “default” Space Marine army for Games Workshop featured with releases such as the most recent 9th edition. They follow the rules and are unwavering in their support of the Imperium leading the way.
What’s interesting about the choice is that the comic gives us a well-known character as opposed to a generic marine by which we can explore this new world. It also seems to ignore the current focus of the games on the “Indomitus Crusade”. That battlefront is the current storyline featuring in Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition and some of the books released around it.
The direction of the generic Space Marine has been done before in previous comics published by GW’s Black Library or Titan Comics. What the comic does is reveal the unknown history of Calgar a character who has had a lot of focus throughout GW’s 30+ years with this game. That focus has been on Calgar’s heroics on the battlefield, not what he was like as a kid. The comic gives readers a champion to focus on. In Calgar we get a mythic leader that’s a certain archetype and familiar. It’s a way to ease new readers into the world with something familiar and deliver something new to long-time fans.
And Gillen knows his stuff. As a fan of the game himself, the comic does a solid job of organically introducing the world and concepts of Warhammer 40,000 without being overwhelming. We learn what it takes to be a Space Marine and how difficult it is. We get a sense of the world as a whole. And Gillen nails dialogue that’d seem silly in any other situation.
What’s a bit hit and miss for me is Jacen Burrows‘ art. With color by Java Tartaglia the art doesn’t quite nail the “grim dark” aspect and there’s a slight inconsistency about it. It’s not bad at all, don’t get me wrong but there’s things at times that feel a little cartoonish. This is primarily at the end and I don’t want to spoil it but the design of some characters could be a bit more menacing.
Now, GW has been slowly moving away from their more over the top imagery (some of it would make the comic “adult”). But, there’s still can be a horror aspect about what’s currently produced. And the art GW produces can be jaw-droppingly amazing. But, when a painted miniature Ambull or the art GW has produced feels a bit scarier than what’s in the comic, there’s a slight disconnect in styles. This is definitely a more personal opinion, Burrow and Tartaglia do a solid job, but there feels like there’s a little bit held back. What does work is the detail from GW’s established world that the two nail. There’s weapons, ships, the characters themselves, look fantastic. But, a great example of where things don’t quite click is the flashback as the teacher Crixus looks a bit more gritty than young Calgar, his friends, or the Ambull.
The lettering by Clayton Cowles deserves a shoutout. There’s a lot of subtle changes to the lettering that add flavor to the comic. There’s the normal dialogue from Marneus and his Space Marines but then the lettering shifts with the Adeptus Mechanicus. It really nails down that these are human/cyborg type hybrids and emphasizes their mechanical nature. Then there’s the secret villain at the end who also has different lettering as well and there are spotlights on info about the world that also uses a different font. It’s all subtle but really works at sucking you into the world.
I went into Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #1 nervous. The cover art didn’t really give me the most confidence and the fact that Marvel has publishing compounded that feeling. But, from the first page which does some anthropomorphism to a bullet round which then explodes its target, that nervousness was settled. While it doesn’t go neck-deep in the grim dark, it does go waist to chest-deep.
As a long time player who has gone deep into game rulebooks and elsewhere I was quite happy with Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #1. The comic had more than enough new to me and feels like it’d be a solid introduction for those new to the world. There’s a lot packed in and done so in a way that’s not overwhelming and natural. This is one that’s solid sci-fi military action with a bit more depth and thought than we’ve seen from previous volumes.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Red Goblin collects the end of writer Dan Slott‘s run on Spider-Man and features the showdown between Spider-Man and Red Goblin!
The collection features Amazing Spider-Man #794-801
Story: Dan Slott, Christos Gage Art: Stuart Immonen, Mike Hawthorne, Nick Bradshaw, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Marcos Martin Ink: Wade Von Grawbadger, Terry Pallot, Cam Smith, Nick Bradshaw, Victor Olazaba, Cam Smith, Marcos Martin Color: Marte Gracia, Erick Arciniega, Edgar Delgado, Java Tartaglia, Muntsa Vincente Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Get your copy in comic shops now and book stores on November 12! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Carnage is hunting down everyone who wore a symbiote in “Absolute Carnage.” What about the person who wore the “black suit” briefly before Peter Parker got it? Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man is his story.
Story: Peter David Art: Francesco Mobili Color: Java Tartaglia, Rain Beredo Letterer: Travis Lanham
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #99 & 100 pages by Al Milgrom, Herb Trimpe, Jim Mooney, Geof Isherwood, Bob Sharen, A. Kaotic, Joe Rosen, and Diana Albers.
Get your copy in comic shops! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the
In what is probably a law of averages/regression to the mean situation, a decent issue of War of the Realms happened as Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Matthew Wilson stopped crafting trailers for tie-in issues (For the most part.) and turned in a damn good Odin and Freyja story. Throughout his run on Thor, Aaron has done a fantastic job creating character journeys for Odinson’s supporting cast and rekindles some of that old magic as Iron-Odin and Freyja go all Thermopylae against the Dark Elves. As far as tie-ins, we’ve got two hits and a (near) miss. Inconsistent art and directionless plotting squander the amazing cast that Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum, Kim Jacinto, and Ario Anindito have been gifted with in War Avengers while Spider-Man and the League of the Realms and Giant-Man are basically throwing shit at the wall to see if it sticks. And it does thanks to Nico Leon’s clean art, Sean Ryan’s heroic writing of Spidey, and Leah Williams’ wonderful wit.
War of the Realms #4
Freyja has been a complete and utter badass during the course of the “War of the Realms” event leading the charge as all her male relatives are Frost Giant food or injured. With the foresight that comes from her background as a Vanir goddess, she can both ward off hordes of Dark Elves and coordinate the Avengers recruiting surviving members of other realms to make a last stand on Midgard. Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson channel Jack Kirby a little bit when showing her action using Kirby krackle and squiggly lines to demonstrate her magical powers and a black and pink palette that intensifies into red once her situation gets more dire.
And speaking of dire, this is what motivates an injured Odin to jump into battle. He truly cares about his wife and is angry that Ghost Rider, She-Hulk, Blade, and Punisher left her by herself at the Black Bifrost. He is very pissed off, and not even Captain America’s good wishes can calm him down. Luckily, Tony Stark has forged him an incredibly cool, golden suit of armor in one of the series’ most badass moments. Aaron also does an excellent job writing a bickering couple even sneaking in a joke about how Odin isn’t great in bed as they reach their end. Over the course of four issues, he and Dauterman have taken almost everyone away from Thor, and he is ready to be a hero with his axe, hammer, metal arm, and interruption of Jane Foster. This arc for Thor is very in line with his recent characterization in the Marvel movies, and I’m curious how many of these “deaths” will actually hold up once the event is over.
War of the Realms #4 has bits that feel like trailers for other issues (She-Hulk’s motivational speech to the dwarves of Nidavellir is very funny though.), but Jason Aaron’s focus on Freyja and Odin’s characterization combined with Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson’s beautiful, yet tragic visuals of their final stand give the comic an Overall Verdict of Read.
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers #1
Writer Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum, artists Kim Jacinto and Ario Anindito, and colorists Java Tartaglia and Felipe Sobreiro’s War Avengers one-shot is set up back in War of the Realms #3 with Freyja sending a team led by Captain Marvel to coordinate the defense of Midgard. The members of this team are Deadpool, Sif, Weapon H (Hulk and Wolverine combined for some reason.), Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Captain Britain comes into help later. Hopeless understands the voices of these characters very well with inappropriately timed quips for Deadpool, a badass warrior vibe for Sif, strong military leadership from Carol, and simmering black ops chemistry between Natasha and Bucky that would make Ed Brubaker and Mark Waid smile. As the team heads to London to try to take out Malekith, he even writes one hell of a Union Jack, who quaffs a pint while waiting for the next wave of Dark Elves.
This previous paragraph made War Avengers #1 sound like a damn fine team comic, but it’s not. I know that deadlines are a thing and this issue is longer than usual Marvel ones, but Jacinto and Anindito’s art is very hit and miss and doesn’t really mesh. Some scenes are more cartoonish while others are stiffly rendered. This stiffness comes at awkward moments like an extended bit with Deadpool and a shark, or Black Widow and Winter Soldier doing a cool stealth mission to steal mechs from Frost Giants. But there are some good panels here and there like when Deadpool makes a joke about a scene of Natasha leaping from an explosion being a good movie poster for her. Sometimes, this comic does feel like Dennis Hallum unloading every joke he has for Deadpool at one go.
So, unlike the excellent Dark Elf Realm one-shot, Hallum doesn’t really have a focus after the Frost Giant heist mission and the failed attack on Malekith wrapping the comic up with some statements about war straight out of All Quiet on the Western Front’s Cliff Notes. With the exception of Venom’s capture, he doesn’t show the War Avengers being beaten back by Malekith and ends the issue with a Carol voiceover and setting up their next “mission”. This lack of conclusiveness plus inconsistent art earns War Avengers #1 an Overall Verdict of Pass even though I personally love this team lineup.
War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms #1
Sean Ryan, Nico Leon, and Carlos Lopez take one of the coolest concepts from Jason Aaron’s Thor run and craft a heartwarming, occasionally quirky heroic story in Spider-Man & the League of Realms#1. The story opens with Spider-Man driving a jeep to Lagos, Nigeria with a Light Elf, Dwarf, Mountain Giant, and Vanir god in tow. They’re trying to liberate Lagos from the Angels of Heven, who now rule the continent of Africa. The result is Spider-Man awkwardly trying to keep a team that has a couple killers at bay and looking out for regular people while angels rain down fire and fury from above.
What really makes this comic work is the clean lines of Nico Leon, which make the story fun and easy to follow even if you, like me, forgot half the names of the League of the Realms members. Leon works with colorist Carlos Lopez to highlight important parts of each panel like a gorgeous church in the background where Fernande, the Angel commander and a definite crusader type, has her headquarters. His Spider-Man is quite expressive, and he treats the mask like a face and not something static. Ryan gives him plenty of action to draw, but this comic has a pretty peaceful ending for a “War of the Realms” tie-in. It’s a done in one story and also has a cool cliffhanger plus Ryan creates tension between Spider-Man and the more violent members of his team that will probably lead to more conflict down the road.
Even though he’s in Lagos, not Queens, and is palling around with an Elf, Dwarf (I love me some Screwbeard.), god, troll, and not the Human Torch or Mary Jane, Spider-Man & the League of Realms #1 is still a great Spider-Man story. Spidey takes responsibility for every life he comes in contact with on his mission and truly lives up to Thor’s description of him as “the most Midgard of men”. Throw in Nico Leon’s artwork, and this comic earns an Overall Verdict of Buy.
Giant-Man #1
I would love to be a fly, er, ant on the wall when Leah Williams pitched Giant-Man #1 to Marvel. Basically, four size changing superheroes (Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, Raz Malhotra aka Giant-Man, Tom Foster aka Goliath, and Atlas) grow to their full height, disguise themselves as Frost Giants, and take a trip to Florida to whack Laufey’s Frost Giant buddy, Ymir. Freyja is channeling the power of “big boy season” to get revenge for Laufey eating her adopted son, Loki back in War of the Realms #1. Scott wants to go back to Florida to look for his daughter, Cassie, and Williams and artist Marco Castiello do a great job having him and Freyja connect over their love for their children. Their care also extends to Goliath, who struggles with powers and being in the shadow of his uncle Bill Foster as well as Raz, who is a cute wholesome soul that had a recent breakup with his boyfriend, and of course, Atlas, who is just happy to have a shot at heroism again and comes to the mission already in “giant” mode. At first, Goliath seems like the team asshole, but Williams and Castiello prod his vulnerabilities and insecurity and add layers to his character.
However,
for all its humor, general adventurous tone, and creative uses of size
changing, Giant-Man #1 has a few
flaws. There’s some Freyja dialogue at the beginning when she’s giving the
mission that needed to be copy edited, and once the team has their “disguises”
on, it’s sometimes hard to tell the characters apart except for Scott, who
wears a larger version of his Ant-Man helmet. There’s a real flying by the seat
of their pants quality to the characters’ interactions especially once they
reach the Frost Giant haven of Yeehaw, Florida, which is a fantastic name for
comedy purposes. The cast of Giant-Man has
similar powers, but no real bond with each other except for Scott and Raz, who
was trained by him in a previous comic. This is a definite liability for such
an important mission as this one, and shit almost immediately hits the fan and
doesn’t let up. Also, Frost Giant dogs make look cute, but they’re actually
pretty scary.
Leah Williams and Marco Castiello go full hog with the fun, weird side of “War of the Realms” in Giant-Man #1, which also features plenty of jokes (Including a very good dick one), three dimensional characters, and characters riding on each other’s shoulders and in pockets. One line of clunky dialogue and occasional art clarity issues aside, it gets an Overall Verdict of Buy.
This was one of the better “War of the Realms” weeks in recent memory with Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Matthew Wilson doing strong work with Thor and his family in the main title while Spider-Man and the League of the Realms and Giant-Man showed there’s room for traditional hero stories and wacky capers in this event. War Avengers was kind of a disappointment, but extended panel time for Captain Britain, Union Jack, Sif, and non-surveillance state Carol Danvers is a good time. I like how Dennis Hallum wrote these characters, and maybe we’ll get a spinoff with a better artist. I still don’t get the deal with Weapon H other than as a cash grab.
Panel of the Week
She-Hulk is available for all your company’s motivational speaking needs. (War of the Realms #4; Art by Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson)
Padmé Amidala is on a secret diplomatic mission in this one-shot comic from Jody Houser, Cory Smith, Wilton Santos, Walden Wong, Marc Deering, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham.
Get your copy in comic shops today! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Don’t know Doctor Aphra? One of the best additions to the Star Wars universe continues her misadventures in this trade which has her stuck on a penal colony. There’s twists, turns, and betrayals as only she can deliver!
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 4 The Catastrophe Con collects issues #20-25 by Si Spurrier, Kev Walker, Marc Deering, and Java Tartaglia.
Get your copy in comic shops and book stores now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Following the wishes of his master, Obi-Wan has taken on Anakin Skywalker as an apprentice. Will his mission alongside his young Padawan bring them closer together, or sow the seeds that will drive them apart? And who else is after the ancient holocron that they seek?
Star Wars: Age of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi is the latest release in Marvel’s series of one-shots exploring characters and time periods of the Star Wars universe. While each comic released so far is a fine read, none feature the excitement of the various ongoing series.
Writer Jody Houser takes us into the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin after Qui-Gon’s death. This is a comic focused on the master and student relationship and some of Obi-Wan’s failings as master. These are issues and doubts expressed at various points in the film and here we get a little more of that with some realizations about his role in everything. The action is quick and the search for a holocron pretty thin as far as its role. The point of the comic is to really send the two Jedi on an adventure and have them examine their relationship as student and teacher.
The art by Cory Smith and Wilton Santos, with ink by Walden Wong, color by Java Tartaglia, and lettering by Travis Lanham is good. The characters are recognizable and we’re given some unique aliens to deal with. Again, like the story, none of it is groundbreaking, it’s all very serviceable to the story and concept. Things aren’t helped by the fact the action is rather limited and locations not all that exciting.
While the concept of these one-shots is interesting, exploring characters from Star Wars over key time periods, so far what has been released hasn’t been exciting. None of it is bad, it’s just none of it has had anything new that has really shaken things up in an interesting way. They feel like deleted scenes from a film, scenes that while adding a little to the story aren’t vital to your enjoyment or provide any new insight into the world we’re exploring.
