If you like the ever blue eyed Thing punching things over and over again, then Marvel All-On-One #1 will probably be your favorite comic ever. Ryan North, Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, and Marco Menyz tell a glorious story of clobbering and ass kicking using only single or double page splash pages. It’s like a less depressing Superman #75 for the old heads out there and is a worthy showcase of McGuinness’ powerful art and ability to tell stories through singular images because this isn’t just a collection of pinups, it’s truly sequential storytelling. There’s a throughline to each one on one or group fight from the initial encounter with his teammates on the Fantastic Four to wrecking Iron Man’s tech and even elemental battles with Storm and Phoenix.

Marvel All-On-One #1 is definitely a red carpet for Ed McGuinness and his inker Farmer to flex their superhero fight muscles, but North’s script adds humor, a touch of psychological depth, and a jab at how damn complicated some of these alternate universe stories are. Instead of going grimdark and having Ben Grimm or the rest of the Marvel Universe turn evil, he makes all of the Thing’s opponents robot setting up him as the last remaining human in a world consumed by the machines. So, the gloves are off, and the Thing can cut loose without worrying about collateral damage or bystanders. 90% of this book is mindless violence, but the other 10% probes the depths of why Ben Grimm goes straight to clobbering instead of being curious about the world around him. He actual has a full character arc in this book and learns and grows as well as taking down big-time Marvel superheroes in clever ways.

Other than Ben Grimm’s journey of self-discovery through pugilism, my big takeaway from Marvel All-On-One and its hopefully wholesome discourse-inducing draw is the memorable imagery from Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, and colorist Menyz, who hits a nice balance between flat colors and modern digital work. (I adore his take on Phoenix, and his Hulk is so green!) I feel like everyone will have their favorite specific page or splash in this book whether it’s a big group splash page or the Thing ripping the Vision apart while quipping about how he’s more robotic than usual. (They really need to release a tear-out poster version of this comic.) It’s not punch, punch, clobber, clobber, but McGuinness and Farmer mix up the angles they use and even throw in wrinkles like the Thing using elements in his environment and his underrated noggin to dispatch his foes. Finally, no spoilers, but the last couple pages of the battle royale are jaw dropping, and I will probably tell everyone I know about them for the next six months.

Marvel All-On-One is big, ornery, and lovable comic showing Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew at his finest. Ryan North’s cleverness and Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, and Marco Menyz’s brawn are amatch made in comic book heaven, kind of like Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters. If you’re a fan of punching, grumpiness, crash outs, and hate clankers, then this will be a great treat for you.

Story: Ryan North Pencils: Ed McGuinness
Inks: Mark Farmer Colors: Marco Menyz Letters: Joe Caramagna
Story: 9.0 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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