It’s Wednesday true believers and that means it’s time for another edition of Marvel Rundown. Once again, The Beat’s team of writers take a look at this week’s release of Marvel books. Our main review takes a look at another future set Marvel story with Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. Additionally our Rapid Rundown this week looks at Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Immortal Thor, and X-Men!
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Art by Steve McNivenDaredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1
Writer: Charles Soule
Co-writer/Artist: Steve McNiven
Letterer: vc’s Claytown Cowles
A couple of years ago and a total blip in comics social media “controversy”, folks on the internet got mad at artist Steve McNiven. McNiven posted some Wolverine as Weapon X art capturing the look of Barry Windsor-Smith, the legendary writer and artist behind that legendary story. Some folks for some reason became upset McNiven drew in Windsor-Smith’s style, accusing him of ripping him off. However, anyone actually looking at those images understood that one, McNiven clearly paid homage to one of comic’s great artists while still being clearly his work, and two, dear lord, who knew Steve McNiven could draw like Barry Windsor-Smith?
Since that time, McNiven continued this exploration of style. He did a story in a Conan one shot fully going for the look of Windsor-Smith Conan story. He did a run of covers on Moon Knight paying homage to various 90s artists like Todd McFarlane, Jae Lee, and of course, Stephen Platt. Seeing McNiven go from the hyperrealist he was on a book like Civil War to the stylistic mimic he’s been recently is an exciting development the artist. Seeing him get lost while exploring other artists work while it’s recognizably him is a remarkable feet.
Art by Steve McNivenWhich brings us to Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell a book that McNiven performs full artistic duties on and co-wrote with former Darvdevil scribe Charles Soule. Surprising no one, this is clearly McNiven’s homage to Frank Miller. Yes this can be read as the Daredevil equivalent of Miller’s landmark Batman tale The Dark Knight Returns. A powerless Matt Murdock runs a soup kitchen and refugee shelter. Kingpin is dead. There’s been a massive war that’s torn apart New York. The heroes are nowhere to be seen.
This is though, as are McNiven’s other visual homages, a love letter to a creator that clearly means a great deal to him. Like that landmark work, Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell works as a showcase for the artist’s considerable skills. The back matter helpfully informs writer Soule and McNiven decided on going full Marvel method for this book. It’s rare among superhero books, especially at Marvel, for a writer to give his artistic and storytelling collaborator full artistic freedom. That Soule is generous enough and trusts McNiven to deliver the goods says a lot about them as collaborators.
Art by Steve McNivenSo McNiven embraces some of Miller’s storytelling ticks here. He uses the flexibility a sixteen panel page layout gives him. He knows when to get crazy (there are some truly impressive action sequences in this), become quieter (the somber opening pages), and when to go for maximum impact. The sensory overload he communicates visually (aided beautifully by Clayton Cowles’ lettering) when Matt Murdock regains his powers is phenomenal. There’s a command of layout and storytelling here that other Marvel artists really should study.
Art by Steve McNivenDaredevil: Cold Day in Hell features possibly the finest visuals of Steve McNiven’s career. While Dean White will handle colors for the next two issues, McNiven handles all artistic duties here. There’s some extraordinary character acting in this book from Matt Murdock’s frail movements in the opening pages to the way he has the character bounce around the page once they gets their powers back. It is a little surprising that he doesn’t try to emulate Miller’s first Daredevil run in collaboration inker Klaus Janson. That beautiful inking, a mixture of delicate feather weight lines, thick brush strokes, and blotchy negative spaces, doesn’t fit with the story he’s telling in this opening issue at least until that last page. Instead he goes for visuals more inspired by two other Miller works; the European ligne claire meets Japanese slash burn lines of Ronin and Lynn Varley’s exquisite color palettes on Elektra Lives Again. What results is one of the most visually striking and confident looking comics Marvel has released in ages.
Art by Steve McNivenDaredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1 is absolutely an artist showcase for Steve McNiven. While Marvel has certainly done several alternative future books for their over the last few years, this certainly ranks as one of the best or at least most memorable. This might possibly be the best work of his career. If there’s any case to be made that the company should go back to the old Marvel Method with trusted artists, let it be this.
Verdict: BUY
Rapid Rundown!
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32
- Miles going to Wakanda to find a cure for his vampirism and coming back as the avatar of the Spider-God Anansi was not on my bingo card, but I couldn’t be more happy with the direction that writer Cody Ziglar has taken with our young web-slinger. Bit by bit, Ziglar has moved Miles further away from that other guy’s orbit, with his problems, supporting cast, rogues gallery, and relationship with how he moves in the greater Marvel Universe. And now, in this new God War arc, Miles has found himself in the middle of a war older than human civilization, as the Olympian war god Ares has come for Anansi. Ares has empowered two individuals to join him in his war on Anansi and his avatar, but not to be outdone, Anansi has spun his web of tales to bring godly Avengers Thor and Hercules to the aid of his avatar. With artwork that seems more like a high-speed animation cell, artist Marco Renna and color artist Bryan Valenza’s bright color palette pops off the page and radiates an energy that finds a way to feel young and edgy like our young hero as Team Anansi and Team Ares square off. – GC3
- Miles going to Wakanda to find a cure for his vampirism and coming back as the avatar of the Spider-God Anansi was not on my bingo card, but I couldn’t be more happy with the direction that writer Cody Ziglar has taken with our young web-slinger. Bit by bit, Ziglar has moved Miles further away from that other guy’s orbit, with his problems, supporting cast, rogues gallery, and relationship with how he moves in the greater Marvel Universe. And now, in this new God War arc, Miles has found himself in the middle of a war older than human civilization, as the Olympian war god Ares has come for Anansi. Ares has empowered two individuals to join him in his war on Anansi and his avatar, but not to be outdone, Anansi has spun his web of tales to bring godly Avengers Thor and Hercules to the aid of his avatar. With artwork that seems more like a high-speed animation cell, artist Marco Renna and color artist Bryan Valenza’s bright color palette pops off the page and radiates an energy that finds a way to feel young and edgy like our young hero as Team Anansi and Team Ares square off. – GC3
- Immortal Thor #22
- After a hot start, I have been slowly cooling on Immortal Thor, writer Al Ewing’s ongoing Marvel epic. The book lost steam following the departure of its original artist. Jan Bazaldua, who took over as series artist, is not bad but the scratchy style and chunky faces don’t quite suit the tone of Ewing’s grandiose words. Still, the thrust of the story has been engaging, especially the last two issues as Ewing enters his endgame. Issue 22 is a fun, interactive tale that invites the reader to play along and get lost in the endless back and forth that Thor and his companions find themselves trapped within. It took a little bit for me to get my head around the storytelling gimmick central to the issue’s premise but once I did I found myself constantly flipping back and forth, frustrated with my fate but not wanting to cheat my way out. The gimmick is certainly just that–but it is an entertaining one, and it hammers home the motif of the endless cycle, the wheel of life and death, at the center of Ewing’s entire run. It makes us feel the frustration and desperation that Thor is caught up in. Bazaldua’s art is serviceable– clean and readable. The highlight is how she renders the M.C. Escher style backgrounds of endless staircases and labyrinthine claustrophobia. Matt Hollingsworth does the colors and they’re a sickly, faded green that saps the life out of the page as the characters step between something like life and death. Joe Sabino‘s lettering is key to holding the different narrative throughlines together. It’s fun to see how the writer and artists pull the individual pages together while inviting us into the larger story. Ewing has been playing with the boundaries between the storyteller and those being told the story, and the meaning that is made in between that interplay, from the start and this issue brings that to a head. Superstar artist on his side or not, one should never bet against the superhero comics chops of Al Ewing. Immortal Thor has found its voice again. – TR
- X-Men #14
- X-manhunt is over and the team is fine. So fine in fact that there’s little mention of the recent crossover that promised to change everything for the X-Men. That’s odd. It’s almost like the crossover was rushed up in order to fit Hickman’s plans for Imperial. Anyway, X-Men #14 is the next chapter in the overall 3K arc that writer Jed MacKay has been building up since the launch of the series. It also features the return of the series primary penciler Ryan Stegman. This issue FEELS like it is setting up something big. The issue starts with a search for Piper Cobb, who has gone missing into the Alaskan wilderness. However, it quickly becomes apparent that something is afoot as 3K makes their move on the X-men. MacKay’s writing here rises to the occasion. It’s starting to feel like there’s some real payoff to the plot threads that have been laid out to this point. It is great to see Stegman back on the book but it has moments of rigidity in the character models, namely in Cyclops. This could come from the fact that Stegman isn’t the only one Inking the issue. He is joined by JP Mayer who does a fine enough job, but the two inkers give the book a bit more of a chunkier look. The layouts and action is still well composed and it looks great. Just not as good as I come to expect from Stegman. It should also be noted that this issue also introduces us to the new X-villain, Wyre. So, uh, Key Issue alert. His design is interesting, and while the scene is intended to be a big splashy show it was undercut by the fact that he looks just like Sabertooth with more junk on him. It kind of undercuts the power of the reveal. Who knows, maybe we are bringing back the Sabertooth clones? Either way, X-Men #14 is a solid start to a new arc that promises a pay off to this 3K arc. I recommend checking it out, especially for X-men Fans. -JJ
Come back next week for more reviews or go through our archives to read past reviews from the Rundown team!
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