Secret Wars #1

By Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina

It’s funny that the two big comic companies seem to be doing a similar event at the same time. DC’s Convergence has been met with some rough reviews, but this week we get a glimpse at Marvel’s take at condensing their worlds in Secret Wars #1. This is what Jonathan Hickman has been building to for a long time and the payoff has to be worth the wait.

From a fanboy standpoint, this was an awesome issue. Jonathan Hickman gets us rolling right away and from front to back this issue doesn’t slow down. Hickman lets it be known that the stakes are high as several beloved characters are killed off. This issue evokes every sort emotion out of a reader as we see old friends die next to each other and we also see people get saved by Manifold in the nick of time. There is a certain adrenaline that rushes through you as you go from panel to panel. Hickman has been building this for years so we are able to go from zero to sixty in a few pages. As far as first issues of a mini series go, this one was absolutely awesome.

The pencils this issue were handled by Esad Ribic with colors by Ive Svorcina. How do you draw the end of the world? If you’re Esad Ribic, the answer is beautifully. The art in this issue is just wonderful. Panels of an all out brawl may never have looked this good. Colossus throws the Hulk in a fast ball special and Ribic draws it as awesome as it sounds. The panels of Manifold rescuing random heroes is handled well, and Cyclops’ bonding with the Phoenix egg is a great visual too. You really can’t say enough about the pencils in this book. The colors by Ive Svorcina really compliment what Ribic does with his pencils. There is no doubt that this will be one of the finest books you look at this year on the art side.

This is how an event should start. Hickman blew the gates off of this issue and laid down the bar for every event issue in the future. Great writing mixed with great art and even better build up makes Secret Wars a can’t miss read!