Marvel Legacy #1

By Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic, Steve McNiven, Matthew Wilson, Chris Samnee, Russell Dauterman, Alex Maleev, Ed McGuinness, Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Pep Larraz, Jim Cheung, Daniel Acuna, Greg Lund, Jay Leisten, Mike Deodato Jr., David Marquez and VC’s Cory Petit

Fans have been disappointed with what Marvel has been putting out for a while now. This shouldn’t come as a shocker as DC has been getting tons of praise and sales for their mini-relaunch Rebirth. Perhaps one of the more anticipated books from Marvel is their own Rebirth-styled relaunch book, Marvel Legacy #1. There is some hope on the horizon that this will be a turning point for Marvel and it will get fans excited about their line again. There is no guarantee that fans will buy into this, but it shows Marvel has heard the complaints and are at least attempting to fix the problems and make fans happy again.

Without a doubt, one of the best writers at Marvel right now is Jason Aaron. It makes sense that he was tapped to write their most important issue in a very long time. There are many different stories going on this issue, but one that stood out as the most interesting was the interaction between Starbrand and Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider. These characters never interact and it was great to see them throw down. While some parts were not as interesting as their sequence (the panels with Loki and the frost giants was kind of meh) they still served a purpose in the book. There are some characters that are returning that should excite fans, which is never a bad thing. Aaron also gives readers a little bit more story and information on the “BC Avengers”, which seems like a cool concept. The best thing about this issue is the seeds that it plants for the Marvel Universe moving forward. There is enough here to at least pique readers interest for the next Marvel launch.

Here is where things get tricky; due to how massive this issue is, Esad Ribic, Steve McNiven, and colorist Matthew Wilson are helped by a dozen other artists. Ribic’s work looks great during his panels of the BC Avengers. Seeing a giant celestial about to fight the heroes looks wonderful on the page. Jim Cheung draws a page of Thing and Johnny Storm that looks great. There is a lot of good shading, credit to the inking, and this is a strong page that gives readers hope. Daniel Acuna’s work really shines this issue too as he draws and colors a star system. His colors work really well for intergalactic settings that it’s surprising that he doesn’t do it more often. Wilson’s colors this issue are very good as well. The fight scenes between Ghost Rider and Starbrand are colored well, whether it’s the bright yellow and orange flame coming off of Ghost Rider or the glowing pink on Starbrand’s chest, these pages look great. A mention should also be made of the page with Captain America. The colors here, and the scene in general is very simple and reminiscent of a Normal Rockwell painting.

Marvel Legacy #1 doesn’t fix everything that’s wrong with the Marvel Universe, but it is a step in the right direction. This issue shows that Marvel is trying to correct some of the mistakes they made and are putting an effort into getting their fans back. Jason Aaron did an excellent job splitting the book up and giving us a little bit of each storyline to keep us involved. The art is amazing. Even though there are several different artists, they all seem to work well together and their different style never takes you out of the book. The Legacy is starting to take hold and so far it’s great!