Thursday, June 4, 2015

Secret Wars #3 (of 8)

   After a solid start for the Secret War series, this issue finally brings us some solid answers about the origins of Battleworld.

   Why is Dr. Doom in charge (and apparently a god)? Why is Dr. Strange his second-in-command? How long has Battleworld been around? What happened to the heroes and villains who tried to escape the final destruction of Earth-616 and the Ultimate Earth (1610)? And where is Reed Richards?

   The key to managing a series loaded with mysteries is to cut the readers some slack and actually give them some info to chew on (it's one of the things the Lost TV show did brilliantly through most of its run).

   Not to worry - there are still loads of mysteries to be unraveled.

   I admit, I'm not reading most of the spin-off series - but this comic is so well written and so strongly realized, I don't feel like I'm missing anything (though obviously I am).

   The art by Esad Ribic and the writing by Jonathan Hickman is terrific - and the sheer magnitude of creating what is, for all intents and purposes, an all-new Marvel Universe, is simply stunning in its complexity.

    An impressive accomplishment, and we aren't even half-way through yet!

   The slam on the original Secret Wars maxi-series was that the story was simplistic. You'll find no such complaints here.

Grade: A

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2 comments:

Kevin Findley said...

Ahhhhhh!!!!

A couple more positive reviews and Chuck may have me reading Marvel Comics again.

I'm going to have to take out a mortgage on the neighbor's house.

Chuck said...

Ha! That' comics for you - "Everytime I try to get out, they pull me back in."