Happy New Year, Marvel fans! The Marvel Rundown is back with reviews of the latest Marvel books. This week, the spotlight is on the anthology series Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #4. We also take a look at Marvel Rivals: The Cities of Heaven #1.
Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #4
Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #4Writers: Mark Waid, Anthony Oliveira, and Victor LaValle
Artists: Jorge Fornés, Javier Pulido, Bruno Büll de Oliveira, and Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Luke Ross
Marvel has been steadily pumping out these black white and red/blood anthology books for quite a while now with little fanfare. It’s easy for these kinds of collections, a mix of big names and newcomers telling one-off short stories, to get lost in the shuffle of big events and constant relaunches. The company itself doesn’t do a whole lot to spotlight their release, despite the high caliber of creators who stop by and play, in this issue in particular. That’s a shame, because these are rare chances for the writers and artists to put an authentic creative stamp on Marvel characters. Let’s run down the creative teams for these three horror-tinged short stories. The writers are Mark Waid, Anthony Oliveira, and Victor Lavalle. On art duties we’ve got Jorge Fornés, Javier Pulido, and Bruno Büll de Oliveira (with color assists by Rachelle Rosenberg) respectively. VC’s Joe Sabino letters each of the three stories here.
Story one is a spotlight on Dr. Strange by Waid and Fornés that highlights the vanity and ego that caused the accident that led to Strange’s pursuit of magic, and the way those sins of his youth constantly haunts him. It’s a solid little morality play that is elevated by the incredible work by Fornés. There is some interesting panel arrangement but the standout is how he plays with the contrast between the gray tones and the color red to embody Strange’s magic and the punishment for his hubris. Fittingly, his Strange is visually inspired by Vincent Price, which gives the Sorcerer Supreme and his dark mirror a level of visual menace. The figure work and emotion are superb, and the way Fornés knows when to pile on the detail and let the panels breathe in their empty space is really impressive.
The second story is a brief vampire tale with a hint of the heroic vampire Blade. It is a short, melancholy story about a boy in a monastery where the monks have all become vampires. When the boy encounters a werewolf, they also cross paths with Blade, and the question is raised of what makes a monster. The highlight here is Javier Pulido’s minimalist approach to the visuals and the play between silhouette and negative space. The inclusion of red serves as a tragic mark of the damned. The effect is almost like papercraft or a shadow play and it makes this tale of vampires feel like a scary story told over a campfire.
The final story is a classic Defenders adventure set in the middle of the original series on New Year’s Eve, 1979. LaValle tells a solid straightforward superhero story in just a few pages and embraces the weirdness of that Defenders era with a demon mouth egging on the city to “do your worst.” It puts the ragtag group of heroes against one another, which gives Büll some fun scenes to draw. The visuals don’t do much to play with the conceit; this is pretty much just a superhero team up. But it is well done and there’s some cool and gross imagery here with the creature.
Anthologies like this by their very nature can be hit or miss but this issue is a strong showing without any particularly weak links. Waid and Fornés’s Dr. Strange short is my favorite of the bunch but you can’t go wrong here. These Black White and Red titles have been a quietly solid series of books that give readers a chance to sample many different creative takes and corners of the Marvel U. If only the whole line had that kind of creator-first sentiment.
VERDICT: BUY
The Rapid Rundown
- Marvel Rivals: The Cities of Heaven #1
- Marvel Rivals continues its foray into comics with Marvel Rivals The Cities of Heaven, written by Paul Allor and illustrated by Michael Shelfer & Eric Gapstur. It’s an absolute whirlwind of an issue that decides to put all its focus on Luna Snow as she attempts to reach The Chi Hive for her performance. Along the way, she runs into every Marvel Rivals character as they engage in a much more interesting plot off-screen. Look, I like Luna Snow…probably as much as the next guy? But when next to some of the more interesting renditions of these characters, like the Hell-infused Daredevil, it is hard not to be disappointed that the entire issue revolves around her. There are some great comedic chops in this, and as far as one-shots go, it is a fine enough story for those who are only familiar with Marvel Rivals to engage with he comic medium. However, for fans of these characters, the world, and their different interpretations, this issue isn’t offering much to be fond of. It’s clear Paul Allor has a fondness for Luna Snow’s pop-star personality, and the artists Shelfer & Gapstur do a great job of capturing all of the Rivals’ characters’ unique looks, but for me, I wasn’t a fan of this read. Maybe in some other issue, I can find a great battle between the Hulk and Angela.
Marvel Rivals: The Cities of Heaven #1
Can’t wait for next week’s books? Catch up with past editions of the Rundown!
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