Another world shaking event comes for the Marvel Universe in Queen in Black #1 by Al Ewing and Iban Coello and Zé Carlos, and the Beat is here to spotlight the venomous action. Stick around for the Rapid Rundown for thoughts on Doomquest #3, Rocket Raccoon’s 50th anniversary special, and one of the Queen in Black’s many tie-ins, Defenders of Light and Dark!
Queen in Black #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Artists: Iban Coello and Zé Carlos
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Ryan Stegman and Frank Martin
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: an intergalactic demigod with control over symbiotes is drawn to Earth, entangling Venom and the Marvel Universe in its twisted web of destruction that threatens all of creation. It’s another big Marvel Event courtesy of the Spider-Man editorial office, complete with a litany of tie-in issues.
It is astounding to me that Al Ewing, one of Marvel’s finest, most ambitious talents has spent multiple years now on a Venom series, quietly weaving in the background a new cosmology of creation while turning longtime Spider-Man supporting character and paramour Mary Jane Watson into a superhero. It’s frankly bizarre and seems a waste of Ewing’s time and talent, and an insult to his big ideas which deserve a better vehicle. Perhaps it is my own bias about the nature of the symbiotes and their place in Marvel’s publishing history but this is the writer of one of Marvel’s very best series of the 21st Century, Immortal Hulk. You’d think they would give him something with a higher cache. But they’ve been just as happy to derail and deprioritize his followup to that Hulk run, Immortal Thor, with a rotation of middling artists and renumbering kerfuffles that have sapped it of any of its hype or profile.
To his credit, or perhaps his own undoing, Ewing seems uninterested in taking this whole Queen in Black thing seriously right from the outset which features a dismissive recap by an exhausted Iron Man. This is a tongue in cheek event that feels a million miles from Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s ambitious if flawed King in Black, which sought to redefine Venom and Eddie Brock and very nearly succeeded in making him a compelling character in his own right for the first time. This whole first issue feels perfunctory, an exercise in doling out years of exposition to catch the Marvel Universe and potential new readers up on the complicated history of the symbiotes. Ewing’s attempt to make that entertaining is t to make the characters react in frustration and confusion about the tangled nature of it all. It’s an attempt to hang a lampshade on the necessary evils of corporate comics but it is not cute here, it’s just frustrating and robs the story of any potential drama. Ewing writes it all like a farce, and perhaps it is his intent, but it’s a bit insulting as a reader to be sold a comic as a big event and open up to a book that doesn’t really care about trying to convince you it’s worth reading. This is more Douglas Adams than Ray Bradbury, which has its place but this is not it. Do you want me to be excited and thrill at Beta Ray Bill with a big sword, or do you want me to laugh at it?
Perhaps even more frustrating is that the whole thing is dreadfully boring. Iban Coello and Ze Carlos draw expressive characters that look great and Guru-eFX adds beautiful depth of color but the issue is mostly just people standing around and spouting endless word balloons. Thank goodness for Clayton Cowles who manages to find a way to keep it from totally overwhelming the visuals, because even the action scenes are overwhelmed with dialogue. Tiresome quips, more expository backstory, explaining plots. The action scenes, which again, Coello and Carlos handle with flair, are just as inundated with word balloons. It feels like Ewing writing scared toward the least common denominator.
Even the scenes of wanton destruction feel weightless in how over the top they are. Symbiote bombs crash into the Sphinx in Egypt, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the House of Commons. But this is a Venom miniseries, it’s not going to shift the Marvel Universe, there’s a big (genuinely excellent) Avengers event going on at the same time! It is simply impossible to divorce this comic from its publishing context, and the general tenor with which Marvel churns through events. I wish I could find anything to recommend in this book but it is without charm or substance. Add on top of this that they are trying to juice sales on this with a blind bag gimmick? It is a dreadful thing of a superhero comic. I have loved so much of Al Ewing’s work and believe him to be one of the best writers in superhero comics, which makes this whole thing all the more disappointing.
VERDICT: SKIP
The Rapid Rundown!
Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1
- Spoiler Warning: The events of this book spin right out of the main Queen in Black book. While the bulk of Earth’s heroes defend against Hela, the new Queen in Black, and her army led by Tyr, the Norse God of War, Iron-Man and Cable assemble two squads of heroes, and this is the smart writing of the book that scribes Al Ewing & Tom Waltz give us. Led by Beta Ray Bill, a team of light-powered heroes takes the battle to Hela in near orbit, and another team of Dark force users led by Tony and Cable head to the edge of the solar system to take on the new God of Light, Knull. Artist Zé Carlos and color artist Fer Sifuentes-Sujo‘s layouts and storytelling are integral to the intense stakes of this event. As a fan of Cloak and Dagger, I love the resurgence they’ve had in the past few years, specifically their Cloak or Dagger mini during the last X-event. And with all the big guns in this book, to have them be PoV characters is a perfect representation, and my favorite bit of this battle against the Light and the Dark. With the nature of Marvel events being what they are, a book like this will probably be better read collected, but the shock value of the fights might make it worth a monthly read. – GC3
- Doomquest #3
- If Marvel Studio’s Avengers: Doomsday should result in only one good thing and it is this comic book, it will have been worth it. Ryan North has crafted a wickedly over the top time traveling adventure featuring Dr. Doom Quantum Leaping his way through history to gain power in the future. After escaping death on the Titanic in a Groundhog’s Day style time loop last issue, this time he has found his way into the body of George Washington. The result is a sweeping takeover of the US colonial army and the fall of the British empire. It’s wildly entertaining while also showcasing the depths of Doom’s cruelty and evil. Human life is meaningless to him—all that matters is Doom’s power. North’s script is elevated far beyond simple fun by the stunning artwork of Francesco Mobili who showcases incredible panel layouts as well as painterly realism that grants this story an air of serious groundedness. This comic is an instant classic Doom story, an all-timer in the making.
- Rocket Raccoon: Rocket Rewind
- This month Marvel celebrates one of its strangest and most endearingly snarky and cantankerous characters, everyone’s beloved cyborg space raccoon, Rocket! This oversized 50th anniversary celebration is a collection of short stories, including his original black and white, non canon first appearance as “Rocky Raccoon” by co-creators Bill Manto and Keith Giffen remixed with a fun metatextual framing story. Like most of these celebratory anniversary issues, this is light reading focused more on creating entertaining little adventure stories than really exploring the character. The opening story by Christos Gage and Todd Nauck is the issue’s weakest both from a narrative and artistic perspective. There’s nothing to it except a fight scene and the whole thing looks messy. The second story written by Mackenzie Cadenhead features great art by Enid Balam and a guns-blazing cat-and-mouse game against space pirate rabbit Bucky O’Hare. It’s a great time. But the most fun here is the unexpected crossover between Rocket and that original “Rocky.” story by J.M. Dematteis and Shawn McManus, which leans into the goofiness of both Mantlo and Giffen’s comics work. It’s a fine homage to the late creators. I wish there had been a little bit more to round out Rocket’s character or history here a bit beyond his surliness, and it would’ve been nice to see a story from at least one of the creators of his more recent comic adventures like Al Ewing or Skottie Young or even Abnett or Lanning. Still, it makes for a nice package to hand to a casual reader familiar with Rocket from the movies or cartoons.
Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1
This month Marvel celebrates one of its strangest and most endearingly snarky and cantankerous characters, everyone’s beloved cyborg space raccoon, Rocket! This oversized 50th anniversary celebration is a collection of short stories, including his original black and white, non canon first appearance as “Rocky Raccoon” by co-creators Bill Manto and Keith Giffen remixed with a fun metatextual framing story. Like most of these celebratory anniversary issues, this is light reading focused more on creating entertaining little adventure stories than really exploring the character. The opening story by Christos Gage and Todd Nauck is the issue’s weakest both from a narrative and artistic perspective. There’s nothing to it except a fight scene and the whole thing looks messy. The second story written by Mackenzie Cadenhead features great art by Enid Balam and a guns-blazing cat-and-mouse game against space pirate rabbit Bucky O’Hare. It’s a great time. But the most fun here is the unexpected crossover between Rocket and that original “Rocky.” story by J.M. Dematteis and Shawn McManus, which leans into the goofiness of both Mantlo and Giffen’s comics work. It’s a fine homage to the late creators. I wish there had been a little bit more to round out Rocket’s character or history here a bit beyond his surliness, and it would’ve been nice to see a story from at least one of the creators of his more recent comic adventures like Al Ewing or Skottie Young or even Abnett or Lanning. Still, it makes for a nice package to hand to a casual reader familiar with Rocket from the movies or cartoons.
