Back in "ye olden days" of the 1980s, when Marvel first tried to launch its New Universe, there was a huge wave of hype, all new ongoing series were launched, and everybody was terribly excited. Then the books actually came out, most of them were pretty goofy and, to be honest, not very good. (No offense if you have fond memories of Kickers, Inc.) The hype died down, the books went away, and that was the end of that. The New Universe became the old, forgotten, universe.
This time around, the folks at Marvel have a different approach. The new NewUniversal books have kind of slipped under the radar. They kicked off with an under-hyped limited series from Warren Ellis, and have continued wth a string of interesting short series and one-shots from various creators. These books aren't getting much attention, but they're actually pretty good.
The latest entry is a one-shot: NewUniversal 1959, taking a look at what happened the first time a mysterious white flash appeared in the sky. Not only were the fancy new computers of America, circa 1953, all fried, but some people started showing signs of weird new abilities. In a very film noir, Cold War era USA, ordinary citizens with super-powers are not viewed as a good thing. The brand new National Security Agency starts keeping track of these superhumans, and they don't like what they see.
The three cases who first pop up on their radar are: Lester Robbins, who can appear and disappear anywhere around the world seemingly at random; Veronica Kelly, who can chop people up with her mind; and a young fella named Tony Stark, who can build impossible things. (The inclusion of this ill-fated Stark does seem to confirm that this is a universe that runs parallel to the "real" Marvel U.) The N.S.A. is determined to prevent these people from threatening humanity, so they put cold-blooded scientist Phillip Voight on the case. Phillip and his "men in black" will go to almost any lengths to stop what they see as the "superhuman menace."
With an intriguing, self-contained, story by Kieron Gillen, and atmospheric, noir-ish, art by Greg Scott, this one-shot is a great story on its own, and an essential piece of new New Universe history. Plus, Iron Man fans seriously do not want to miss what becomes of this world's Tony Stark. (He totally doesn't get to be played by Robert Downey Jr. in a blockbuster movie!) Try out NewUniversal 1959 this week at Four Color Fantasies, while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week. You wouldn't want the government looking in to your un-American book buying practices, would you?
This time around, the folks at Marvel have a different approach. The new NewUniversal books have kind of slipped under the radar. They kicked off with an under-hyped limited series from Warren Ellis, and have continued wth a string of interesting short series and one-shots from various creators. These books aren't getting much attention, but they're actually pretty good.
The latest entry is a one-shot: NewUniversal 1959, taking a look at what happened the first time a mysterious white flash appeared in the sky. Not only were the fancy new computers of America, circa 1953, all fried, but some people started showing signs of weird new abilities. In a very film noir, Cold War era USA, ordinary citizens with super-powers are not viewed as a good thing. The brand new National Security Agency starts keeping track of these superhumans, and they don't like what they see.
The three cases who first pop up on their radar are: Lester Robbins, who can appear and disappear anywhere around the world seemingly at random; Veronica Kelly, who can chop people up with her mind; and a young fella named Tony Stark, who can build impossible things. (The inclusion of this ill-fated Stark does seem to confirm that this is a universe that runs parallel to the "real" Marvel U.) The N.S.A. is determined to prevent these people from threatening humanity, so they put cold-blooded scientist Phillip Voight on the case. Phillip and his "men in black" will go to almost any lengths to stop what they see as the "superhuman menace."
With an intriguing, self-contained, story by Kieron Gillen, and atmospheric, noir-ish, art by Greg Scott, this one-shot is a great story on its own, and an essential piece of new New Universe history. Plus, Iron Man fans seriously do not want to miss what becomes of this world's Tony Stark. (He totally doesn't get to be played by Robert Downey Jr. in a blockbuster movie!) Try out NewUniversal 1959 this week at Four Color Fantasies, while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week. You wouldn't want the government looking in to your un-American book buying practices, would you?
No comments:
Post a Comment