Advance Review: Women of Marvel #1

Somewhere in my collection I have a first issue of one of the previous “Women of” series and was quite looking forward to this next run. Looking across that and this issue, you can certainly see how perceptions or at least how women have been portrayed. Coupled with the fact that all the creators of this book are all women, gives this book a bit of a different feel.

With the raft of creator, (see below) comes a raft of character, surprisingly only one from the cover appears in the comic, so all you Storm, Elektra , Shuri and Valkyrie fans will no doubt be disappointed. That said, the book is written with humour in mind, a current editorial motif of Marvel’s it seems. With that in mind, the fun is well, fun in lots of places. The Lady Deathstrike story sets the pace and the tone well. In fact, this is a trend that happens a lot through the book; the smaller one page gags work better than the longer, but still short stories. I mean Rhino hiding in the rhinos? C’mon! One other thing, I for one like to dress in clean clothes becuase it makes me me feel good; surely using powers to make people see an image they want to see or expect kind of defeats the point of having equal choices?

The art style differs throughout the book, though I would say that the prevailing style is cartoon based, especially the Peggy Carter art by Naomi Franquiz and the Mystique art by Joanna Estep. The other thing I noticed was the heavy inks especially on the She-Hulk book. The art style may not be my cup of tea, though all the artists add to the element. The colors work well with the various artists. I would like to give a recognising nod to VC’s Ariana Maher who letters the entire book, including the use of the X-font to keep things on track. Great work!

I love the idea of this book; newer creators to some, coupled with characters that don’t normally get a lot of attention i think is a bit of a must for the comic book connoisseur. The eclectic mix may not be for some, but I am looking forward to picking this up on Wednesday.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Mariko. Tamaki, Elsa Sjunneson , Anne Toole, Nadia Shammas, Sophie Campbell, Natasha Alterici Zoraida, Louise Simonson
Art by; Peach Momoko, Naomi Franquiz, Kei Zama, Skylar Patridge, Marika Cresta, Eleonora Carlini, Nina Vacuava, Joanna Estep, Rachel Stott, June Brigman, Maria Frohlich, Roy Richardson
Colors; Brittany Peer, Ruth Redmond, Triona Farrell, Rachelle Rosenberg, Irma Kniivila
Letters by; VC’s Ariana Maher
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network