Comics / Spotlight

Marvel Now! Point One

By Troy-Jeffrey Allen
October 20, 2012 - 11:51

If, like me, you've been hearing all this "Marvel Now!" hoopla second hand, then a Marvel Point One sampler isn't a bad idea. It will confirm your skepticism or simply move your dollar across the counter. And that's exactly what we have here...a hodge podge comic meant to turn curiosity into currency.

The highlight of this book is the Young Avengers short story by Kieron Gillen (SWORD) and Jamie McKelvie (Secret Avengers). It's a total one-sided slugfest with Jamie McKelvie's artwork once again giving new life to an old female character. Meanwhile, Gillen manages to make a whole lot of nothing feel fun through some breezy dialogue. Again, it's a whole lot of nothing, but the potential line-up with this creative team is very intriguing.



The book also invites Agent Coulson to play in the 616 after his demise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's joined by Maria Hill and Nick Fury Jr. Fury Jr. is the odd man in this trio, having been awkwardly tacked onto the Marvel U. It's kind of interesting how Coulson serves as an example of how to properly tie the comics back to a major motion picture while the African-American Nick Fury Jr. feels a lot like pandering. He just instantly invites more explanation than acceptance.

Mike Allred and Matt Fraction's FF short story features a curiously non-Fantastic Four story featuring Ant Man. It's upbeat enough to possibly end up being an enjoyable read when it drops in November. Hopefully, the book will keep its quirkiness in an effort to fit alongside that upcoming Ant-Man movie (if it last that long).

At $5.99 Marvel Now! Point One is asking a lot for something that was a free giveaway last week. Yeah, another version (with the more popular heroes) was handed off to comic shops the Wednesday before. If you can, get it. I don't understand why Marvel would sell a book like this with a bunch of characters that aren't really anchored to the public conscious (with the exception of Coulson and Hill) when an Avengers-filled version is totally free. Wouldn't these lesser titles benefit from the type of larger exposure a giveaway would contain? Kind of seems like the Disney marketing machine only helps out when it's a movie and nothing more.

Rating: 6 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12