Advance Review: Heroes Reborn #1 (of 7)

Often called the House of Ideas, at least in the distant past, Marvel have decided that their next big event is actually two parts re-hash and one part re-used title. Yes its the Heroes Reborn of 2021 featuring Amalgam villains, albeit from within their own core of characters and the Squadron Supreme, the ersatz Justice League.

Blade wakes up in a world with no Avengers. No-one has heard of them, yet still the Daywalker prowls the Earth looking for clues that prove his right, rather than he is losing his mind. Along the way, we get an intro of sorts to the Avengers that never were, all the while the remaining characters are caught up in some sort of mash up giving us the Silver Witch, the Black Skull and the totally laughable villainous name of Doctor Juggernaut! Still there are clues that the world isn’t quite right, and allies can appear at any point.

It could be said, and has been on occasion, that Jason’s Aarons run on Avengers hasn’t been great. There has been few highlights, those of which haven’t actually included the Avengers themselves. Maybe this is the grain from which the idea of this story has grown. Surely it can’t be from DC;s weekly 52 series which featured none of their big heroes. Aaron’s writing is a tad peculiar here at times. For one book it feels like there are three separate styles of writing. Blade’s monologue feels quite modern, if you excuse the, at times, ham-fisted way characters names are included. Whereas Hyperion and the rest of the Squadron sound like they are from the Bronze Age for sure. These stylings could be a way for Aaron’s to show how different this world with no Avengers is, so if that was the intention, top marks!

Ed McGuinness is a comics veteran who has worked on practically every character in the Marvel and DC universes, so it makes more than a modicum of sense to utilise his talents for a superhero set -to type of book. Big panels and big characters are the order of the day. Some of the art could been seen as over the top in places, possibly even caricature; as this is the vibe of the book, it’s a good match. Just don’t expect nuance. McGuinness’s art normally features heavy lines. Inker Mark Morales takes that up a notch. My personal preference if lighter pencils and inks, but with the high character count I can understand the how and why heavy is good. Colors are provided by Matthew Wilson, who very much like Aaron’s, delivers a coloring switcheroo with some really bold four colors styles for the main battles and more subtle colors towards the end of the book which helps deliver the emotional punch required. Finally, VC’s Cory Petit manages to pry an event book from VC stablemate Clayton Cowles. Petit’s font is a mix of monologue and bombastic dialogue.

I know that there are mixed feelings regarding this book and the idea behind it. For Avengers fans who have been feeling let down or left out as the main book swerved into mutant territory, this book is a good way of readdressing the spirt of the Avengers, which is no mean feat considering that they don’t appear at all.

Writing – 4 Stars

Art – 3.5 Stars

Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Jason Aaron
Art by; Ed McGuinness
Colors by; Matthew Wilson
Letters by; VC’s Cory Petit
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