Advance Review: What if... Miles Morales #1 (of 5)

What if…? Two little words that have shaped alternative Marvel Universes for years, in both the comics and recent TV show. I have to ask “What if….” somebody actually cared? Now that may sound harsh, but in the grand scheme of things, with little to no ramifications is there any point to yet another round of multi-versary?

So here is the scoop; this is a mash-up of the Captain America origin with some Mile Morales stuff thrown in for good measure. Story wise, I am not sure what more I can say.

Cody Ziglar has the unenviable task of trying to mix and match the various strands of both characters origins well enough, though if you are familiar with the characters in the first place, you can pretty much tell how and when each “twist” will appear and impact the story. I suppose that if you like both Steve Rogers or Miles then this book could appeal, but if you like those characters, why aren’t you reading their books?

The art is supplied by Paco Medina who works hard to maintain a Marvel House style. This means that body poses are well defined for the most part and facial elements can be lost. This is trend that seems to be pervading comics from the Big Two.This could be a result of having three inkers on the book. Inkers have the power to totally alter and redefine the original pencils. Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba and Sean Parsons have their strengths but do they actually combine well? Colors are provided by Chris Sotomayor, who gives the book a dark look right up to the final act. It is an impressive showing. Finally, letters are supplied by VC’s Cory Petit who has fun differentiating dialogue from text boxes. The book is wordy; Petit doesn’t let the amount of word affect the the art. There are a range of covers; it is buyers choice for me.

I may be the wrong person to look at this book. I like Cap and I like Miles, I just don’t see the point of mixing them up, especially when the results is that the story beats of one character, pretty much make the inclusion of the other moot.

Writing – 2.5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 3 Stars

Written by; Cody Ziglar
Art by; Paco Medina
Inks by; Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba & Sean Parsons
Colors by; Chris Sotomayor
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