In the 1990’s I worked at a comic book store. It was at the height of Death of Superman and the X-Men relaunch with the 200 different covers (okay it wasn’t 200, but it felt like it back then). I was Team Marvel all the way. As I got older, I stopped collecting all together. It was like a bad breakup. I would check in from time to time to see what was going on when I heard other people talking about significant storylines (Secret Wars II most recently). And then last year I started working here at GNN. I headed to my local comic book store, and I decided to go back to an old friend.
Marvel, It’s been a long time.
MARVEL LEGACY starts a million years ago with a primitive form of the Avengers. From there, it goes to the modern age with undertones of impending unlocked secrets and doom (well not Doom, but doom) and from my perspective, different people playing familiar roles.
The conversation between The Phoenix and Odin draws you in right away. That far in the past, you don’t expect to see the two of them conversing. I mean you could rightfully assume that they’ve always been around, but to see them together is a new and intriguing turn to take, which is difficult to do in an already very established universe.
As the book develops, I felt like I had a complete understanding of the direction of the storyline despite being away for so long. Jason Aaron took his time taking into account all the different types of comic book fans that might read this book. The casual, the die-hard, the prodigal reader. All are welcome, and all feel like they were thought of and included in the process.
The art style is very modern and fits well with the storyline. I am not a huge fan of the way Jean Grey is drawn in the issue, but when you’re Team Phoenix, you’re Team Phoenix for life. Marvel has been at this a long, long time. They know how to put a book together that feels engaging, and this one does it without being over the top. And the artist lineup is insane. Everyone involved in the legacy storyline is in this book including: Steve McNiven (Secret Empire), Russell Dauterman (Mighty Thor), Chris Samnee (Black Widow), Alex Maleev (Infamous Iron Man), Stuart Immonen (Amazing Spider-Man), Pepe Larraz (Uncanny Avengers), Jim Cheung (Astonishing X-Men), Daniel Acuna (Secret Empire), Greg Land (Weapon X), and Ed McGuinness (Spider-Man/Deadpool).
With all the changes in the Marvel Universe from back in my day, I was unsure how it would work for me. The answer is that it worked amazingly well. They managed to give me enough backstory on all the new characters to feel like I understood their place in the current universe, but also show me what has happened to some of my old favorites (and in appropriate comic fashion, bring some back). So I’m all in on MARVEL LEGACY, and I’m back to a hobby that I loved for many years.
Release Date: September 27, 2017
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artists: Esad Ribic, Steve McNiven, Chris Samnee, Russell Dauterman, Alex Maleev, Ed McGuiness, Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Pepe Larraz, Jim Cheung, Daniel Acuna, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Mike Deodato Jr., David Marquez, Matthew WilsonÂ
