Marvels #0, 1-4
Published by: Marvel – 1994
Written by: Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by: Alex Ross
The wide-eyed wonder Alex Ross puts into the painting of each page of Marvels—a four issue miniseries published by Marvel Comics in 1994—recreates what it must be like to live inside the Marvel universe, looking up at flying men and giants, being but a spectator for a grand play the likes of which nothing in the real world can compare to. These characters experience first-hand what we as readers can only imagine when we read comics, and their imaginations are piqued by their relationships with the “marvels,” just as ours are. This art fits perfectly with the story of innocence, and innocence lost, crafted by Kurt Busiek in Marvels, where the reader gets a “worm’s eye” view of the dawn of the age of “marvels”—the protagonist’s pet name for superheroes and villains—seen from the perspective of newspaper photographer Phil Sheldon as he navigates a world full of ever more wonders to marvel at, to admire, to envy, and to fear.
Marvels is not a superhero comic; it is a realistic, slice-of-life comic which takes place in a world which has superheroes in it. The premise is simple: It follows Sheldon’s career from novice photojournalist to seasoned veteran, building a career as witness to, and documenter of, unbelievable events. Rather than treat us readers to protracted battles among warring “good-guys” and “bad-guys,” the superheroes flit in and out of scenes where the reactions of the people of New York are the focus. Some respond with fear, some with thanks, and others alternately with anger or admiration. What they see is tempered by the fickleness and shallowness and insecurity that defines the human organism when confronted with something that threatens its superiority.
Like forces of nature, the marvels run amok causing fear and collateral damage. But, they are not just “good guys” or “bad guys.” These are terms of public perception and public opinion and the news industry sways it, capitalizes on it, and sensationalizes it. Yet, despite the cycle of praise and condemnation, the heroes remain above the fray and continue to save and to protect a world which—especially in the case of the mutants and X-Men—sometimes hates and fears them.
Alex Ross’s painted artwork is remarkable. It is clean, detailed, realistic, and colorful. He has a knack for depicting the more wholesome superheroes—the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Captain America—as if they lived, not in our world, but in the Golden and Silver Age of comics, yet still as real men with real faces and real costumes. In Marvels, Galactus especially looks huge and menacing, but, in a way, his presence here on earth is detached from the average citizen. The Fantastic Four may be having an altercation or conversation with him concerning matters of global survival, but to the man on the street—us—Galactus just looms silently over New York City—a harbinger of a doom we cannot comprehend, nor will we ever fully learn of the dangers the Fantastic Four has averted on our behalf—whom vanishes as mysteriously as he arrived and normalcy returns—this cycle itself becoming so common that it becomes a part of “normal” life, though no one ever entirely adjusts to such things. In most comics we ride alongside the superhero and vicariously experience their adventures first-hand, but in Marvels we hear about their exploits after the fact or in brief glimpses and may never understand the reasons for their battles or witness the outcomes. The adventures chronicled in Marvels are the everyday ones of Sheldon trying to navigate life, love, and profession, complicated by living in a world of wonders.
If Marvels dealt solely with those wonders, it might seem shallow or unrealistic, however, Busiek tempers his idealism with realism. There are some tragic scenes—Gwen Stacy comes to mind—and Marvels does deal with prejudice—specifically the mob-mentality readiness to lynch mutants—and the disillusionment that comes with putting faith in the fallible—be they superhero or mere human.
Marvels is mostly appropriate for all ages. There is no profanity or nudity and the violence is less than what is to be expected in any of the other more typical superhero books that line the racks each week at your local comic book store.
There is also a number “zero” issue which features behind-the-scenes concept sketches as well as a short story about the original Human Torch (which predated the Fantastic Four character of the same name), but—though it is interesting—this material is considered ancillary by the creators whom deem the four main issues to be the totality of the artistic statement that is Marvels.
Recommendations:
If you like Marvels—and you should—you should also check out Kingdom Come by Alex Ross (illustrator) and Mark Waid (writer), as well as Astro City by Kurt Busiek (writer) and Brent Anderson (penciller). Any fans of Ross’s artwork should also check out the DC miniseries Justice which—while beautifully rendered—lacks the depth of thought, plot, and characters of Marvels or Kingdom Come.
If Marvels is about the innocent wonder and optimism of superheroes representing our better nature, Kingdom Come is its cynical mirror twin about the disillusionment of idealism when faced with the birth of antiheroes whom are bound by a looser morality. It is, however, equally a masterpiece. Kingdom Come features some of Alex Ross’s best artwork and is a story with a pathos and scope that overshadows the worm’s eye view of Marvels, instead focusing on an epic, biblically tinged, struggle among superhero factions each vying to decide which side of human nature will come to define the future: our idealism or our cynicism.
Astro City is a simpler comic and can be thought of as an extension of what Busiek accomplished in Marvels. It is about the eponymous city—Astro City—the home of a seemingly unending supply of superheroes, super-villains, and super-powered people just trying to live normal lives. Often, Astro City focuses on the regular people whom live and work in Astro City and have become accustomed to all the daily super-powered chases, fist fights, and global menaces. There are issues that focus on heroes or villains, active or retired, but the focus tends to be less about their super-powered exploits than about the lives they live behind the masks. Ross contributes covers to the various ongoing series and miniseries published under the Astro City name, which began at Image, then moved to DC with their purchase of Wildstorm, but is now part of the DC/Vertigo imprint.
Brian Bigelow
December 15, 2016
