Queen In Black #1 (Marvel Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of Queen In Black from Marvel Comics!
An all out battle is headed for Earth, and it’s going to take all of the combined forces of Earth’s heroes to get ready for it! Will they be ready for Hela AND Knull as they approach? Let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics // Queen In Black #1 by Al Ewing (Writer), Iban Coello & Ze Carlos (Artists), Guru-eFX (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer), Ryan Stegman & Frank Martin (Cover)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
This has been a highly anticipated series after the Knull 5 issue series and the way it ended. That on top of the ongoing crisis in Latveria has fans of the Marvel Comics universe “eating good” as the saying goes. So does the first issue live up to the hype? Let’s get into it!
I would have to say that the issue does live up to the hype, and it delivers in every way possible. You’ve got TWO intergalactic threats approaching Earth that is bringing together some of the biggest heavy hitters in Marvel Comics together to stop it. We’re talking Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Beta Ray Bill, the Fantastic Four AND the X-Men just to name a few!
Of course when you’re facing down the impending threat of Knull AND Hela who are not working together in any way whatsoever, then you know it’s going to be a recipe for disaster for the Earth. I really liked the way Al Ewing was able to build up the tension almost immediately with the characters realizing that this was NOT going to be a repeat of their previous encounter with Knull. I also really enjoyed watching Hela and Knull put their plans into action in the background and the way they built it up. This is a storyline that you could have easily started off with a bang and full scale invasion on opposite sides of the planet. It doesn’t though, and that works to the stories benefit. It’s strength comes from the slow burn (or perhaps medium burn is more appropriate) because once you get the pay off as the reader it’s so spectacular.
It’s going to be very interesting to see where this goes and the kind of ramifications that come out of it. Sure, we know one of them if you saw the news that came out of San Diego Comic Con this past weekend. I won’t spoil it for you here, but just know the news is out there. It’s also going to be interesting to see just how high the stakes get, because there’s a moment in the issue involving Nova that caught me by surprise. There’s also the matter of the final panel and yeah….that can’t be good for anyone. I will admit, it does have me super excited though.
The Artwork
Iban Coello, Ze Carlos & Guru-eFX are in charge of the artwork for the issue and they do a phenomenal job with it. There is A LOT going on in the issue and each panel is impeccably drawn and colored. At no point does it feel like there’s too much going on in the panel, and rather that each panel was planned out with meticulous care. I really enjoyed the action sequences as it really conveyed how high the stakes are for the characters. I also really enjoyed the look of some of the symbiotes and how wild they looked. Overall, the artwork in this issue is some of the best you’ll see this week.
Overall Grade: 9/10
As tremendous a start as you could hope for with a series that has such high stakes like this one does. A story that ratchets the tension and the stakes up to 11, together with artwork that is stunning make this an issue that you don’t want to pass up on.
