Secret Wars #6

Writer – Jonathan Hickman
Artist – Esad Ribic
Colours – Ive Svorcina

Doom is troubled and in this new world with all the powers of a god at his command, that does not happen very often, if at all. There are survivors from the old universe, men and women and beings he thought he would never have to see or deal with again. They have cost him his sheriff, Doctor Strange and now they might cost him the entire world that he has built. The two factions, having been dispersed throughout the world, are doing what they can to find a way to defeat Doom and restore what was, including Reed Richards and his Ultimate self, the two Spider-Men, Black Panther Namor and even Thanos, who is doing what he does best. Jonathan Hickman is not making it easy on God Emperor Doom as various states are now opposing him, the heroes that survived are against him and a man known only as the Prophet is raising an army to confront him and it is taxing his patience to be sure. There are a lot of surprises revealed in this issue, such as what happened to the Fantastic Four, though it is not the one you would expect. It also begs the question as to why there are no versions of Reed Richards anywhere whatsoever. While one could guess, very accurately too, the fact that there are now two is not going to rest easy with Doom. Before Strange died, he passed on the Eye of Agamotto to T’Challa and using it, he and Namor enter Strange’s island in search of something that might aid them in their goals. Stephen it seems was prepared for almost anything, including the possibility that Doom would need to be removed. Another intriguing aspect that is revealed is the fact that Valeria is starting to see through all of Doom’s lies. She has always been a genius and it is good to see that she does not simply accept things on face value, even from the man who is supposed to be her father. Esad Ribic’s pencils are as fantastic as ever and though this book is starting to come out on a much delayed schedule, it is like Marvel says, worth the wait. This was an excellent issue that furthered the story quite a bit and one that saw a bit of movement on various fronts. If only it would come out a little sooner, everything would be perfect.

4.5 out of 5

Invincible Iron Man #1

Writer – Brian Michael Bendis
Artist – David Marquez
Colours – Justin Ponsor

It is a little strange to see the reboot of the Marvel Universe starting up when its universe-changing crossover, Secret Wars, is not even finished yet. Be that as it may, this title does not spoil anything from the series and if you manage to read it, you will find it is a very fun book, with a cheeky Tony Stark out on a date for the bulk of it. There is also Madame Mask, who is probably up to no good, though just what it is has yet to be revealed and knowing Brian Michael Bendis, it might take a little while to find out. To his credit though, Bendis moves things along at a good pace and there are a couple of interesting tidbits dropped along the way, specifically the ending of the book, that tell us a little about how the state of the Marvel Universe is. Of course, being a new number one issue and being an Iron Man title, it is customary for the man to get a new suit of armour, this one supposedly capable of doing what every other suit of armour is able to do and more. It is back to the familiar red and gold and it is a little more futuristic looking than we are used to and a lot more sleek. Most of that can be attributed to new series artist David Marquez who does a fantastic job not just on the armour, but on everything else as well. Madame Mask looks terrific and to prove just how far colouring and art have come in the last few years, you only have to look at the amount of detail that went into her mask alone. All in all, it was a great start to the new book and if Bendis and Marquez can keep it rolling along much like this first issue, the book is going to be in very good hands.

4 out of 5