Infinity Warps #1 - Marvel Comics
Written by Jim Zub (Observer-X, The Terrific Two), Ryan North (Moon Squirrel & Tippysaur), Mariko Tamaki (Green Widow)
Art by Flaviano (Observer-X), Natacha Bustos (Moon Squirrel & Tippysaur), Francisco Herrera (Green Widow, Cover Art), Todd Nauk, Ozgur Yildirim & Scott Hanna (The Terrific Two)
Colors by Ruth Redmond (Observer-X, The Terrific Two), Tamara Bonvillain (Moon Squirrel & Tippysaur), Matt Yackey & Chris O'Halloran (The Terrific Two)
Letters by VC's Cory Petit (All)
I feel like we have all been reflecting on what Stan Lee has meant to us since his passing this week. So many amazing stories, characters and memories that it's almost hard to put into words. One thing I knew I wanted to do this week was review a Marvel book. When I looked at my choices, one book stood out to me. What if some of the greatest character creations in the Marvel Universe were fused together? This seemed like a good week to read Infinity Warps.
Right away, one of the things that I liked about this book was that we got a few different stories in one book. You can probably imagine what they are just based on the titles listed above. Trying to be spoiler free, I can tell you that there were more heroes and villains that got warped as well. One in particular combined two of the most powerful villains, both of whom were co-created by Stan Lee. Had the tone of the story been different, this is one villain that may have been unstoppable. That was one common theme in all of these stories, they were all fairly lighthearted in nature. There was plenty of action throughout, but the intensity was definitely on the low end. It's far from a criticism, as a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed having fun and sitting back with a few short stories. It looks like at least a couple of these will be continuing as well, so something to look forward to in the next issue.
Top to bottom, there was a lot of talent involved in this book. The team of writers and artists really did a great job bringing these unique characters to life and making me feel almost as if I was reading a new take on a classic Marvel "What If" story. While it is important to remember what made us love characters like the Fantastic Four and Hulk so much, it's also important to embrace creativity and occasionally do something different. While I think Marvel has taken that approach a bit too seriously in recent years, this book was a great success from my viewpoint. It's amazing what you can do when you just decide to have fun.
RATING: PULL / BUY