Marauders #1 - Marvel Comics
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Matteo Lolli
Colors by Federico Blee
Letters by VC's Cory Petit
Cover by Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson
Don't call her Kitty, call her Kate. I think at some point in all of our lives, we want to be taken a bit more seriously. Whether that be from your family, friends, colleagues, felling important is important. So what happens when life keeps throwing that failure back in your face? You set sail! Let's find out what brings the Marauders together in the pages of this new Marvel Comics issue.
I'm not going to even try to throw you off the scent here, this is very much a Kate Pryde story. While I won't spoil anything, Kate discovers something about the new mutant society of Krakoa that has a profound effect on her. This leads her to feel like the black sheep among her mutant family. Sure she is well liked, but why doesn't she feel accepted? She does have one offer on the table, but who it's with is giving her pause. One thing that she is sure of, she still wants to help her fellow mutants. So, just as the cover suggests, she sets sail (yes, by boat) to protect and help her fellow mutants reach their sanctuary. We see one such scenario in this first issue, which appears to be where the story will be going from here on out. In a nutshell, this issue was an introduction to the team, the scenario they face and what exactly is happening with Kate.
While I enjoy what Hickman has been doing with his X-verse, it was nice to get a fresh writer on one of these books. Duggan lightens the mood a bit, while still keeping the tone and spirit of what Hickman has built up to this point. He brings a very relatable Kate Pryde to the center of the stage, and really made her a character to rally behind. Sure there are more notable characters who are riding with her, but at the end of the day, this really does feel like her story. It was entertaining, packed with plenty of intrigue and just an overall fun read. The art was remarkably consistent throughout, and really helped elevate this book to more than just a mere tie-in. I would go as far as to say, you could enjoy this book even if you weren't reading the current X-Men run. So just sit back and enjoy this tale of the high seas!
RATING: PULL / BUY