Ravencroft #1 - Marvel Comics
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Angel Unzuenta
Colors by Rachelle Rosenberg & Dono Sanchez-Almara
Letters by VC's Joe Sabino
Cover by Kyle Hotz & Dan Brown
Absolute Carnage was insane, but it also left the insane without a place to go. You hate to say that destruction is a good thing, but it certainly forced an upgrade at Marvel's most famous home for the criminally insane. Ravencroft has risen again, and there are some new faces in charge. Let's take a look at the first issue.
It's hard to get into too many details without spoilers when it comes to who exactly is involved in this issue. The staff at Ravencroft is also being kept secret to protect them. At least, that's the spin that's being put on it. What might be more interesting than the institute itself are the politics at play and the behind the scenes revelations that we get behind closed doors from two different sides. The side of good has their embedded heroes, but they quickly learn of some very interesting additions to the Ravencroft staff as well. Only time will tell as to whether these new faces (ones you'll recognize, by the way) will truly help or unleash a whole new kind of hell on the world.
To me, it feels like this would have been a tough issue to write. Sure this is an interesting spinoff of Absolute Carnage, but where do you go with it and how do you keep it interesting? Tieri does what he can, but having that major reveal at the end of the first issue makes me feel like there isn't much more to go here. It feels like we're being set up for one extreme or the other: a very predictable ending or one that surprises us a great deal. I just worry that any surprises will be hollow at this point. The art is the best part of this story, for sure, with some incredible detail. There is an action scene near the end of the book that really comes to life thanks the Angel Unzuenta's beautiful work. This issue was a bit up and down overall, but I'm not ready to give up yet.
RATING: 3/5 (worth a try, but hard to believe in any sustained success)