When Deviants rule the world, Wacky Races are the national sport(!) in anthology title Marvel #4, featuring contributions from Alex Ross (W/A), Kurt Busiek (W), Steve Darnall (W), and Josh Johnson (L); Daniel Acuña (W/A) and VC’s Ariana Maher (L); Hilary Barta (W/A), Doug Rice (W), Wesley Wong (C), and Ferran Delgado (L); Alex Ross (W), Sal Abbinanti (A), and Josh Johnson (L).
Kro is there for you when you least expect him. Yes, so as not to bury the lede, I was compelled to write because of my darling Kro. You’d think I was already getting my fill of him since Zoe and I have started covering the new Eternals series, but Kro has yet to show up (there’s only been one issue, of course). Instead, I was delighted to discover him all over Daniel Acuña’s “Sons of Deviant World,” one of the stories in the newest issue of Marvel.
I had no intention to read this despite Alex Ross’ gorgeous X-Force cover illustration (Feral!!!), though I was curious. Inside there was no X-Force but a page of the villain Nightmare towering over dead Celestials (the first hook for me). This Nightmare story is the one recurring feature throughout the series, providing narrative justification for the jumble of stories to come. Daniel Acuña, one of my top ten favorites, is first up to bat (the second hook). His story starts off with the Phantom Rider and some Deviants “somewhere in Ohio,” before jumping forward to an unrecognizable modern day where Deviants now rule (bonus points for the Arishem Statue of Liberty). I don’t recall ever seeing Acuña occupying the writer’s role as well, so this is an interesting insight into what he’s into. It would appear that he’s into totally bonkers, Thunderdome/Death Race/exploitation-style mayhem.
The third hook sank into me when Kro strolled onto the scene in his finest regalia – that’s when I started screaming. Kro joins his fellow Deviant royalty in the VIP box overlooking the madcap destruction derby made up ofl weird character mashups like Luke Cage/Killraven and Thing/Human Torch/Stilt-Man. There are Marvel Universe easter eggs scattered everywhere, more than I can identify, but plenty of Eternals-specific nods. Acuña is a master of dynamic paneling, photo-real figure rendering that surrenders none of its cartoony expressiveness. I’m not su he was the writer, since there is as much electricity in the art as in the plotting. The death race comes to a screeching halt when all of a sudden a proverbial bomb gets dropped on the merriment. Acuña is totally flexing with this one – it’s fun, exciting, and silly. A real joy to read.
The rest of the issue has little to grab my attention. A short by Hilary Barta and Doug Rice showcasing Marvel’s oldest monsters is ok – Barta’s style would fit better with the Strange Tales volume from 2010. Sal Abbinanti’s rainbow color-pencil meditation on Ben Grimm is sweet but doesn’t seem to add much to that well-tread story. The cliché about anthologies being a mixed-bag fits here – the aesthetics vary widely making for a jarring reading experience. I guess the audience for this series is open-minded Marvel junkies who can take the inconsistency in stride. Generally, I’d think I fall in that category, but the majority of these comics aren’t quite worth the cover price to me. Kro, though. Kro is always worth it.
Karen Charm is a cartoonist and mutant separatist, though they’ve been known to appreciate an Eternal or two.
