In an effort to give a little love to the entire Marvel Universe, and not just the ones that’ve recently had a movie or Netflix show, Marvel is releasing the Marvel Legacy Companion. Featuring five titles that the casual Marvel fan might not be familiar with (and that the dedicated Marvel fan might want more of) the book is a fun, quick read. And as I’m solidly in the first category (I can give you chapter and verse on the last five years of X-Men books but I’d never even heard of Darkhawk) I’m glad I checked this one out.
Five classic titles return as the full legacy of the Marvel Universe is celebrated! Years ago, Chris Powell transformed into the spacefaring gladiator known as Darkhawk — now it’s Chris himself who must rise! Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, has proved himself as an Avenger — but some missions rest solely in his deadly hands! When Katie Power revisits her family history, a never-before-told tale of the Power Pack comes to light! After faking her own death, Silver Sable is back in the mercenary game — and this time she really might not survive! Plus: Almost 50 years after #13, NOT BRAND ECHH returns — and Forbush Man is ready to take over the comics industry!
Collects Darkhawk #51, Master Of Kung Fu (2017) #126, Not Brand Echh #14, Power Pack (2017) #63 And Silver Sable And The Wild Pack #36.
If you’re looking for serious, dramatic stories, you should probably go grab something else. Some of the stories in this book are downright goofy. The Master of Kung Fu story is solidly tongue-in-cheek, featuring a major villain with a ridiculous name and minions who gripe about not getting paid. The artwork is a little more retro than I usually like, but it’s very dynamic and well done in its way, and if you like classic kung-fu stories you’ll love this.
The Silver Sable story is more serious, (well, sort of), a basic “assassin with a heart of gold saves people even while she gripes about the waste of time.” She punches Nazis and yells “HEIL NO” at one point, so it’s not subtle. Fun, but not subtle.
And I’ll tell ya, it’s weird seeing a Marvel “hero” killing people right and left. I’ve gotten used to the good guy, knock-em-over-the-head-and-leave-em-tied-up-for-the-police approach, but this is Silver Sable we’re talking about and she’s not kidding around. I liked the art, though the style switched back and forth a lot as there were two pencilers and two inkers, but it held together well, a very superhero-in-spandex style, with great colors by Rachelle Rosenberg.
I enjoyed the Darkhawk story sheerly because I’d never heard of the character, and it’s nice to get such a concise intro. For all that it was three-quarters exposition, the story still moved forward quickly, and I feel like I’ve got enough of a handle on the character to pick up future books. Kev Walker’s art is best in the quick, casual scenes, because while some of the closeups feel a little stiff, the action shots have a lot of motion to them, and little things like Chris’ girlfriend leaning against the door while brushing her teeth are nicely done.
I also know very little about Power Pack, and when I first saw Katie I assumed she was Reed Richard’s daughter who I last saw in the Secret Wars event. (In my defense, she and Valeria Richards look a lot alike, and her brother Alex was part of Reed Richard’s Future Foundation, and Reed’s son Franklin was part of Power Pack, so it’s a pretty tangled web of blonde super kids.)
While I wasn’t sure what was going on on in this issue, other than Katie trying to write her super-hero exploits as “fiction” for a creative writing class, I still enjoyed the story. The wistful tone was nice too, because the main source of her unhappiness isn’t necessarily the otherworldly dangers she’s faced, it’s that she misses her brother. I also liked Chris O’Halloran’s colors in this issue, especially in the gradients and almost-pastel shades. (You can read up on the issue in the newsarama interview with writer Devin Grayson.)
My favorite in the book, though, was definitely the return of Forbush Man in Not Brand Ecch #14 (#13 being over fifty years ago. The insistence on not renumbering this issue tickled me, especially with how much grief Marvel gets about renumbering their issues, which I’m sure was the point.) This one’s not even trying to be serious, and it’s one big in-jokey issue of poking fun at Marvel tropes, including the entire Captain-America-turns-bad-guy storyline, and how with Gwenpool and Spider Gwen we may be going a little nuts with the Gwen characters.
Over a dozen writers and artists participated in this issue, and they were all hilarious, but Jay Fosgitt’s art was absolutely my favorite, as Forbush Man tries to pitch a new Marvel storyline that gets goofier by the minute. I’d seriously read an entire graphic novel of just his art, and this issue would be worth the price of the book all by itself.
Review copy provided by Marvel. Marvel Legacy Companion is in stores April 4, 2018.