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brendalovesbooks's review
2.0
This was disjointed, uneven, and it felt like a waste of time to read.
murphyc1's review
3.0
I'm not really a regular Marvel reader so I had a bit of trouble with some of the continuity, but I generally enjoyed this read. I want to read Hickman's Secret Wars, but I also want to understand it, so I read this first.
starwayandbroadway's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
trike's review
2.0
Sales are not great for Marvel comics, so they're blowing up the world. Again.
Back in the day I read the Secret Wars because these mega-events weren't bi-annual occurrences. But it was so bad that even 19-year-old me gave up long before all 12 issues were published. Between Jim Shooter's godawful writing and Mike Zeck's indifferent penciling, it was just a slog. I think it was well-regarded at the time because crossover events weren't yet a thing.
So this collection starts off with the last three installments of the original Secret Wars, which were published 30 years ago. They're even worse than I remember. The only thing of significance to come from this entire series is Spider-man's black costume, which later turns into Venom. Pretty sure Shooter had no intention of that little lot twist taking place.
Cool things were actually happening in comics, which is almost certainly why I dropped Secret Wars. Alan Moore began his famous run on Swamp Thing, Scott McCloud created Zot, Iron Man was getting back in the groove and Alpha Flight had just started and was completely rocking my world.
By comparison, even then Secret Wars was an amateurish mess.
In the latest Avengers movie, Age of Ultron, much sport is made of Captain America's disapproval of bad language. He would have no such issues here, as characters regularly squeak out "Gee whiz!" and the like. You can be clean without being dorky.
I'm also not a huge fan of current comic book darling Jonathan Hickman. He is renowned for his intricate plotting -- comic book fans have seen his layout for his run on Fantastic Four -- but as a writer he's just not as engaging. When I read one of his books, I always feel like I'm watching someone retelling me the plot of an episode of their favorite TV series. It's plot-plot-plot and no emotion.
So they talk about how he's been plotting the new Secret Wars for a number of years and dropping little hints throughout the Marvel books he's worked on, which I have no reason to disbelieve, but I also don't find it very interesting.
The other side of Hickman's work is that I don't find it very original, either. I have no problem whatsoever with someone remixing stuff that has gone before, but his stuff in FF feels like he's just doing a straight remake of John Byrne's run. Byrne did a lot of crazy shit on the FF, and much of it felt fresh and new because it was all integrated well, but Hickman's stuff feels again like he's recounting those original stories and adding his own embellishments along the way.
So the most powerful men in the world create a cabal in order to save it, by dividing up the Infinity Gems among themselves, and now the only way to save the world is to get them all together in the Infinity Gauntlet, one of the most powerful thingamabobs in the universe (although a Cosmic Cube can eat it for lunch), and then they break it. This is the closest we get to seeing real emotions, but just as it's about to get dramatic, as always Hickman shuts it down in favor of more plot-plot-plot.
I can only imagine how much more interesting all of this would be if it were written by Brian Michael Bendis or J. Michael Straczynski. Let Hickman plot it and let someone else whose writing doesn't feel like a cold wrapped fish tell the actual story.
Back in the day I read the Secret Wars because these mega-events weren't bi-annual occurrences. But it was so bad that even 19-year-old me gave up long before all 12 issues were published. Between Jim Shooter's godawful writing and Mike Zeck's indifferent penciling, it was just a slog. I think it was well-regarded at the time because crossover events weren't yet a thing.
So this collection starts off with the last three installments of the original Secret Wars, which were published 30 years ago. They're even worse than I remember. The only thing of significance to come from this entire series is Spider-man's black costume, which later turns into Venom. Pretty sure Shooter had no intention of that little lot twist taking place.
Cool things were actually happening in comics, which is almost certainly why I dropped Secret Wars. Alan Moore began his famous run on Swamp Thing, Scott McCloud created Zot, Iron Man was getting back in the groove and Alpha Flight had just started and was completely rocking my world.
By comparison, even then Secret Wars was an amateurish mess.
In the latest Avengers movie, Age of Ultron, much sport is made of Captain America's disapproval of bad language. He would have no such issues here, as characters regularly squeak out "Gee whiz!" and the like. You can be clean without being dorky.
I'm also not a huge fan of current comic book darling Jonathan Hickman. He is renowned for his intricate plotting -- comic book fans have seen his layout for his run on Fantastic Four -- but as a writer he's just not as engaging. When I read one of his books, I always feel like I'm watching someone retelling me the plot of an episode of their favorite TV series. It's plot-plot-plot and no emotion.
So they talk about how he's been plotting the new Secret Wars for a number of years and dropping little hints throughout the Marvel books he's worked on, which I have no reason to disbelieve, but I also don't find it very interesting.
The other side of Hickman's work is that I don't find it very original, either. I have no problem whatsoever with someone remixing stuff that has gone before, but his stuff in FF feels like he's just doing a straight remake of John Byrne's run. Byrne did a lot of crazy shit on the FF, and much of it felt fresh and new because it was all integrated well, but Hickman's stuff feels again like he's recounting those original stories and adding his own embellishments along the way.
So the most powerful men in the world create a cabal in order to save it, by dividing up the Infinity Gems among themselves, and now the only way to save the world is to get them all together in the Infinity Gauntlet, one of the most powerful thingamabobs in the universe (although a Cosmic Cube can eat it for lunch), and then they break it. This is the closest we get to seeing real emotions, but just as it's about to get dramatic, as always Hickman shuts it down in favor of more plot-plot-plot.
I can only imagine how much more interesting all of this would be if it were written by Brian Michael Bendis or J. Michael Straczynski. Let Hickman plot it and let someone else whose writing doesn't feel like a cold wrapped fish tell the actual story.
sans's review
3.0
That was...confusing. But hopefully enough to help make sense of what's going on now?
francomega's review
2.0
Collection of different issues that set the stage for the huge Marvel event, Secret Wars. The issues date back to the first Secret Wars from the 80s. Unfortunately, 80s comics don't hold up very well. It's pretty amazing how far the writing has come (such stilted dialogue). The other issues include a Fantastic Four (Reed Richards is such a tool), the Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man origin, an Ultimates, and some New Avengers. I suppose these may provide some background for SW, but, eh, other than the Avengers issues they don't feel very necessary.
olbrownwarder's review
2.0
Exciting. It was fun seeing some of these older comics, though only time will tell if these selections really prepare me for what's coming.
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