Review – Heroes Reborn #1
Review – Heroes Reborn #1
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Ed McGuinness and Mark Morales
Colours: Matthew Wilson
Introduction
I love a good crisis. One that not only imperils reality but also rewrites it as well. As a mostly DC reader I can tell you they have these in abundance. In recent years DC has gone into crisis overdrive, and, even with its self-critique has – in the eyes of some – gone beyond crisis fatigue into crisis jumped the shark. I can’t really comment as I haven’t really kept up since Dark Knights Death Metal kicked in. I think at least one or two reality-defining events have happened since that one rewrote reality for the absolute final time. What I can say with assurance is, every now and then Marvel throws out an event that really catches my eye. The last time this happened was 2015’s Secret Wars. Now it most definitely is Marvel’s Heroes Reborn.
Story
A lot of the recent crises and continuity shuffling over at DC has had some degree of homage to Grant Morrison involved. Dark Knights Metal included an issue penned by Morrison. While a lot of these stories interested me because of their references to Grant’s work, they didn’t feel like one of their stories. The first issue of Heroes Reborn looks and reads exactly like an issue of Morrison’s JLA run. Not least because in a world without the Avengers the focus shifts to the Squadron Supreme. A group of superheroes who serve as analogs of JLA members featured in Morrison’s eponymous run. To create their nemeses villains have been amalgamated to create villains seemingly analogous in powers, appearance, or both to those found in DCs Justice League titles.
This alchemy must be a nod to the Amalgam Age of Comics, another archetypal moment in 90’s comics. One of the most obvious DC comparisons one could make would be that the story and world we are presented with evoke Flashpoint to some degree. A lonely hero in a remade world where only he has memories of the previous existence. With Blade trading places with the Flash and teaming up with this world’s Batman. This may well be the case but there is also something of the dystopian future found in Morrison’s Rock of Ages too.
Art
The nuances of the Morrison JLA run are found as explicitly in the artwork as they are in the narrative. Significant characters are given single-page splashes to introduce them. A certain cartoonish hyper-muscularity and dynamic composition of art and text again evoke the best qualities of 90’s comics. In short, the combined powers of Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit absolutely nail it.
OVERALL
Marvel’s Heroes Reborn #1 promises an intriguing crisis storyline without being too clever or asking too much of its readers. Jason Aaron’s preceding Avengers work may give clues, but this doesn’t leave the events of Heroes Reborn without clarity, substance, or appeal. In fact, much like 2015’s Secret Wars, their seeming untethered and experimental abandonment is part of its accessibility.
Another part of its appeal personally is its ability to exquisitely evoke some of the funniest and less ludicrous moments of 90’s superhero comics. A pleasant trip down memory lane and a pleasant new journey in one.
If you enjoyed our Review of Heroes Reborn #1 why not leave your own star rating and/or some comments of your own?
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