Marvel Comics 2017
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by David Marquez
Coloured by Justin Ponsor
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Diamondback’s back--and Luke Cage, Daredevil and Iron First unknowingly declared war on him by busting up one of his establishments. Diamondback took revenge, shooting Luke’s wife Jessica Jones and launching vicious attacks on Luke and his allies. But he just picked a fight with the wrong vigilantes….
So what’s to love about all this? Pretty much everything really it’s got the right blend of the Marvel Universe we know and love with the Netflix series to give it that tremendous feel of familiarity that manages to what nothing else has as of yet. Take two separate universes and almost make them one. Now i’m not terribly up on my current Marvel U activities except for the whole Steve Rogers deal and a few new X books so right now this for me is a perfect middleman.
I like that we see the attack on Luke and then learn about the rest happening. It isn’t terribly surprising that Luke, Matt and Danny would have ended up busting up one of Diamondback’s establishments after all they all work in same area of town after all and are what we consider street level heroes. Also it makes me think of the first season of Luke Cage on Netflix with how everything goes down in this issue. The way that Bendis writes this and uses structuring of the story to tell this tale is exceptionally well done. There’s so much to this that really is simply good, strong storytelling as it uses these characters as they were meant to be, not Avengers, not globetrotting adventurers but those down to earth accessible heroes the city needs.
Marquez does some stunning work on this issue. He really has this stupendous eye for storytelling and it’s evident in his page layouts through the use of angles, perspective and the backgrounds in play. The comic book style is replete with such attention to detail that everything comes across as it should and is meant to. The scenes are dynamic, interesting and full of zest and motion.
The character used to tie-in the Marvel U is a delightful choice. The sometime opportunist who can fall on either side of the law depending on the circumstances is a great touch. The Heroes for Hire references make me happy as well it’s the little things that tie this into the mainstream and yet keep it apart that make a world of difference.
Bendis does an excellent job in providing a catalyst for why these characters need to come together in something other than a Heroes for Hire capacity. They need to take back the streets that knew them so well and that they’ve become complacent in protecting. While there’s also a few classic moments thrown in for good measure it is still one of the stronger reads i’ve had out of Marvel lately. There’s some nice potential here depending on the direction Bendis will take them. I like the street level heroes idea it’s strong, formerly their wheelhouse and a great premise to revisit.