Marvel Comics 2020
Written by Alex Paknadel
Illustrated by Alex Lins
Coloured by Matt Yackey
Lettered by VC’s Ariana Maher
The eve of Quoi’s ascension is at hand! But when the trials are interrupted by an unexpected interloper—Mantis—who will win this battle of wills? Don’t miss out as mother and son go head-to-head, revealing secrets that will shape the course of the galaxy!
Normally I steer as clear of Crossovers anymore. They permeate the company’s books and make it impossible to really read the entire thing as I am not about to buy them all. Plus it’s so regular it has lost the event feel to it. Now when someone I know is writing the book I am going to support them and read it. Plus it does involve the son of Mantis and the Swordsman so yeah this was completely on my radar. Also while I have no idea what’s going on in this whole Lords of Empyre it really doesn’t matter because you can totally read this as a stand alone story and that’s exactly what I am doing.
So if you aren’t familiar with Quoi and his background that’s okay because you’ll learn everything you need to know here. The way that this is being told is really amazing. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. I like that this is as smartly written as it is so that the story engages the mind in ways you might not be expecting it to. The character development here is beyond amazing and to see how the personalities grow, evolve and show us who they are and are becoming. The struggle we see in Quoi as he tries to become something he cannot achieve while continuing to deny his human heritage is utterly fascinating. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages we see how well everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
I am so into this and after it’s all said and done Alex really should get his own book featuring the family. I mean how many times has the Swordsman been resurrected in some way? It wouldn’t be a longshot for him to be back again and then the three of them could become the new first dysfunctional family of space. Think about how gosh dang good that would be as a series, I’m salivating at the thought of it.
The interiors here are absolutely incredible! I love the linework here. There is something about the way it’s laid down and how we see the light almost soft, delicate lines alongside the stronger bolder ones that really does showcase the detail work throughout. This is some unique and stylised work that just makes me happy and it’s been a long time since the interiors at Marvel have made me feel this way. Now while I would love to see more backgrounds what we get is phenomenal. There is this wonderful way that the panels are filled that really works in lieu of backgrounds at times. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a very sharp, talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is divine. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is gorgeously rendered. Geez the greens and purples alone gave me life.
Here’s the thing with Marvel, every time I like a book it never goes anywhere. It is as if my liking the book is death knell for it. Still I want to see more of these characters from this creative team as this has been something that I really think it’s high time we see a lot more of, space books are few and far between and this is mainstream and quirky enough to really find a niche.