Marvel’s Gooiest Summer Event Begins — Reviewing ‘Queen In Black’ #1

Spaceships and symbiotes are raining down from above under the control of a malevolent force out to control the planet. Huh. Must be a day that ends in a ‘Y’ then.

Marvel Comics’ latest summer branded event (they have a couple going on) has begun as the forces of Hela, the Queen in Black, and Knull, the King in White, prepare to clash. It all kicks off with Queen In Black #1 from the creative team of Al Ewing, Iban Coello, Ze Carlos, Guru-eFX, and Clayton Cowles.

–Spoilers Follow-

As noted in the intro, events are a dime a dozen at Marvel Comics these days. We’re in another period just this year where all the major lines have an event going or just-completed an event. They’re all built up over months with claims that “nothing will ever be the same again,” only for their repercussions to be minimal cause for more events.

That being said, this is an actually well-crafted debut issue of an event. Not that I was doubting a writer like Ewing, who has been planning this for some time now. In fact, this is kind of the capper to Ewing’s time on the symbiotes as we already have word that Venom will relaunch in the fall under a new writer. Looks like Ewing is going out, if that fully is the case, with a bit of a bang.

This is a twofold event since it’s dealing with Knull and symbiotes, but also Hela and the repercussions of Ewing’s other current work over on The Mortal Thor and its predecessor The Immortal Thor. In that series, the other realms were cut off from Earth and everyone forgot that Thor and the Asgardians were ever a thing on Earth, or Midgard. That left Beta Ray Bill as the only person who knows who and what Hela is, and the steadfast Asgardian style warrior on the Avengers.

There is a good bit of setup at the beginning to clue folks into what is happening, but then things just start burning. Ewing makes it very reader friendly without needing to spend half the issue just setting up the foundation. There is action and destruction from the get go. Making the first issue feel legitimately like a big part of an event rather than an exposition or lore dump of an issue, a choice which I am all in favor of.

Seeing the various heroes work together and the threads being woven together, including ones to be picked up in tie-in minis, was amazing. I would even say it was spectacular. Not because it was all brand new and hadn’t been seen before. It still is a superhero event in the Marvel Universe, after all.

Ewing understands how to write cracking good superhero stuff, but also science-fiction stuff alongside with depth character beats. Pacing is not a problem for him and it shows here as not an ounce of space is wasted or extra in any sense.

Dual artists help bring this to life, and their styles are perfectly aligned and complimentary. There were beats where I didn’t even notice the change as I was engaged with the issue. That’s how close the two styles happened to be. I love it when multiple-artist works are done in that fashion. The art styles have to mesh and not pull from one another or leave the reader with an artistic whiplash.

Both artists engage in a very smooth and dynamic style that lends itself to heroics. Plenty of density is seen on the page as every figure and item firmly entrenches itself with a presence. Plentiful details are found in both the figures and the backgrounds, making sure that the whole of the world is communicated as things begin to burn, blow up, and find themselves in terrible danger.

There is a bit more slickness to one of the styles while the other has just a touch more roughness baked into the mix. Both could have, and would have, knocked this full issue out of the park on their own. Together they create something potentially even just a smidge better.

Part of the quickness of the issue comes from the paneling choices. The panels dart around, even slide over or partly cover each other, with the webby white space helping a lot. It makes things more energetic and keeps the eyes moving around the page in a very frantic but controlled sort of way. There still could and would be a lot of energy doing more standard panels but there is something increasingly electrifying when the standard is left to the side.

Matching both styles comes to be something that Guru-eFX must achieve from start to finish. They employ equal color palettes that both err towards the side of brighter with a lot of heavier tones to balance them out. Some elements are left to really soak in the vibrancy as the surrounding area has sharper colored splashes like filters. Others are mired in more darkness which brings an extra weight and powerful stamp to the page.

Slick, bold, energetic, and captivating are all words that could be used here. This is a story about the battle between corrupted versions of Light and Dark, and the colors embody both sides of that dichotomy.

As noted, this is not an issue that takes up a ton of time dropping unnecessary or lengthy exposition. What is there on the page word-wise is meant to be there. It’s rich with emotion and character flavors. Cowles has worked with tons of these characters over the years at Marvel and has their beats down easily. He pumps the right energy into every letter that graces the page, letting the voices and their ranges take over. Shifting the various dialogue, caption, and other elements as necessary to get across the full feeling these words should evoke.

It all flows smoothly through the panels, never bunching up or taking up too much space, giving us a visceral feeling about the sounds of the world and the actions taking place.

I sure do love a well placed and utilized bit of SFX in a comic. It’s really satisfying to see a character punch someone and get the requisite “Wham” or “Whudd” or “Thudd” or something else. Just puts a smile on this comic book lovers face every single time.

Queen In Black #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.