'Marvel Voices' #1 Review: A collection of diverse voices that illustrates the passion for all things Marvel
Spoiler alert for 'Marvel Voices' #1
‘Marvel Voices’ is all about that — the voices. Passionate voices, speaking their love for Marvel's legacy.
Whether it's an essay about a fan's X-Men card collection, a one-page revival of a nearly forgotten Marvel character teasing more stories to come, or a look behind the curtain at the early publishing history of a classic Black Panther foe, there is a love for all things Marvel that shines clear in every page.
The comic book recommends a list of essays, published over the last few weeks, on the Marvel website and while it's admittedly a bit clunky to switch between a comic book and a webpage, the experience is worth it.
It's a shame the essays couldn't have been included in the comic itself, however, because they really do add a lot to the comic reading experience.
Instead of an index page, 'Marvel Voices' #1 has an infographic with a recommended reading order, splitting your time between the comic stories and the online essays somewhat evenly. One can imagine future issues possibly including a playlist for a fully immersive experience.
The issue works well as a comics anthology on its own. As with all anthologies, there are some stories that stand out more than others. 'Race,' by Ayala, Chang, and Maiolo is a delight, especially seeing Forge go up against Shuri in an international go-kart race between Marvel's best engineers.
Krakoan biotechnology versus the peak of Wakandan engineering across multiple hostile environments makes great use of two of Marvel's unique brands of weird science.
"Assemble!" by Luciano Vecchio is a quick but inspiring one-page assembling of Marvel's queer superheroes, a reminder of the wealth of underused characters Marvel has that comics like 'Marvel Voices' will hopefully give more room to.
'Inspiration,' by Igleheart, Height, Lovett and Lopez is a fascinating story of the spider that bit Spider-Man and Silk that deserves to be confirmed canon as soon as possible.
Closing out the anthology is 'Back to Madripoor,' a Wolverine versus Hulk tale making use of their new canons, with particularly memorable visuals. The art howls at you, cartoonishly wild and weird, hyperviolent and alive. The comic definitely goes out with a bang.
The essays, too, have their notables. John Jennings writes the perfect start to the series of essays, writing about superhero comics and the concept of identity, and the importance of seeing yourself represented.
This is a sentiment echoed in David Betancourt's 'Seeing Ourselves', where he writes about just how excited the introduction of Miles Morales made him, and what it meant to him.
Tatian King Jones talks about the women of color who inspired the science seen in the pages of 'Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur' and Ironheart' in an essay entitled 'Applied Science.'
In 'Creating Killmonger: Side by Side with Rich Buckler and Billy Graham', the co-creator of Erik Killmonger, Don McGregor, gives us a look into the early days of the character's publishing history. With the success of Killmonger in the recent 'Black Panther' film, it's fascinating to learn that McGregor and the arists he worked with - co-creator Rich Buckler and later, Billy Graham - all had to fight against editorial to keep Killmonger on the page.
Every essay, every script, and every panel that went into this comic is a love letter from a variety of creators to Marvel Comics. There's a wealth of history that often gets overlooked, and comics like this bring that history right back into the spotlight with fresh new stories and examinations.
I have not listened to the 'Marvel Voices' podcast, but this first issue of the comic is a compelling reason to start. For every fan who is passionate enough about Marvel comics to want more than just the weekly stories from their favorite characters, 'Marvel Voices' #1 is a must-read.
The credits list for the comic is too long to list out, but you can read the infographic for the reading order below:
The index includes essays that you can read here.
'Marvel Voices' #1 is out on sale now, wherever comics are sold.