DEFENDERS
Vol 2, Issue 1
"Once More, The End of the World"
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Erik Larsen
Pencils: Erik Larsen
Inks: Klaus Janson
Dr. Strange! The Hulk! Sub-Mariner! The Silver Surfer! (And that's just to start.) What could bring these four back together again? Extraterrestrial and extradimensional threats? Hey, it's a start, but the truth of the matter is it's Busiek and Larsen. What keeps them together? Well, that's most of what the first issue is for, so I won't say here. I will say that what they set up holds the promise of working.
In now-classic Busiek fashion (and as we can see from the push behind Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine, it's also likely as strong from Larsen) appearances of long-unseen characters and creatures abound, and the new origin comes full-circle to tie into the first, official origin for this central foursome.
The narrative device for this issue, and presumably for the series - I feel comfortable mentioning this since it's apparent within the first few pages - is Patsy Walker, as she puts it, "...famous gal-next-door turned super-hero-- complete with Demon-Sight and a colorful costume that appears whenever I want it..." This shows signs of working out well, as hers is an informal-but-informed voice. The voice of a reluctant participant with a quick, pop culture-enriched wit. This is the same formula that is working so brilliantly for Christopher Priest over in Black Panther. I have some small reservations that Patsy's more empowered, active, part-of-the-club status might eventually produce a wobble on this vital, storytelling spin, but then again that undefined wobble might prove vital in the long run. We'll have to wait and see.
Looking at the larger, eventual team whose heads float atop the front cover (the above mentioned five, plus Nighthawk and Valkyrie) I'm reminded that one of the things that made this work before was that with the exception of the Hulk and Dr. Strange, none of these characters has found it difficult to impossible to carry a title for a long stretch. Okay, okay... Subby did way long ago in the Golden Age of comics, but that was a fairly different world then. And, yes, he made it, what... 72 issues in his 1960's-70's series? But as those of us who were reading it at the time recall, it was a rocky road, and his series frequently teetered on the edge of cancellation. It's tough building a series around an amphibious king of Atlantis who might forget whole chunks of his own history - including his own identity - for a time, is at heart terribly noble but also not only has a hot temper but has been given to irrational behavior from time to time. Tough, I tell you. John Byrne offered a fix for the erratic temper and behavior part, but Kurt told someone over on the CBR boards that that was forgotten almost as fast as it was brought up (Whoa! Man of Steeled that one away! "Vengeance is mine!" sayeth the Busiek! ::ahem::) so I suppose we'll hear no more of that.
Anyway, we have a contentious lot, and from the issue itself and the creators' notes on the final page, we see that this is what all concerned consider to be a vital element for the series. And, as I said above, we'll have to wait and see if it works.
I won't lie and tell you that I'm crazy about the Larsen/Janson artwork. It strikes me as rough-hewn and downright ugly in more than a few spots, but it tells the story smoothly and as many an Image-inspired poster child artist has shown us that's not something one should take for granted. The renditions of the characters seem weirdly derivative of several different artists. Some of it (Dr. Strange especially, and to a lesser extent Subby) looks like Byrne's interpretations of Ditko and Kirby work. Doc Strange looks (and please don't write me to tell me this is an outdated, potentially-offensive usage) Oriental. Still, I can accept all of that. But why did they have to give Subby back that little gold earring? ::sigh::
Here's to a long and entertaining run!
MJN
Any comments?