If you have any doubt young actress Iman Vellani was destined to be the next Marvel Comics superheroine, just watch her in the first episode of new series Ms. Marvel, and watch the short background feature that follows (A Fan’s Guide to Ms. Marvel). Her character is similar to Hailee Steinfeld’s Hawkeye, who we only met last year in her new series. Both grew up admiring Avengers in a world where Thanos ruined five years for so many, and both take actions to become those superheroes. Both actresses have created characters with a respect for their family, culture, and upbringing, but both want to be themselves, too. Vellani’s character, a 16-year-old named Kamala Khan, faces the same teen angst issues of most American teens, and her choice is to distract herself with other things. Primarily that’s marveling at Carol Danvers’s Captain Marvel, who she admires from afar (actor Brie Larson is not expected in this series, but both will appear together in the forthcoming Captain Marvel movie The Marvels). This coming of age story has much going for it in only its first 47-minute opening episode, premiering this week on Disney+.
This summer Marvel Studios adds their next superhero from the youth set to its pantheon of superheroes, on the heels of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Florence Pugh’s new Black Widow, and Hailee Steinfeld’s new Hawkeye. Iman Vellani stars in Ms. Marvel, a series which looks a lot like Marvel’s answer to DC Comics’ lighthearted, coming of age superheroine series, Stargirl. Just as there have been different versions of Captain Marvel over the past 80 years in comic books, there have been multiple Ms. Marvels. This iteration hails from comics stories from only the past decade. Just as Steinfeld’s character first admired and was inspired to be a super from first seeing the older Hawkeye when she was young, Vellani’s character has a similar backstory with Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.
Check out this trailer, and some earlier videos you may have missed, for Ms. Marvel:
The first two episodes of Marvel’s Hawkeye series are less than two weeks away. After the mental anguish of this year’s first round of Marvel streaming series–depression and loss as the themes of WandaVision, self-doubt and imposter syndrome as the themes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and regret and hopelessness as the themes of Loki–Marvel fans have earned themselves a fun Marvel series, and Hawkeye looks like it will fit the bill.
In yesterday’s quick Disney Plus Day event, the streaming service previewed what should be another fun series, as critically acclaimed Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany looks like she finds it easy being green as the title superheroine of She-Hulk. It’s a little harder to see what angle will be taken with Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight. A deadly war of the gods with Egypt as a backdrop feels and looks like Isaac in X-Men: Apocalypse. And Iman Vellani stars in Ms. Marvel, which looks a lot like Marvel’s version of DC Comics’ Stargirl. New announcements include series Echo starring Alaqua Cox, Ironheartstarring Dominique Thorne, Agatha: House of Harknessstarring Kathryn Hahn, and Secret Invasion starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn.
Take a look at another great Hawkeye trailer, and our first glimpses (barely) at She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel below.
Phase IV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe took center stage with some big reveals at a Disney investor event this week. The biggest news is a preview of Loki, which takes fan-favorite actor Tom Hiddleston’s beloved villain into more strange places, continuing the comic villainy that keeps fans coming back for more. Along with Loki, Disney rolled out previews of the new Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the What if…?animated series, the casting of the lead for Ms. Marvel, and details on new series from Secret Wars to Ant-Man 3 and She-Hulk. Plus new target release dates? Check those out and the trailers below.
Earlier this year Marvel Comics introduced a series of $1 reprinted introductory titles under the True Believers logo. All featured characters leading into Marvel’s Secret Wars summer event series. A new batch of True Believers titles are being released this month, offering a great jumping on point to ten titles featuring the best of Marvel’s pantheon of strong women leads.
Each issue is a reprint of the first issue of key titles, many available in their full story arcs as trade paperbacks and hardcovers for those who get hooked. And expect to. Whether you’ve been in or out of the Marvel Universe lately you’ll find stories here that even made national news. Like Jason Aaron’s story of the first woman holding the Thor mantle (and hammer). Like Ms. Marvel, soon to be featured in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
Everything nearly ended. Countless heroes were killed. The Fantastic Four have disbanded. The X-Men are gone. Mutants are hunted as criminals. The world still needs saving. This is what happens next.
Released last year in a nice hardcover edition and now widely available everywhere, the oddly titled Ultimate Comics New Ultimates: Thor Reborn is not always easy to find via electronic searches because of its clunky title. And if you try to just ask for “that great Jeph Loeb/Frank Cho” book from last year, they may or may not know what you mean. But take it from me, it is well worth remembering this one.
After reading last week’s prologue to the coming Avengers vs. X-Men series (Issue #0 came out last Wednesday and Issue #1 will be released early at a special pre-release party this Tuesday night), what it made me want was more Frank Cho. In a never-dwindling stack of books to read, this New Ultimates is the one in the stack you kick yourself for not reading earlier.
By way of background, Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is a parallel universe created in 2000 to try to bring in new fans without being bogged down in 40 years of Marvel Comics Universe continuity. Sound a little like DC’s New 52? The Ultimate Universe is a sort of all-bets-are-off line that Marvel fans either love or hate. As a fan of alternate history books, and as we wait for DC Comics to reveal its own new Earth 2 and Worlds Finest parallel universe series, this trade book, re-printing the Ultimate Comics New Ultimates: Thor Reborn Issues #1-5 from 2010, is exactly the kind of story I love.
I’ll put aside Frank Cho’s brilliant art for a second and get into the story.
Jeph Loeb is one of comic book writing’s greats for a reason. His storytelling is superb in that it is succinct enough for the comic medium yet comprehensive in its bringing in several major players and turning points in only five chapters. Each issue/chapter is told both from a third person narrative and an internal monologue from a different key player–each of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Valkyrie, Loki and Thor. Sometimes the stories run parallel with each other, and in other parts they require the reader to follow the two stories separately. I rarely like switching narrators in any type of book as it usually feels like a gimmick. In comic books, if done right, it can allow you to dig into a few characters more deeply than a third person voice by itself.
Jeph Loeb clearly poured a lot of himself into this story. Loeb follows the thoughts of Tony Stark as he beats up himself for surviving a battle with cancer, while a kid he met named Sam did not survive. Sam, of course, is a reference to Loeb’s own son who had died earlier of cancer, and was the subject of a popular memorial book by several DC Comics creators. The fact that Loeb would pour such a personal story into the opening page of this book grabs the reader’s attention instantly. Suddenly we see Loeb as Stark, and it somehow allows us to understand the darkness behind Stark’s personality. As Stark is chatting with Hawkeye, a group of the New Defenders appear for a brawl. Captain America shows up with two great characters, Zarda, who Hawkeye believes to be crazy yet is a goddess in her own right, and Valkyrie, who we later learn is a typical girl next door that ends up coerced into a life of a would-be superhero.
This humorous assemblage of repeating/mirror panels is reminiscent of Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows work.
Valkyrie is central to this story, as Thor’s lover, she cannot get over losing him. He resides in Asgard, his exiled destination for sacrificing everything–including his life–in a prior battle. We meet yp with Thor in Asgard, trying to persuade Hela to let him return. She agrees, but for a great price that he pays–without much coercion–and with a result that will likely be played out in later series.
For Frank Cho fans, this world includes Shanna of the jungle and Ka-Zar, their twin tigers, and Black Panther. They are first to confront the series’ villain, Loki, and another enchantress named Amora, with a flying dragon/dinosaur beastie invading Manhattan. As much as readers will be blown away by Cho’s pantheon of women heroes like only he draws them, including Ms. Marvel’s Carol Danvers, Valkyrie, Zarda, Amora, the enchantress, and Shanna, his male superheroes are superb, too, and Iron Man and Captain America in particular have rarely been rendered artistically any better. Also look for cameos by the Black Knight and Power Man.
Beautiful original art page by Frank Cho.
We encounter a brooding Captain America, who inadvertently pushes Valkyrie and Zarda into the manipulative trance of Amora (Zarda is a ringer for Cho’s Brandy and Amora for Cho’s Jen, both from his Liberty Meadows series). Rounding out a triumvirate of super-powered women under the control of Loki and Amora, Carol Danvers, now director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is pulled in to devastate the few heroes that remain: Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye. Readers are treated to several poster-worthy splash pages from Cho. And hints abound in the series as well as in-jokes. Cho’s use of eyes and expressions tell stories themselves that, in retrospect, were giveaways easily passed over on a first read. Cho’s in-jokes are peppered throughout the book, in wall paintings and coffee house menus, in backgrounds other artists would have left as filler space.
Throughout this tale we follow the tragic story of the rise of Valkyrie, actually the human Barbara Norriss, whose entire life–as she sees it–is a lie. The theme “be careful what you wish for” is repeated throughout Loeb’s story. Valkyrie’s story is emotion-filled and poignant. If you are looking for a great story along the lines of Wagner’s Ring fantasy, this story would fit right in.
Loeb sums up the ruthless Loki very well as Loki compares his and brother Thor’s story to Cain and Abel, and Esau and Jacob, “Unlike those brothers, however, I don’t want to actually KILL Thor. I just want to @#$% with him.” Consistent with the Norse god stories, and Loki in the Marvel Universe, this reveals a lot about his motivations and the pages that follow. The final chapter, shown in part through Thor’s voice, wraps the story arc up nicely.
For some reason to me this image seems very similar to portraits of Batgirl done by Adam Hughes.
Back to Cho’s art–although we almost take for granted Cho’s pin-up worthy splash pages, his action scenes stand up to anyone else’s in their own right. His women in battle have some similarities to Adam Hughes 1940s style women-focused cover work (like his current Batgirl covers) that I have not recognized before. The numerous characters go through several emotions, sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, and his eyes and mouths, wrinkles, frown lines, etc. convey much–he really makes it all look so easy. One final note: A few of these covers were mentioned earlier here in our review of the best covers of Frank Cho.
The appendix includes a great color and black and white gatefold of alternate covers and a sketchbook of Frank Cho pencil work from this series. Overall you’ll be hard pressed to find a more interesting adventure story coupled with stellar artwork than Ultimate Comics New Ultimates: Thor Reborn.
The world needs more Frank Cho. Frank Cho got me interested in Ms. Marvel and The Mighty Avengers when I hadn’t bought a Marvel comic book in years. And now Frank Cho has caused me to want to read more about the Scarlet Witch, Spider Woman, and a more recent X-Woman named Hope (actually they call her an X-Man, but that doesn’t quite work for me).
I was immediately surprised and pleased when I saw the display for the new prologue to Avengers vs. X-Men, Issue #0, because it is reminiscent of one of Frank Cho’s all-time best covers, that of the Scarlet Witch in the trade edition of Ultimates 3; Who Killed the Scarlet Witch, which I have not managed to pick up yet to read from the back issue stack.
So what I hope is that Avengers vs. X-Men will focus heavily on the focus of this prologue–equal parts redemption of the Scarlet Witch, who betrayed her husband Vision when we last saw her and devastated the mutant community, and the rest about a girl named Hope Summers, the so-called Mutant Messiah, whose story here follows a coming of age, breakaway from the status quo that feels very similar to Batgirl’s journey in DC Comics’ New 52 line-up.
What I thought this issue would cover is a lot of over-the-top brawling between Thor and Hulk and Iron Man and Wolverine, etc. I was very happily surprised that wasn’t the case. Since it does not appear that Frank Cho will be doing all the interiors for the actual AvX series, I just hope I am not disappointed in what comes next.
AvX #0 sold out practically instantly Wednesday across the country but no doubt the reprints will follow soon enough if you missed it. It is a nice standalone issue, and can go firmly on the shelf next to the best of Cho’s Marvel pages. You hear that writers write to the strength of the artists that they partner with, and it seems unlikely that Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron didn’t also follow suit here. This book is chock full of what Cho draws best–not just voluptuous women, but superhero females in action, acting smart, acting tough, being cool in every way. As I mentioned above, that means Scarlet Witch, Hope Summer, and Spider Woman, but it also means Ms. Marvel and Emma Frost make a solid appearance. It also means that Bendis sent Cho a few lay-ups, with some dinosaur-tipped rockets fired at the Scarlet Witch courtesy of M.O.D.O.K. (that’s Mobile Organism Designed Only for Killing). I think only Cho could pull that off, and he did it here. If this work is what partially delayed Cho’s Guns & Dinos series, there was a great reason for the diversion, and his fans will be pleased with this latest entry.
There is some alpha and omega, yin and yang going on here, as Hope was the first mutant born after the Scarlet Witch turned all the mutants (except 198) into mere mortals. Will these two get to deal with each other in the pages of AvX going forward? I hope so.
In this issue, we had split writing duties, with Jason Aaron taking on the frustration of Hope against the always whiny and wimpy (and often annoying) Cyclops. Brian Michael Bendis wrote the story of Scarlet Witch in her return to Marvel’s pages from a bit of a hiatus. Both writers balance the story well and Cho’s art further keeps the issue cohesive. It would be great if this trio took the reins for the entire series, but that is not the case.
What’s the coolest thing about Hope? Along with having an interesting character voice, she has one of the best powers around–she can mimic the powers of others. I remember thinking this was a great ability when I watched Peter use this power in the Heroes TV series. Hope uses these powers to both use Cyclops’s rays against himself and to take out a motley group of baddies at the end of the book. She also uses the classic head-butt maneuver to good effect in a classic scene found in this issue. Aaron’s writing includes a number of funny and quirky moments for Hope–she is endearing. And you instantly must side with Hope Summers against Scott Summers. It’s the same style of writing that makes Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men successful.
Cho's original cover art is sadly partially obliterated by the AvX logo. Check out the angel in the background. Doesn't it look like the angel from the Fearless series?
Scarlet Witch–Wanda–never looked better (you just know she wears a Beltsville shirt in her down time). She is back but wants to stay away from the Avengers. But Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel insists she accompany her and Spider-Woman back to their friends. The result is a long-and-coming encounter with her husband who turns her away, to the anger of Ms. Marvel, but the acceptance of Logan and Tony Stark. Bendis is really good–you really feel bad for Wanda here in a short number of pages, both from the story and Cho’s visual portrayal. And we are left with this prophecy that Hope will have to face the Phoenix… that she senses is coming toward her from far away. Cho shows us that it is not just a prophecy but will be addressed in issues to come.
For AvX, this is a great start, using the powerhouse writing and art trio of Bendis/Aaron/Cho upfront. Hopefully the rest of the creators at Marvel Comics will keep the momentum going as we will find out with the premiere of Issue #1 next week. And more than anything this issue has made me want to catch up on past Cho trade books: Ultimate Comics New Ultimates: Thor Reborn, Fear Itself: The Fearless, and The New Avengers.
First of all, there needs to be some ground rules when you tackle a “best of” list for someone as talented as Frank Cho. With Alex Ross, we took his entire body of work and picked our 15 favorite images, whether from cover art, interior pages, or marketing pieces Ross painted.
But with Frank Cho, the world renowned artist known for his voluptuous women characters and funny and sarcastic animals, it was a bit harder to choose. In particular, his work on Liberty Meadows, and before that, his hilarious college series University². Cho’s drawings of Brandy and her animal friends are so expressive and fun that we think they beat out all his other work. And we think Cho would approve–he told us this summer that he doesn’t sell any of his original Brandy pages. We wouldn’t either! You can see some of the Liberty Meadows covers behind Brandy in the image above from Cho’s great website, full of his blogging and galleries, apesandbabes.com. If you don’t know Frank Cho’s comic strip-turned-comic book, we suggest you start with University², available in a compilation of comic strip humor called University Squared: The Angry Years that is my personal favorite. Beyond that, Liberty Meadows is available via Image Comics in Liberty Meadows: Book One, Eden, Liberty Meadows: Book Two, Creature Comforts, Liberty Meadows: Book 3, Summer Of Love, and Liberty Meadows: Book Four, Cold, Cold Heart. Liberty Meadows is about Brandy, a animal psychologist at an animal sanctuary/rehab clinic, her animal friends, and Frank, a veterinarian, who is in love with Brandy…but won’t tell her. It is funny in the vein of Bill Waterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, yet dramatic like Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise.
So before taking on a “best of” or “favorites list” for the other comic books series Cho has created covers for, could we select one Liberty Meadows piece that stands for them all? We came up with this cover, with Brandy sporting her Beltsville shirt. This image is classic Frank Cho. But even this is sort of a cheat, since it is a cover to Cho’s Liberty Meadows: Cover Girl compilation book, as opposed to a regular series comic, but it is the cover Cho chose for the book on his own covers. Hey, you try and pick the best from Liberty Meadows!
Oftentimes we think you can see his Liberty Meadows characters Brandy the brunette and Jen the blonde as the superheroes in the mainstream comics he draws. They are fun to watch for.
It’s probably easier to discuss Cho’s best cover art by referring to each series he has drawn. And we’ll focus here on just a dozen of his cover projects that blow us away. You’re dealing with a body of work that includes Shanna the She-Devil, New Ultimates, Fear Itself, Schism, Ms. Marvel, Red Sonja, and New Avengers, and his many variant covers, which often eclipse the regular issue covers of other artists.
First up is his work with “dinosaurs, Nazis, guns and babes” in Shanna, the She-Devil. This cover to Issue 3 is a standout, with Shanna in about as much danger as a human in the Jurassic era can get into! If you like this also check out his Jungle Girlseries, his Red Sonja series, and, coming soon, his Guns and Dinos.
A lot of Cho’s work has the feel of 1940s pin-ups. This Dark Horse Comics Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 2 cover image has a great retro look, and shows that, like Alex Ross, Cho gets to work with a variety of publishers’ star characters:
We only wish we’d see Cho take on more DC Comics characters!
Cho hasn’t come close to hitting his full stride yet, with some of his best work coming out in 2010 and 2011. Check out these covers for the Ultimate Comics New Ultimates: Thor Reborn. And his interior work is as good or better than the covers. In fact, most of the cover work featured here reflects covers of books where Cho drew the interior art, too. When you usually find a great cover but lesser art inside with other creators’ books, Cho’s books give you top illustrations, cover to cover.
Cho practically re-ignited Ms. Marvel through his drawings of this once minor Avenger. Two covers with Ms. Marvel stand out: the Mighty Avengers cover that was redone for the Irredeemable Ant-Man series, and this stunning cover for her own series:
The other Avenger Cho brought into the limelight was Spider-Woman, especially in this cover to New Avengers (left), yet check out this incredibly powerful image in the variant of Secret Invasion (right), with Cho showing his pre-Raphaelite influence:
Cho has said that his favorite superhero to draw is Spider-man. Here he drew Spider-man in contrast to this dark, Gothic, seemingly medieval woodcut-inspired image in Ultimate Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man, one of his best variant cover pieces:
Right now on the shelves, Cho returns to his Gothic imagery with the Fear Itself: The Fearless series with these two incentive comic covers from one original grand Cho artwork. Contrasted with his beautiful Valkyrie on the left is his self-described “fugly” character Sin, daughter of long-time Marvel villain, the Red Skull. Good luck to whoever gets in the way of either of these women. Doesn’t look like anyone will stand a chance against either of them.
Keeping with the angel theme, this early Witchbladeshows another, earlier Cho style, likely influenced by the paintings of Maxfield Parrish:
Finally, to get the full effect of this next image, Cho’s magnum opus of X-Men in X-Men: Schism, you’ll need a wide screen. In the alternative, click on each image to see how nicely done this new pentaptych is close-up. Again, Cho’s work gets the exclusive variant edition status…those comics that don’t easily get into readers’ hands, unfortunately, because they are issued in limited numbers to comic shop owners as incentives. But no doubt the trade edition will include these images not long from now. Pretty hard to pick a favorite just from these five covers:
Although the most recent work isn’t out in trade versions yet, a lot is still on the shelves as individual issues (see links in the series names above to check out what is available). Original prints of Cho’s work and other cool stuff is available at Cho’s website.
So… what do you think? Any glaring omissions?
C.J. Bunce
Editor borg
*All images posted above are owned by Frank Cho or the respective publishers listed above.
is not always easy to find via electronic searches because of its clunky title. And if you try to just ask for “that great Jeph Loeb/Frank Cho” book from last year, they may or may not know what you mean. But take it from me, it is well worth remembering this one.
that is my personal favorite. Beyond that, Liberty Meadows is available via Image Comics in 
, 
, 
, and 
. Liberty Meadows is about Brandy, a animal psychologist at an animal sanctuary/rehab clinic, her animal friends, and Frank, a veterinarian, who is in love with Brandy…but won’t tell her. It is funny in the vein of Bill Waterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, yet dramatic like Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise.
compilation book, as opposed to a regular series comic, but it is the cover Cho chose for the book on his own covers. Hey, you try and pick the best from Liberty Meadows!
, you’ll need a wide screen. In the alternative, click on each image to see how nicely done this new pentaptych is close-up. Again, Cho’s work gets the exclusive variant edition status…those comics that don’t easily get into readers’ hands, unfortunately, because they are issued in limited numbers to comic shop owners as incentives. But no doubt the trade edition will include these images not long from now. Pretty hard to pick a favorite just from these five covers:
