COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Secret Wars #7

DOOM DESERVES BETTER!

Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic finally commence the ultimate part of the rather straightforward seventh chapter of the 2015 mega-comic event - SECRET WARS. This issue was supposed to be the penultimate part of the maxi-series, but the architect himself, Hickman, had some things in his mind and wanted to further expand his epic narrative to another issue, thus totaling ten parts overall (including #0, just in case). The higher echelons of the House of Ideas, most particularly Tom Brevoort, blessed the author’s request. Is it worth our time with this initiative? Let’s see….

As most chapters presented, the comic scribe maintained his level of storytelling approaches although there are some rather inconsistencies with the fates of the Lord Emperor God Doom’s top generals in some of the main event’s tie-ins, most particularly with Apocalypse, who was last seen in Age of Apocalypse #5 where he was succumbed foolishly to the Legacy Virus), and Maestro (as shown in the last chapter of Future: Imperfect where the treacherous Hulk ended up in his illusion or dream-like state where he “ruled” Battleworld ), and apparently, there were even some of the tie-ins present some level of confusion or a bit of miscommunication between the main event creative team and some of its counterparts as well, like in the case of Thors #4 where the Old Thor, who was killed in Secret Wars #2, was still alive during the 616 “Lady” Thor’s moment of “truth” regarding the corps’ “god” Doom; and the question of the release of The Ultimate End #5 remains unanswered. This seventh chapter reads rather hurriedly, and the best part of Hickman’s superhero narrative style is diminished to accommodate the fast-pacing flow, even the simultaneous attacks from different fronts and domains, courtesy by the two premier geniuses around. In fairness with Jonathan, his literary cadence and the accessibility for broader reading demographics remained steadfast. It was just there are plenty of happenings cramped in one regular chapter, unlike his previous mega-event, Infinity, which he somehow distributed evenly the action packed moments and the narrative sequences at all. Or perhaps due to that, it exposed the writer’s literary Waterloo after all.

More sadly that Esad Ribic’s illustrations in this latest issue present some rather lackluster or even awkwardness, if not the sense of being rushed in many of the panels and its overall paneling quality of the comic’s interiors. Ribic did however retain the consistency of the paneling sequences and the proper angular perspectives in the moments of chaos, upheavals, rebellions and the war itself. Yet, many of his facial portrayals were deemed too hilariously to view, if not outrageously portrayed, particularly the “shocking” and “gaping” scenes. To add further insult to injury, his perennial anatomical Achilles, the “duck faces” and his characters’ mouths, were virtually unbearable to watch, if so laughable to nitpick these just the same. The only redeeming qualities of the artistic department are Ive Svorcina’s colors that were still unmatched and fresh since the beginning, which actually remedied Ribic’s apparent hurriedly drawn illustrations. And naturally, the cover art of Alex Ross could be described as majestic, grand and even so, beyond the actual definition of awesomeness. That cover alone actually defined what the entire series was all about. Don’t be surprised if Ross will be nominated for next year’s Eisner’s for Best Cover Artist, and other critically-comic-award-giving bodies.

Moreover, the additional issue however created some serious delays on the main title, and further aggravating many of the readers’ interests and investments when Marvel already started releasing post-Secret Wars new titles that somehow spoiling the suspense and aftermaths on the key characters of the said maxi-event. In other words, many are getting disinterested, only hardcore and truly invested Marvel readers can surely continue reading this until December 2015, the scheduled “ultimatum”/ “rebooting”/ “restarting”/ “resurrection” of the new/current Marvel Universe. Henceforth, Secret Wars #7 was neither boring nor exciting. However, this issue is definitely the weakest link of the great comic milestone yet. I hope the next chapter will be much better, particularly with the creative team’s respective narrative and artistic executions, and ultimately, as presented with another amazing Alex Ross regular cover art, we surely witness something worth our patience and hard-earned savings…

It’s CLOBBERING TIME… next month!