SECRET WARRIORS #2

Review by: Rofo

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

561
Pulls
Avg Rating: 3.7
 
Users who pulled this comic:
Users who reviewed this comic:


Size: pages
Price: 2.99

When this book was first announced I was filled with apprehension. While I loved Jonathan Hickman’s Nightly News from start to finish, his Pax Romana and Transhuman mini-series felt like brilliant concepts that fizzled out in execution. Frankly, it seemed like Hickman might be a “big idea” (in quotes) guy, who was not be able to provide a consistent follow through in character development and plotting. Add to this a cast of unremarkable D-grade heroes, save Nick Fury, and Secret Warriors seemed like a shaky proposition. In the series’ first two issues, however, Hickman along with co-plotter Brian Bendis and artist Stefano Caselli have proved these reservations to be completely unfounded.

In the well-worn world of Marvel spy stories, Hickman has managed to create some genuine intrigue with his take on Shield as a Hydra front. What initially seemed absurd in issue 1, is made plausible in issue 2 as the how and why of the Hydra-Shield dynamic are hashed out by Daisy early in the issue. It seems as if Hickman has carved out a “big idea” amongst all the Marvel action/spy tropes. Despite finding this “big idea” however, Hickman has not ignored the character details that were lacking in some of his previous work.

Perhaps most impressively, Hickman instills Baron Strucker with a menacing danger that he has lacked for years, setting up a classic Hydra/Nazi vs Fury face-off. The Secret Warriors themselves still feel like an unknown quality though, and almost a sideshow to Fury (who now has his own subtitle on the cover, “Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing”). While Hellfire’s character sees additional development in this issue (he’s a jerk!), Stonewall, Druid, and Slingshot continue to be complete unknowns. I’m hopeful that these characters will all get fleshed out over the next few issues, and if the work Hickman’s done with Strucker is any indication, I’m sure this will be the case.

In addition to Hickman’s strong scripting effort, Stefano Caselli’s art is worthy of note. His clean lines and animation-influenced style suit this book well, especially when he illustrates the various agents and illuminaries of Hydra. The first five pages of Strucker in Ichor and the closing pages in the Temple of the Hand are all stand outs. Colorist Daniele Rudoni appears to be a great fit for Caselli’s work and echoes a design theme seen in many of Hickman’s other books by using green tones for Hydra pages, blue tones for Nick Fury pages, and red tones for the Secret Warriors sequences. If there’s any quibble with the art it is that Phobos appears to be anywhere between 12 and 18 years olds depending on the panel, but this is barely a distraction.

Two issues in, Secret Warriors is becoming a stand-out of the Dark Reign-era Marvel Universe. Hickman is impressive in his first mainstream superhero work, and Caselli’s art matches the writing in quality. If you’ve enjoyed any of Hickman’s previous work or are a fan of Nick Fury, jump on Secret Warriors now.

Story: 4 - Very Good
Art: 5 - Excellent

Comments

  1. I suppose that this was a solid book, but I felt that it was a little sterile. I should care more about this story, but I just don’t yet.

  2. Another art quibble I have is that the 15 year old Yo-yo has D-cup breasts. Uhm, it’s been 15 years since I was 15 but girls didn’t have huge boobs like that when I was a kid? Is the sugar and chemicals in the Mick Dee causing early "blossoms" in the new generation or something?

  3. @jumpingjupiter – socks.

  4. @JumpingJupiter

    Yes.

Leave a Comment