Happy New Year to all Marvel fans! Marvel Rundown is back with reviews of the latest Marvel books. This week, we’re spotlighting the anthology series Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #4. Also check out Marvel Rivals: The Cities of Heaven #1.
Marvel: Black, White & Blood and Guts #4
Screenplay: Mark Waid, Anthony Oliveira, Victor Laval
Artists: Jorge Fornes, Javier Pulido, Bruno Bull de Oliveira, Rachel Rosenberg
Written by: Joe Sabino of VC
Cover artist: Luke Ross
Marvel has been steadily pumping out these black and white and red/blood anthology books with little fanfare for quite some time. This type of collection is a mix of one-off short stories told by celebrities and newcomers, and tends to get lost among big events and regular renewals. In this issue in particular, the company itself hasn’t done much to spotlight its releases, despite some talented creators stopping by to play. This is a shame, as writers and artists rarely have the opportunity to put their true creative stamp on Marvel characters. Meet the team behind these three horror-tinged short stories. The writers are Mark Waid, Anthony Oliveira, and Victor LaValle. In charge of art are Jorge Fornes, Javier Pulido, and Bruno Burle de Oliveira (with color assistant Rachelle Rosenberg). VC’s Joe Sabino writes each of the three stories here.
Story 1, by Wade and Fornes, spotlights Doctor Strange, focusing on the vanity and ego that led to the accident that led Strange to pursue magic, and how those sins from his youth continue to haunt him. This is a solid little morality play, elevated by Fornes’ fine work. There’s some interesting panel placement, but what stands out is how it plays with the contrast of gray tones and red colors to flesh out Strange’s magic and punishment for his hubris. Fittingly, his Strange takes visual inspiration from Vincent Price, giving him a level of visual menace to the Sorcerer Supreme and his dark mirror. The figure work and emotion is great, and the way Fornes knows when to build up detail and let the panels breathe in empty spaces is truly impressive.
The second story is a short vampire story with hints of the heroic Vampire Blade. This is a short, melancholy story about a boy in a convent where all the monks have been turned into vampires. When the boy encounters werewolves, they also pass by Blade, which raises the question of what the monster is. The highlight here is Javier Pulido’s minimalist approach to visuals and the play between silhouettes and negative space. The inclusion of red serves as a tragic sign of the cursed. The effect is papercraft and shadow puppet-like, making this vampire story feel like a scary story told around a campfire.
The final episode is a classic Defenders adventure set midway through the original series, on New Year’s Eve 1979. LaValle tells a solid, straightforward superhero story in just a few pages, embracing the strangeness of the Defenders’ era, with demonic mouths telling the city to “do your worst.” Bul allows for some fun scenes as ragtag groups of heroes play against each other. The visuals don’t encourage conceit. This is pretty much just a team of superheroes. But it’s well done and there are some cool and gory images of the creatures here.
Anthologies like this can be hit or miss by their very nature, but this issue does well without any weaknesses. Wade and Fornes’ Dr. Strange short stories are my favorites, but you can’t go wrong here. These Black White and Red titles are a quietly solid series of books that give readers a chance to experiment with different creative takes and corners of the Marvel U. I wish the entire series had that kind of creator-first sentiment.
Verdict: Buy
rapid rundown
Marvel Rivals: The Cities of Heaven #1 Marvel Rivals continues its foray into comics with Marvel Rivals The Cities of Heaven, written by Paul Allor and illustrated by Michael Shelfer and Eric Gapstur. This is an absolute whirlwind of issues that decide to focus all of their attention on Luna Snow as she attempts to arrive at the Chai Hive for a performance. Along the way, she encounters all the characters from Marvel Rivals. They’re working on a much more interesting plot off-screen. Look, I like Luna Snow…probably as much as the next guy? But alongside some of the more interesting renditions of these characters, like the hell-breathed Daredevil, it’s hard not to be disappointed that the entire issue revolves around her. There are some great comedic elements to this, and as far as one-shots go, it’s a great enough story to tackle the comics medium for those who only know Marvel Rivals. But for fans of these characters, the world, and their various interpretations, this issue isn’t all that appealing. Paul Arroll clearly loves Luna Snow’s pop star personality, and artists Scherfer & Gapster do a great job of capturing the Rivals character’s unique look, but I wasn’t a fan of this one. Maybe in another issue we might find a great fight between Hulk and Angela.
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