New Warriors #1

Chris Yost - Writer

Marcus To - Artist

David Curiel - Colorist

VC’s Joe Caramagna - Letters

Sana Amanat - Editor

Boy, The New Warriors can’t catch a break can they? The team has imploded so many times, that they have even been rebooted past the initial Civil War incarnation. So where does that leave the most recent All-New Marvel era New Warriors, the answer will surprise you. With pencilling handled by the incredible Marcus To, and scripting tackled by the great Chris Yost, this book is now in a solid direction. Judging from this first installment, it is ready to be one of the weirder entries into the already weird All-New Marvel Now roster. Frankly, that’s a good thing. While Marvel is undoubtedly flooding the market with such a huge amount of number ones, this first issue is still a fun set up to the larger premise, and one that definitely proves it’s existence over the course of this one single installment. The tale not only functions as a new home for the Scarlet Spider after his series recently got cancelled, but also a second home for Nova, and a place for the smaller characters to spend a serious amount of time.

This first issue opens up with a tease at the shape of things to come, with a mystery villain for the series revealed on the very last page of this issue. The tale wastes no time, as it then sets a new status quota for Speedball and Justice into play immediately. The crux of the issue shows off the new dynamics of the characters in small groups, which gives everybody a nice amount of screentime. This is a gamble by Yost that ultimately ends up paying off. Writing Kaine is not a task I would wish on my worst enemy, and somehow he ends up seeming quite refined in this comic. His interaction with Hummingbird is amusing, and shows off a gentler side to the character that readers have been missing. Even fringe characters like Faira Sar come off as interesting in this grounded tale. Sam Alexander as Nova and Sun Girl are the two spots that are not handled without the utmost grace here. The two seemed to be tacked onto tale, simply because they have a spot on the cover. This also worries me that the eight person cast is going to hurt the series, instead of help it. From a writing standpoint, this is still a solid issue that is surprisingly economic with it’s roster of heroes.

Marcus To is definitely a bright spot in these pages, but the awkward colors by David Curiel slightly diminish the excellent work that is put up on the page. To specializes in making silly costumes look incredible, as the different heroes in this book all have a sleek look that is well defined. The artist is also equally adept at rendering the talking heads scenes, along with the superheroic action. There are several moments in the title where colors are flat, that doesn't quite work with the material being give. The moment on the bach in particular contains too many shadows on people’s faces that ruin the special moment that takes place here. Curiel is versatile though, as the moments with thicker inks, or shadows of sepia look very nice.