5 out of 5

Everything that was done wrong in DC’s event FCBD is done right here, and I swear I’m not a Marvel vs. DC guy.  (Okay, maybe sometimes, and maybe those sometimes I side with Marvel.  But these reviews just underline the Why, to a certain extent.)

DC’s entry offered me zero context for whatever their event is, except that the opening editorial promised me it was something for everyone.  The main tie-in in that book was a Geoff Johns Justice League tale, which did the same thing every goddamn 52 and beyond DC book has done and flashed images of a billion different heroes and made vague statements about their doom.  The problem?  If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it matters exactly nil.  Jonathan Hickman sort of does the same thing in Secret Wars, except he first grounds us with Valeria Richards – a very non-hero focal point for new readers – explaining the What’s What to a whole bunch of other non-heroes.  Then they flash around the Marvel U, still with Valeria’s narration.  Meaning we don’t have to know who’s pictured, because we’re following things from Val’s point of view; the glimpses of the other characters are flavoring to her words.  It makes you want to know more, and in a totally relate-able fashion.  So when we get to the final page, the cliffhanger – Here they come! kinda deal – totally lands.  And one of my main criteria of ‘framing’ a FCBD for non-comic readers happens on the next page, when we’re told where to follow up on this story with some preview panels.  That’s really all it takes – you’re giving the reader an understanding that this tale they just read is part of something larger.

Making this book even more complete is a bonus offering of an Avengers / Attack On Titan crossover.  It’s totally bonkers and pointless, but it’s pretty sweet that this found a home.  To be clear – the book is solid just with Hickman’s addition.  Adding in the Titan bit is a fun way to connect with a different type of reader or offer value to the Secret Wars collector.

The art teams on both tales (Paul Renaud / Gerardo Sandoval) are not unimportant in selling this – the book looks great.  The Avengers piece is a nice balance between realism and the big, bold worlds of heroes and the Titan bit is kinetic as hell.  This creates a valid ‘Wow’ factor for people who may picture comics as only big ol’ muscle men.

No, I’m not convinced to read Secret Wars, but – this is what I think a FCBD should be, which I agree is totally subjective, BUT HOW THE HELL ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO REVIEW ANYTHING WITHOUT SUBJECTIVISM BLOOPY BLOOP CAPS LOCK when all fails just end in rambling sentences, he says….