Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The Marvels Project by Brubaker and Epting

In Cap Reborn #1 there was a preview of the Marvel's Project, which debuts in August. I'm not sure if other comics had that same preview. I took a look, already knowing I'd be buying this mini-series when it came out and...WOW. This looks good.

"The Marvel's Project" is by Ed Brubaker, arguably best writer currently writing comics books and Steve Epting, one of the great talents of the modern era. They were the Cap team for awhile (both have been on numerous comics, most recenly at Marvel). The concept is it will attempt to explain the history of the Marvel Universe in a type of 'secret origin' concept, in which we see some of the connections between the heroes, villains, stories and long running plot threads, and ultimately I'd expect some larger plots (inevitably with some secret twists will be revealed).

The preview had one such thing that I loved: it showed the final days of Matt Hawk, the Two-Gun Kid. Being that I was raised on the Silver Age Marvels, I have a soft spot for Marvel's "big three" western stars so I thought it was a nice touch--it shows a bridge from Two-Gun (Marvel's westerns) to the Golden Age Marvel stories.

This looks to be really good. I can't wait.

I'm buying it, but mostly because I'm a Steve Epting completist. As I said in the Recommendations thread, I wish Roger Stern was writing it instead of Brubaker, who I find rather overrated.

Well, I have to admit I'm impressed by the first issue. This is maybe the best Brubaker writing I've read (possibly challenged by the first 21 issues of Captain America), and Epting is masterful as always.

You've read it?!?! I didn't think #1 had come out yet!?!?!

It turned up in my pull box. Maybe some kind person one week in the future sent it into the past?

Picked up #1 and it was excellent. I suspected it would be but was actually surprised even then by how good it was.

Brubaker is as good as ever, if not better, and Epting's art is just a joy to behold.

I love that the Golden Age Angel is having some screen time, a character I know very little about. So far I find him the most compelling. I thought he shined the whole issue and I love the idea of the Two-Gun Kid kind of passing the mantle to him. In fact, the Two-Gun Kid sequence in the very beginning was just spectacular--it added a sense of the grandiose to the whole series.

The importance of Dr. Erskine and making him an intergral part of the series? Brillant. And quinntesential Bru, to find characters who are huge parts of the lore and after 80+ years really defining them for the first time.

Love the inclusion of Fury and other non-Golden Agers who we now know lived during WWII. It makes it an even better idea for a series IMO. Its not about Marvel's Golden Age, its about Marvel's history. I like that. I know Wolverine will have one brief sequence later on and I don't mind that at all even though he's eveyrwhere these last three decades. It makes sense given the motif of the story.

So far after one issue, this is shaping up to be Marvel's most important miniseries--and best one--in years.

I'm really glad that Marvel is injecting some juice into their golden age properties. I didn't even know there *were* golden-age guys like Vision, Angel, Black Widow until just a couple of years ago.

Contrasted by DC's inclusion of their past pretty much from the Silver Age's get-go. (Not so much the Quality/Fawcett 'pasts' that they bought and did not too much with...)

It's fun discovering new comic book hero history, I think.

I wonder if starting this project as Human Torch heavy as it is at the same time they're launching THE TORCH is such a good idea? I found myself thinking of one while reading the other, sometimes mixing details up.

On it's own, this is clearly a labor of love.

The second issue is just as good as the first.

This miniseries is almost single-handedly keeping my faith in modern comics alive.

Bru & Epting have suddenly made me quite a big fan of the Golden Age Angel.

Loving this mini! At this level of quality I wish it was an ongoing! Hell, I wish it was a weekly ongoing

You should probably pick up X Men Noir, where the GA Angel was the antagonist to the sociopathic "X Men" (as I understand it).

Hm, I haven't even browsed through a Noir book yet by Marvel. Picking up so many things already, I figured I'd hold off until someone raved about one or two which never happened.

This is now officially the only Big Two mainstream superhero comic that I like. I think even people who don't normally read Marvel would enjoy it. I'll be very sad to this mini-series end in a few months.

It's been guite good so far.

It's not particularly innovative, ang once again Brubaker demonstrates that Marvel is held to a different (lower) standard when it comes to continuity, but it's good stuff.

I've been quite happy with the attention paid to Golden Age and Pulp era characters in ther last few years.

In the latest issue, Steve Epting reaffirms his considerable talent thanks to an astonishing re-imagining of the iconic scene where Steve Rogers becomes a super-soldier.

The other high points are a genuinely horrifying sequence with the Red Skull, and the climactic meeting between the Angel and Captain America.

What else can I say? Read this comic!

Still reading and its still a great read. The high point is Epting's showcasing of his incredible skill. Wort the price of admission for the art alone.

I will say I expected a bit more to happen in this series but I see the whole thing is purposely taking place before the US's entrance into WWII. I was kind of hoping for many of the more obscure players to get some screen time here but its mainly a production featuring the stars of the Golden Age (Cap, Torch, Namor, Angel) plus Fury and Steele. The next tier in popularity should get some exposure: Destroyer, Vision, Patriot.

I did like the other masked heroes coming out to help the New Yorkers after Namor flooded Manhattan.

Vision's a supporting character over in the Torch mini, I believe.

The art on this has been great. The story has pretty much meandered from set piece to set piece.

I didn't think the Destroyer retcon was necessary. Looks like we can pretty much write Roy Thomas' Invaders series out of continuity.

I may go back and try this out.

My LCBS has the whole thing siting there, maybe I can get a deal.

That pretty much mirrors my own opinion at this point. Disillusionment set in around issue # 6. It's definitely a triumph of style over substance, which is a shame because the early issues were so promising.

In a way MP is pretty much porn for Brubaker-Epting/Captain America devotees more than anything else. The flashbacks in their Cap series have always been an integral part of their storytelling there. MP is a way of giving us more of exclusively that aspect but without any feeling of consequence or heft.

There's not really a whole lot in the way of new astonishing information or much of a narrative hook as far as storyline. In a way that's good as it means we're not being forcefed controversial ret-cons that are hard to swallow, but it's bad because we're left wondering what the point is 7 issues in.

In a way the point would appear to be to shine the spotlight on the Golden Age Angel, a character many of us aren't too familiar with. He's our main protagonist, but at the same time he's mainly an observer or narrator. Hell, I'd be down for a Brubaker/Epting Angel follow-up, but I'm not sure a lot of other people would based squarely on his exploits in MP.

I wouldn't call MP a failure exactly, but at this point I'm not really sure what it's mission statement or prime purpose is.

Well said, Otie.

I've seen some speculation on other boards that it might tie into the present day through Brubaker's "Secret Avengers".

That possibility has occurred to me somewhat. Maybe they should've hinted at something like that either in the run-up to MP or as they began to tease SA.

Lardy, I'm stealing your post to describe Blackest Night as "Geoff Johns Porn". I'll wait to use that when Blackest Night supporters are at their weakest

Well, it's over, and we still haven't really been let in on what the whole point of it was.

Sigh.

And it started out with such promise. If it had followed through properly, it could have been the launching pad for Marvel's equivalent of the JSA book.

At least Epting got to draw Golden Age stuff, which he is said to really enjoy doing.

Marvel has a number of artists right now who can nail a combination of grit and sleekness that is perfect for a supers/war setting: Epting, McNiven, and Mitch Breitweiser all come to mind.

I'm coming to think the point of all this was just to have a Golden Age mini in place for Marvel's 75th celebration.

That's probably the reason, yeah. It certainly showed itself in its later issues to have no real conviction.

For a Marvel Golden Age tale with both craft and conviction, one need look no further than Roger Stern's three-part Invaders story from the first three issues of the short-lived Marvel Universe anthology. And it was drawn by...wait for it...Steve Epting!