Empyre #1
Written by Al Ewing and Dan Slott
Art by Valerio Schiti
Cover Art by Jim Cheung
Marvel Comics
2020
• The Kree and the Skrulls have united under a new emperor – and their war fleet is on a collision course for our world.
• On the moon, the Avengers are ready to strike with the full power of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Approaching from outer space, the Fantastic Four are seeking a diplomatic solution.
• If the two teams can’t work together to save the day, things can only get worse…
These everyone vs. everyone else events are such fun, I can’t help but love them. It’s absurd in exactly the way a comic book should be. Millions of people will die, lifelong friends will betray each other, empires we’ve thought of as evil for years will suddenly be on our side, and tomorrow it will all seem perfectly ordinary. It’s outrageous and nonsensical and most of all, FUN.
I’m not even going to touch the details of the story – all you need to know is that all hell is breaking loose and pretty much everyone from the Marvel universe is there to make things right again. The writing is solid, the characters are tried and true, and the story is over the top. It’s a perfect combination.
The art is fantastic, in that familiar way that almost every Marvel AAA title is fantastic. They’re not pulling any punches, and the book is amazing from cover to cover. Something I particularly enjoy is how many two page spreads there are in this issue. It hurts the action a little bit, but it does wonder for the epic feeling of what’s going on.
I’m not sure there can be any argument about the quality of such monumental books in the line. Marvel is doing everything they can to make this a series of blockbusters, and of course, they are going to be blockbusters. Who doesn’t want to read about pretty much everything we know about Marvel possibly changing? This is just about as exciting as it gets. If you follow Marvel at all, chances are, your favorites are here somewhere, and they may never be the same again after this. I think the only question left, in the light of just how many Empyre-related books are coming out, is just how detailed you want to follow along, and there’s just no answer to that that leaves the mainline story out. Empyre #1 is practically a must-read.
Can't Tell a Friend From a Foe Without a Program
Empyre sets off one of Marvel's biggest battles yet, and that's exciting, but the bad guys are now all good guys, and the good guys are now all bad guys, and no one knows who to trust, and that's honestly kinda confusing. It's a hot mess on the battlefield, but I can't wait to see how it all works out.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
