Review: KORVAC SAGA #1

Korvac_Saga_1_Cover

KORVAC SAGA #1
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Otto Schmidt
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: June 24, 2015

Dan Abnett, the writer of Guardians 3000, thrusts that comic’s cast of characters into the biggest event of the year with Korvac Saga.The first issue is not only a treat for long time fans who remember the classic story of Michael Korvac from the pages of Avengers, but introduces a solid mystery, and a story of Battleworld’s diplomatic relations that fans of Secret Wars should appreciate. The issue’s inconsistency is frustrating, but the high points are really well done, and make this is another sleeper tie-in that readers may not want to overlook.

Korvac Saga #1 is an interesting beast to tackle. On one hand, outside of the cast of characters, the series seems to have little to do with the original story that ran through the pages of Avengers for the majority of 1978. This causes a bit of shallowness to the characters. On the other, writer Dan Abnett seems to be telling a story that could end up being one of the more important Secret Wars tie-ins because of the central mystery, and a look into the relationship between neighboring Battleworld domains. This results in an inconsistent issue where the good is very well done, and tries to keep the weak from dragging it down.

The central mystery of Korvac Saga can be summed up with one question – Where are all the stars? The idea of the missing stars has been mentioned in a few other tie-ins (see Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps), and in Secret Wars proper readers are told that Odin took all of the stars out of the sky to create the hammers for the Thor Corps. The fact that characters remembering a time where there were stars in the sky is one of the main plots of the issue appears to make this series one of the more vital tie-ins yet. The Battleworld domain of Forest Hills, and its Baron, Michael Korvac, realize that this “infection” is a huge problem that God Doom would not take kindly to. To make matters worse the Guardians are tasked with solving the problem just as the diplomatic convoy from neighboring rival domain, The Holy Wood make their way into town.

This issue works very well from a big picture perspective. The aforementioned “infection” is an important premise, and the relationship between Forest Hills, and The Holy Wood serves as an informative insight into how domains interact with one another. Baron Korvac and the Guardians of Forest Hills are joined by Baron Simon Williams and his Avengers squad. The cast of characters is where the connections to the original story are the strongest. The original Guardians of the Galaxy, and current stars of Guardians 3000, played a big role in the original story and are the stars of this series. The Avengers squad from The Holy Wood is the same lineup as from the 1978 story. These characters include Captain Marvel, Moondragon, Hercules, Black Widow, Jocasta, Black Panther, The Vision, and Yellowjacket with Wonder Man Simon Williams serving as the Baron. Seeing these two groups serve as rivals creates a political tension along the lines of seeing President Obama sitting next to Vladimir Putin. There haven’t been many instances of diplomatic relations between domains shown in Secret Wars, so this is a nice touch.

The problem however is there isn’t any character building within these pages. Everything that happens seems to be in service of the larger plot. This could change, but after one issue the characters are interchangeable with any other characters readers have been introduced to in the event. There are no real distinguishable attributes of the characters that make them essential to the bigger story other than being there for nostalgia’s sake. Korvac himself shows no signs of the original character, and is defined by his relationship with Wonder Man. It feels like Abnett could have taken any group of characters with similar relationships to each other, and still have told the same story. Hopefully next issue we will see more of the Avengers and Guardians playing a larger role in the plot individually, and not just there because they were all in an old story together. With the setup out of the way here’s hoping that the characters will be given room to develop, because the larger plot has potential to be very very good.

The art from Otto Schmidt is a mixed bag. There are pages where the art looks solid, but then as the action picks up the work seems to become almost incomprehensible. The more that is happening on a page the worse the page looks. The opening action scene with the Guardians taking on a monstrous character gets a bit confusing to follow as the scene progresses. The individual characters are rendered well throughout the issue though. There’s a lot of character given to the individual figures through facial expressions, and body language. There is a splash page introducing the Avengers that serves as the highlight of the issue. If every page looked like that page the issue would be fine. It wouldn’t be the best looking issue, but there wouldn’t be anything to complain about.

Colorist Cris Peter does a great job jumping back and forth between the darker, more drab palate, and the brighter colors seen on most of the characters. Given the central mystery of the series having to do with the stars in the sky I have a feeling that this going back and forth will be important for the visual look going forward. The key is going to be whether or not Schmidt can stay consistent with his pencils. Korvac Saga is never going to be the best looking of the Secret Wars tie-ins, but there is a chance that it can look good if a level of consistency can be reached.

Korvac Saga #1 is an interesting comic book. There is so much potential in these pages that isn’t fully embraced. The series could be one of of the best Secret Wars tie-ins. It just doesn’t live up to its potential here, especially in terms of character work and art. Even with that said, there is a great chance that it ends up being one of the more important tie-ins, because the bigger plot is very engaging. I want to know more about the central mystery. I want to see more large scale interaction of Battleworld domains that doesn’t consist of them at war with one another. Hopefully Abnett and Schmidt can bring the problematic aspects of this issue to par with what works, because what works does so really well.

The Verdict: 7.5/10    

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