SECRET WARS #8
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: December 9, 2015

It’s all falling apart. Doom’s majestic Battleworld is coming apart at the seams as Hickman, Ribic and Svorcina show readers hit after hit in Secret Wars #8.

This comic is all about the big moments, as it should be. With but a single issue left in this series it is time for Hickman to start throwing down the cards in his hand…and boy, does he have some fun tricks up his sleeve. Doom is in some serious trouble, but I appreciate Hickman showing that he is still ridiculously powerful despite the sky falling down around him. No matter what the Reeds have in store for the world, no matter what hordes are being unleashed, one big brawl is coming and Hickman builds to the finale nicely in this issue. Events unfold as they should, like massive story hammers slamming into your eyeballs, and I will freely admit I took a moment after reading this comic to digest all that happened. Punches are thrown. Titans fall. This issue is just flat out BIG. Hickman is leaving the Marvel Universe with a bang, that’s for sure.

Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina’s artwork is, at times, absolutely jaw dropping. At other times, it is fairly flat. Thankfully, the epic outweighs the bland in this issue. The team delivers when it needs to, with the (quite literally) huge moments of the comic driving home how big this conflict is. There are pages in this comic that are worthy of awards, which leads to some pages looking more rushed, but the weaker work can easily be forgotten when looking at the whole of the issue. Ben Grimm is a wonder to behold and the cover does not lie: Big Ben throws down in some huge ways in this comic and Ribic and Svorcina deliver. Some unexpected moments completely floored me and even I, a person who has been more than a bit grumpy about the delays in this series, will admit that when the result of the delays is some of the pages in this comic, it’s worth it.

Secret Wars #8 is about as big as an event comic can be. Sure, most of the rest of the Marvel Universe has moved on past Secret Wars but when you view some of the events of this comic you can’t help but be blown away. Hickman, Ribic and Svorcina are priming to go out with one hell of a bang and I will certainly be there to watch Battleworld go down in flames in issue #9.

The Verdict: 9.0/10