The kind folks at BOOM! Studios were nice enough to get us at Multiversity a copy of the upcoming Soldier Zero #1, coming out next week! For those not in the know, BOOM! and Pow Entertainment teamed up recently, with Stan Lee creating three all new characters for the company to work with. The first is Soldier Zero, which is being written by Paul Cornell and Javier Pina.
So in honor of this super advance issue, Matthew and I sat down to discuss our thoughts on the first issue. Check behind the cut for our thoughts!
David: So Matt, we got ourselves a copy of Stan Lee’s first project for Boom! Studios this week. It featured Paul Cornell writing from Stan the Man’s concept and Javier Pina on art…how does this Soldier Zero compare to some of Stan’s greater creations? Is it another solid work?
Matt: That’s… a good question. I mean, what are we generally comparing this to? Classic Stan like Fantastic Four, or modern Stan like… Striperella?
David: Oh, I mean, how can you even start to compare it to the glory of Striperella? I mean more like his classic superhero characters.
Matt: Ha! Well, it’s a bit early to tell I suppose. I mean, classic Stan stories featured origins that were done in a single issue. This is just the beginning of the origin arc, so I think I’d have to wait until the arc ends to fully be able to tell.
David: Agreed.
Matt: I will say, though, that it definitely has the Stan the Man feel to it. 100%.
David: I agree entirely, but I think you bring up an interesting point. Stan’s original creations were written by him with origins told in one issue. Because of modern tales featuring TONS of decompressed storytelling, we’re going to get an entire arc from Cornell giving us that. Times have changed, I guess.
Matt: Well, that’s without a doubt. I don’t think people would be happy with a single issue origin story anymore. There’s a formula here: introduce the character, introduce the heroic element at the end, establish more with the second issue, bring in a villain by the end or in the third.
David: Yeah, and I think they did a good job with that. I think that the main character himself (whose name escapes me) is an interesting and charming character, but good god, did Cornell need to go so heavy handed on the paralyzed pleasantries?
Matt: Stewart! And you know, I actually had a BIG conversation about that with someone I work with! I work at a military base by day (and obviously as an intrepid reporter at night), but I showed him my copy of the comic and asked him his thoughts on it as a soldier who knew people that this situation had happened to, and he actually really dug it.
David: Really?
He didn’t find it heavy handed? Or did he just see it?
Matt: He didn’t read it… just skimmed it… but he generally thought it was appropriate, and thought that the idea of this kind of fantasy story was really nice. I mean, I personally agree with you about the way it was really drilled into our heads that, hey! This guy is paralyzed! And I remember reading and thinking it was kind of odd, personally. Especially in some scenes of dialogue that just seemed … well, dated in the dialogue department.
David: It’s not that they drilled it into our heads that he was paralyzed – it’s that they kept putting us into moments where they are like “oh my god, it’s a guy who is paralyzed – EVERYONE ACT NORMAL!” Did we really need like…6 scenes with that happening?
Matt: No, not at all. And the worst was the one where he was handed a book, and then quietly whispered to himself. That was just … meh.
Continued belowDavid: Agreed. That was kind of rough. Did you read Superior?
Matt: Not yet. It’s in my pile.
David: Well, I’m going to say this – never in a million years did I think Mark Millar would handle a paraplegic character with more gravitas and humanity than Paul Cornell would. And he did.
Matt: HA! Really? Now I can’t wait to read it.
David: Yeah, I think you will be VERY pleasantly surprised by that book. With that said, I don’t want to make this one seem like a burn. It was a very solid first issue.
Matt: Oh, without a doubt. I liked it a lot! Why don’t you start us off. What did you like about it?
David: Well, I thought the lead, Stewart, was a very good character. While those around him reacted overtly, he came across as a character that is a natural hero. There was nobility there in Cornell’s writing.
Matt: Did you get the sense that Cornell wasn’t writing like his normal pop-y/wit filled Brit-self with this like I did? He was definitely toned down a lot.
David: Agreed. I think it was the Stan Lee tie. You really could notice the infusion of almost a Golden Age feel in his writing. It contrasted rather intensely with his Knight & Squire work. But it worked.
Matt: Exactly! I mean, reading Golden Age comics now can sometimes be… well, laugh out loud funny, to be quite honest (see: Marvelman Family’s Finest and compare it to Axe Cop). But with this, it was like a “modern” Golden Age style, and I think the writing fit perfect with the basic purpose of the book.
David: Yeah, it was a good blend. I read a lot of people saying it was a bit cheesy, but I didn’t get that. The only thing that got me was the Saturday morning special feel in which we learn a lesson, but the writing was snappy and it’s a great origin that seems to blend Blue Beetle with Green Lantern.
Matt: My first thought was Green Lantern, actually, but Blue Beetle works too. And … well, it’s a little cheesy, but why is that bad? I mean, we’re talking a book that was created by Stan Lee. All of his comics are cheesy, but they’re still great. There’s nothing wrong with a little cheese at all. The Saturday morning special thing … yeah, I guess I can see that too. We just didn’t really learn a lesson, other than “don’t be awkward around people in wheelchairs, because they hate that.”
David: Which is a pretty hilarious lesson to learn I say.
Matt: I work with a guy in a wheelchair… but we never talk about it. I guess I learned the lesson!!
David: I can say this – I REALLY enjoyed Javier Pina’s art.
Matt: Oh yeah, Pina is freakin’ GREAT in this. The in space sequence between the … well, I guess “original” Soldier Zero and the coming hordes? That was … wow.
David: Yeah, it’s beautiful. And I’m not going to lie, I read it on an iPad with our advance PDF and it looked so damn sharp on there it kind of blew my mind. He’s a real find.
Matt: Oooh, I didn’t even think to read it on the iPad! Now I pretty much have to.
David: Yeah, it looks really sharp and it’s nice to zoom in on the details.
Matt: Gotta love modern technology. I bet Soldier Zero has a built in iPad….
David: The odd thing about his art though is there is no real individual aspect that stands out. It’s just altogether good work. Nice lines, clean design, scene design makes sense, the storytelling is sharp. He’s a good fit for the book.
Not a huge fan of the Soldier Zero design with the weird “The Arrival” legs though.
Matt: There’s one thing in particular that I feel we have to mention though, which is the scene where Stewart is taken over by Soldier Zero? I mean, if this were really coming out in the Golden Age, we’d have Kirby Crackles everywhere. But with this, Pina came up with his own thing … Pina Hexes I suppose we can call them. That was one of those moments where it was like … Ok, Stan Lee may not have written the script, but this is a Stan Lee book through and through.
David: It really is. It’s like Stan Lee’s name on it influenced the writing and art styles entirely. I think what the book did best though is make me interested in further issues. I am invested in the character. I’ll buy the second issue. What about you?
Matt: Without a doubt. Pre-ordered, in fact! Although – there’s one scene that we didn’t talk about that I’d like to bring up.
David: What’s that?
Matt: I know we were talking about scenes that seemed heavy handed and Saturday morning special-like, and I forgot to mention it then, but the opening scene, with the girl in the wheel chair?
David: Oh god, I laughed. Is that bad?
Matt: Did that seem kind … I don’t know. I mean, if she came back as a character later, then ok. But otherwise, it seemed like kind of a weird way to push across a “point,” you know?
David: Who has “no wheelchairs allowed” signs anyways? Isn’t that illegal?
Matt: Right!! No Wheelchairs Allowed? I mean… what planet is this?!
David: Yeah, I think she’ll come back. She has to, otherwise that has to be the weirdest scene ever. I mean, no one on the planet is allowed to take a stand against the handicapped. It’s just not allowed!
Matt: Especially when it looks like there is a ramp to the right of the stairs… I dunno… that whole scene was just “off” to me. I think everything about the book moved well, but that scene is just like … what is going on here! This just doesn’t happen. Granted, aliens don’t crash onto our planets and create symbiotic relationships with us, but still.
David: Yeah, the far fetched thing from a comic book sense is that there is a store that takes a hardline stance against people in wheelchairs.
God, that scene killed me. I’m so glad we talked about it. I love that the girl was so invested in this trip to the store that she flung herself off her wheelchair and was going to crawl in.
Matt: Ha! Yes!! Crawling through the grocery store, now THAT I would actually like to see.
Wait, there really is a store like that?
David: Hell no! God, they would get sued until their entire family tree was bankrupt if they did that. Well, I suppose maybe in England. Perhaps that’s why Cornell threw it in.
Matt: Hahaha, you got me confused for a second there. I dunno, maybe people in England … really don’t like cripples..?
David: Yeah! Maybe that’s the perspective difference. Maybe in London grocery stores are down on the wheelchaired folk. I was there and they seemed cool with them, but maybe in some neighborhoods they frown upon the handicapped. Of course I’m kidding. It’s pretty universal.
Matt: Hahaha, of course.
David: Well, anything else to share about Boom!’s debut Stan Lee joint?
Matt: I think we’ve generally covered it all. Some admitted cheese to it, but still a very nice comic. I’m looking forward to the second issue, and I kind of wonder if the things we’ve discussed here will still be present there, i.e. the sort of timely dialogue and moral lessons. I get the feeling the second issue will be much less… Stan Lee-ish, and more generally plot driven. But I could be wrong.
David: I think so too. I think it will lose that feel fairly quickly, but be better for it. What would you give it?
Matt: Out of 10? A strong 8.4.
David: I’m going to give it a 7. It’s a buy, but I’m not in love with it.
Matt: I’m the optomist when it comes to comics, what can I say! Plus, you’ve gotta give extra points for the awesome Traveler back-up in the back. But that’s just me!
