Britain’s greatest exports: The Beatles. Doctor Who. Harry Potter. Downtown Abbey. Death’s Head II.
(Only one of those actually appear in this issue).
Written by Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill
Illustrated by Rich Elson and Antonio FabelaPart 1 of “Revolutionary War”
• Marvel UK’s greatest heroes come together for the first time in 20 years to face a threat that could destroy the world.
• Featuring Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, Death’s Head II, Motormouth and Killpower, the Warheads and a host of British heroes.
I’ve always found the Marvel UK imprint of the early 90’s to be an extremely intriguing beast. Maybe it’s the bizarre American allurement towards all things British, or maybe it’s the relative obscurity of the line. Maybe its the outrageous character names, like Motormouth, Digitek, or Colonel Tigon Liger. Maybe it’s just that everything featuring Captain Britain is awesome (except for the ‘Otherworld’ arc of “Uncanny X-Force.”). Regardless, the opportunity to return to this world, revitalized for modern audiences and seated squarely in the current Marvel Universe, is terribly exciting. Unfortunately, this “Alpha” issue isn’t quite the revolution needed to put these characters back on the map.
Picking up with Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom fighting blue monsters in the streets of London, “Revolutionary War Alpha” rightfully feels like the spiritual successor to Paul Cornell’s masterful “Captain Britain and MI13” series. However, when it is discovered that these creatures are the remnants of the villainous organization Mys-Tech, things dive deep into the Marvel UK days.
Judging by this first issue, the “Revolutionary War” series is aimed squarely at long time fans of Marvel UK. This is a love letter to the die-hards. As such, there’s a pretty steep learning curve for new readers. A crash course in Marvel UK history is bound to leave the uninitiated confused and scrambling to Wikipedia.
A little inaccessibility could be easily excused, in light of a strong plot or engaging characters. Unfortunately, neither are particularly revolutionary (haha, see what I did?). The pacing suffers somewhat from lengthy flashbacks and divergent plots. By issue’s end, it feels as if the story has barely begun. The characters themselves feel somewhat wooden and generic, especially the better established ones like Britain and Wisdom. The banter between characters rarely feels like more than place-holder dialogue, servicing to advance the story toward the next exposition-laden development. It’s hard not to cringe when Liger refers to “Peter Hunter, AKA Albion of the Knights of the Pendragon” in mid-conversation.
Fairing somewhat better is Richard Elson’s art. Elson captures a thoroughly British tone, distinguishing the book from its American contemporaries. His Captain Britain is particularly fun to behold, seemingly large than life, taking up whole panels as he bounds into action. However, Pete Wisdom here is the antithesis of dynamic, throwing his “heat knives” the way one might flick water from their fingers after washing their hands. The character feels oddly static throughout the issue, especially compared to the more lively Captain Britain.
Occasionally stiff character work aside, Elson does a fantastic job crafting the book’s unique ambience. The double page spread, showcasing dozens of Marvel UK heroes in their greatest battle is a terrific piece of art. Antonio Fabela’s dark, moody coloring complements Elson’s style well, although his rainbow light show near the issue’s end is oddly reminiscent of Geoff Johns’ “Green Lantern.”
It feels somewhat disappointing for a world so filled with magic and wonder to return devoid of either. “Revolutionary War Alpha” is a case of having all the pieces necessary for a good comic, strong creators, fun characters, and a unique setting, but failing to put them together in a satisfying way. Luckily, with each of the various one-shots being handled by a different creative team, there’s still plenty of opportunity for this ship to be righted.
Final Verdict: 5.5 – Browse. Wooden characters and a steep learning curve mar an otherwise strong concept.
