Written by: Bill Willingham
Arted by: Neil EdwardsHath the world known anyone so noble as Hogun? So dashing as Fandral? So… er… great as the mighty Volstagg? HATH THE WORLD EVER KNOWN ANYTHING LIKE THE WARRIORS THREE? The answer is “no,” and that’s probably a good thing, for the tectonic plates of Midgard most likely could not withstand such… ah… might. But lo, an evil is brewing down in the depths of Hel that neither man nor God is prepared for. When an ancient monster is let loose on the world, only the WARRIORS THREE are able to rise to the challenge! From the bestselling comics writer BILL WILLINGHAM (Fables) and breakout artist NEIL EDWARDS (Fantastic Four) comes a tale of such magnitude the Marvel Universe has never seen!
Truth to tell, once I saw the solicitations for this miniseries it immediately entered the realm of “interested in reading it but I’m not sure why exactly.” When I thought about it a little more I realized that I liked the Warriors Three as characters quite a bit (especially after their various appearances in Straczynski’s Thor run as well as Siege Embedded) and the prospect of Bill Willingham writing anything in the realm of magic and fantasy was a plus for me as well. I absolutely loved his work on Shadowpact, and having now read the first issue, the similarities between that book and this one are more obvious than one would think: they both star misfit characters existing on the outer border of their respective universes, they both star relatively mischievous, very well defined characters and they both contain the same snide, almost self aggrandizing sense of humor and mirth. All of that built into a pretty impressive and thoroughly enjoyable start to this mini.
What I think makes the Warriors Three entertaining characters is the fact that while they are still very much entrenched within the Asgardian side of the Marvel Universe, they still manage to be archetypal in a very relatable way. First you have Fandral, the womanizing ladies man, as full of himself as married wives are of him (zing!) Then the loveable fat goof Volstagg, bursting with occasionally undeserved (though occasionally deserved as well) confidence. Finally we have Hogan, the bruiser of bruisers. The simplicity of their characters is, in a lot of ways, what makes them stand out in an industry full of characters injected with angst or taken far out of their established norms in the name of innovation. Sometimes sticking to what works and telling entertaining stories with that DOES work, and this issue is living proof.
Starting off with a few very blunt but entertaining expository scenes, Willingham manages to bring the reader up to date with the situation, but stops just short of force-feeding us. I think the reason he accomplishes this is by covering up the exposition with comedy, and introduces potential new readers to these characters in as bluntly hilarious a way as possible (come on, TRY not to laugh as Volstagg makes the all you can eat diner owner regret his business plan. JUST TRY IT.) Following that, we are introduced to the main villain of the series: Fenris, the monstrous wolf. This is the point where my lack of history with Asgardian myth (both actual and Marvel) starts to become a detriment. I’ll assume that they’ll show the exact nature of Fenris’ escape from Nifelhel in future issues, but I’m still not clear on his exact history nor on his history with the Warriors Three. This issue kind of implies a bit (not a lot, but a bit) of prior understanding of this side of the Marvel Universe that I just did not have. However, it was not jarring enough to take me out of the story and the cliffhanger ending, while abrupt, leaves the door open for more hilarious shenanigans next issue.
On the art end of things, Neil Edwards and his Dale Eaglesham meets Brian Hitch penciling style rendered this world perfectly for me. While sometimes murky and a bit a misshapen, his characters maintain the majestic glamour they are supposed to, especially the few “assembled masses” scenes, wherein every character stood out as unique (especially the monstrous ones!) All in all, no complaints here as he meets the wide screen fantasy action vibe the book needs nearly perfectly.
All in all, I have to say…and this seems to be a sadly recurring trend with most books starring Asgardians these days…I like this book a lot more than the main Thor book. While Fraction is usually known for his characterization, he is just so incredibly off in that book, making the characters seem like pompous jerks, ESPECIALLY Thor. While this may seem like the LOGICAL attitude of Gods living on Earth, it is NOT in line with precedent set within the line over the last few years. Thankfully, Willingham nailed their empathetic, jovial and boisterous yet still one hundred percent warrior attitudes perfectly and that is, in a lot of ways, what carries this book higher than it normally would. Consider me locked for the other three issues coming down the pike.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
