The Good
Homeless, not a meth addict, Morbius takes on the gangs of Brownsville. Morbius takes on Noah St. Germain, the punk that runs Brownsville.
If you would have told me five years ago that Morbius would have his own on-going series where he essentially becomes an undercover beat cop in the slums of some town, I'd laugh in your face, super-hard and say something like "that sounds awful." Then, in 2013, I'd apologize to you because I was wrong... oh so wrong.
MORBIUS is a Marvel book that doesn't read like a Marvel book. It's not a superhero book. As of right now, it comes off as a PG Deathwish with a vampire and 100% less Charles Bronson. Writer Joe Keatinge seems to be on to something brilliant with this book and this character. I'm very surprised with how much I like it.
Keatinge has taken this old Spidey-Villain/Sometimes buddy and reinvented him, in a way. He wants to be on his own and keep out of the spotlight, but that "good guy" part of him, deep inside, just won't go away. He can't stand around and watch any type of injustice happen. He has to get involved, and frankly, that's what made me fall in love with this character, who I've never really been a fan of, in this and the last issue.
This world is still very new and still being set up for the reader, but it doesn't feel like it. We're meeting a whole cast of new characters, and Morbius is a tad stand-offish with them all. I like the fact he's not just jumping right in and accepting everything. He's just standing in the background through the events of this issue and watching everything go down, until the last page.
Artist Richard Elson and colorist Antonio Fabela do a great with the artistic side of things on this issue. I really enjoy what this art team is doing here. I especially enjoyed the colors. They really tell a great story through pictures here, and the final page is awesome looking. Tons of movement and viciousness.
That variant cover is super awesome.
The Bad
My problem with this book is I'm just not sold on it. Sure, there's a ton of elements that are great about this book, but removing Morbius from the rest of the Marvel Universe feels too foreign to me. This book is very different from what we've seen before, so it can be a bit hard to swallow. I'm a bit cautious with this series, and honestly, I shouldn't be because it's good.
The Verdict
While I may be a bit down the middle on this story and the world Morbius has stepped into, I have to say this is an incredibly interesting book. Yeah, it's a bit farther off than what we're used to for a Marvel book, but it's good, and it's a new take on the world of Morbius. The creative team on this book is strong, and it's on my pull list for sure. The only real problem I have with this issue is I'm just not sold on it. I don't really know where it's heading or what this is going to be about. Is this a vigilante book or is it going to be something bigger?
Overall, I recommend this issue.
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