Customer Reviews

Marvel Boy

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Grant Morrison has always managed to weave stories that have been just plain weird at first glance, yet also provide innovative storytelling that leaves a lasting impression. He's done it with his runs on Animal Man, JLA, New X-Men, The Filth, and countless others besides; and Marvel Boy is no different. Crafted during his all too-brief tenure at Marvel when he was re-vitalizing the X-Men, Morrison's Marvel Boy tells the story of Kree warrior Noh-Varr, whose ship has crash landed in New Jersey of all places. It isn't long before Noh-Varr is captured by an insane man named Midas who seeks to use Noh-Varr and his Kree technology to his own advantage, even if it means manipulating his own daughter to get what he wants. It does take some time to fully get all of what Morrison is throwing at you with Marvel Boy, but once you do, you'll find some strikingly mature themes and sharp surprises that will keep you interested. Not to mention that the artwork from Morrison's current Final Crisis partner and Wanted artist J.G. Jones is simply gorgeous stuff. The only downside of Marvel Boy is that it isn't necessarily something that everyone can get into. For Morrison regulars, this isn't something new in the least, but the tone of Marvel Boy may be off-putting for some. Still though, it's great to see Morrison's Marvel Boy recollected in a handsome hardcover edition, and if you missed out on it the first time around and are a Morrison fan or have been following Noh-Varr's exploits in Secret Invasion, Marvel Boy is definitely a worthwhile pick up.

What if you were an alien stranded on a primitive world, hated and feared by civilizations that,quite simply,suck? Would you fight for their safety, and admiration? Probably not, and neither does Noh-var. Put simply,the first chapter in the Marvel Boy trilogy (if it indeed is still that) seems to be Grant Morrison channeling the imaginations of Jack Kirby and Satan simultaniously, and writing the images he recieves down as words.
As fast-paced, and hallucinogenic as he felt like making it. Morrison crafts what couldn't be deemed a dense tale of charactor driven pathos, however it does out-do The Authority for people with personalities( after all, how many issues of people sitting around for three issues only to hit the world conquering threat of the month into submission- without development of characters can you handle?) the development of the characters takes a passanger-side seat to the plot, with neither truly dominating the other... although the plot does speak with a louder,shinier voice at times. Marvel Boy doesn't really break any new ground, until it's too late, and you realize just what is really going on. That's all i'll say about the story, not that what happens is a major suprise, it's just that I hate thinking i'll ruin someone's fun.
Art-wise, J.G. Jones is definetly hitting strides. The art is a perfect compliment to the story, picking up just enough of certain Kirby-isms without being anything other than an homage, even though Jones' art looks nothing like Kirby's. Weird I know, and when you look at the art you might think i'm crazy, but... Just study the overall flow of the story, and it might come to you. The art brings an unparalleled sense of design to the characters that just plain makes sense. Everything about Marvel Boy clicks in what can only be called "Planned coincedense." Everything looks like its two different styles of comics coming together at a random angle, but it feels like the only thing that makes sense. Noh-varr designed by Joe Maduer...y'know Battle chaser's guy wouldn't FEEL right. As a matter of fact, there are only a handful of artists I feel could have pulled off realism in a world created by a sociopathic God.
Believe me, Marvel Boy is more than "Pop comics", or an experiment of what would Stan Lee do if he were inspired by drugs, but it also isn't. When deconstructur-ism seems to be the leading trend in super-hero comics that mean something, Marvel Boy is just the opposite. Flashy costumes and superpowers for the sake of Flashy costumes and explosions, with out being dubbed "Wide-screen" Comics, which those simpering skin-cells at Wizard(shudder) seem to apply to anything these days.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not giving Marvel Boy hand love for the sake of hand love, a little more time could have been spent on developing Noh-varr and Oubliette, and just why their particular brand of neo-relationship works,(which i'm capable of ignoring: If people can form bonds over chat rooms...). My only major gripe with Marvel Boy comes with tha fact that it is indeed edited. The sting of non-anarchist chaotic rhetoric seems to loses it's edge when edited. Oh the irony of the Comics Code.
A comic about someone changing the government, filtered by the government... if you catch my admitedly vague statements. Hopefully, Marvel Boy2 (which Morrison claims to be already writing) will be released through the less restrictive guise of the Marvel Max imprint. One can only hope. So at least read a friend's copy of Marvel Boy, if for nothing else but to see a "Superhero" eating trash for strength.

Easily one of Morrison's best works. I read it all in one sitting and was totally engrossed the entire time. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi / superhero extreme romps. Give it read and I bet you won't be disappointed.

This early 2000s saw the debut of Grant Morrison's "zen-facist" hero Marvel Boy. Marvel Boy is a Kree explorer from an alternate reality. After his ship is destroyed his crew killed, and he is almost dissected he vows revenge on the Earth. He starts by carving the words 'F-You' 5 blocks tall in New York City.

The bulk of the action is Marvel Boy's battle with Midas, a multi-trillionaire whose "dreams is to plunder the radiant treasure houses of heaven itself one day". Crazy ideas abound like sentient corporations, multiple personality AIs and a love interest named for a medieval torture device.

The end promises Marvel Boy 2:001, a sequel that never happened. But even so the book is worth reading and even the ending feels right.

JG Jones' art deserves special praise here, he can do anything from a city street to an interdimensional limbo and make it look perfect.

There seem to be three Grant Morrisons: The writer who crafted such wonderful, thought-provoking tales as Animal Man, the one who cranks out excreable drek such as Skrull Kill Krew, and the one who weaves weird, impenetrable head-trip tales like The Invisibles. All three seem to have collaborated on Marvel Boy.

Marvel boy tells the tale of an alien teen who, stranded on Earth, lashes out at his tormentors. The story is just an excuse for this loathsome kid to wreck New York City and blow stuff up. The first half of the book stunk, the second half was mildly better, but I just couldn't get into this character.

The villain, clad in an old Iron Man costume, and his daughter were much more interesting, and J.G. Jones' art was phenomenal; I was blown away by the detailing, and the coloring enhanced it nicely.

Huge Morrison fan will buy the book regardless; all others might want to think twice. (I would like to see a sequel that involves 100+ pages of this little punk getting mercilessly beaten, though.....)

Marvel Boy is another cool book from Grant Morrison. Marvel Boy is an alien who was plucked out of interdimensional space travel by Midas, who wants to use the cosmic energy from Marvel Boy's spaceship to give himself superpowers so he can rule the universe. Marvel Boy's entire crew is killed during the crash landing on Earth and Marvel Boy blames humans for killing his crew. He is an anti-establishment character. But his collective concioussness from his home planet tells him he should help the people of Earth. Without going into the story too much more, it contains plenty of things that Morrison likes to bring to the table including lots of great ideas and an anti-establishment political message. The artwork by J.G. Jones is also excellent. Like a lot of Morrison's work, it is a little heady and sometimes requires me to reread a page once or twice to fully understand what is going on...but fully understanding what is going on in Morrison's books is totally worth it. If you are a fan of Grant Morrison's writing you will probably like this book.

The Kree soldier Noh-Varr decides to go to war with the entire Earth, using the
superior fighting prowess and technology of an alien race designed to be physically
unconquerable.
Morrison introduces an anti-hero powerful enough to target and
destroy everything the author finds repulsive and dangerous in this
culture, embodied by the sadistic Dr. Midas, a modern Goldfinger scarred
by exposure to cosmic rays, his body encased in the original bulky robot
armor of Tony Stark, Marvel Comic's Iron Man. Dr. Midas is seeking to
complete a cosmic ray transformation that will give him the limitless
power of the superhuman, in this fictional universe; Midas, a vicious
megalomaniac, is fulfilling every boy's dream: to become a superhero. But
a superhero twisted by adult desires and obsessions, thirsting only for more
iron-fisted control of his world.
MARVEL BOY is an excellent vision of Stan Lee/Jack Kirby's
Marvel Universe as it might truly be, in reality. A literate chronicle of
the adventures of a flawed, raging superhuman, with absolutely knock-out
art by JG Jones, MARVEL BOY is stunning work by the always-original,
always-consummate writer G. Morrison. Must-have.

I read the original 6-issue comic series (which the back issues are impossible to find). Initially I found the series amusing, by the end of the series I was totally hooked. Great art, great story and excellent plot build up. I can't wait for the next Marvel Boy mini-series (There will be a total of 3). If you liked Warren Ellis' Authority and Fight Club - you will love this series.

Marvel Boy is Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones twisted re-configuration of the Marvel Universe.

It's not as good as Morrison's best work (such as his stunning work on such titles as Doom Patrol and The Invisibles) but it is a a bizzare, over the top comic book full of daft action and slick, kinetic artwork and as such it's a very entertaining read.

The story really gets going with issue three and the introduction of Hexus, the living corporation. From this point on the story is a blur of great ideas and shiny visuals, and the climax to the whole thing is wonderfully absurd.

All in all it's like a flashy, punk rock superhero comic, and a damn fine one at that...

Are superhero comics nothing but adolescent power fantasies? Grant Morrison claims that Marvel Boy is the epitome of this possible outlook on the genre. This book is Morrison's attempt to trash nostalgic 'dadcomics' and create something new to suit the tastes of today's readers.

Morrison may have created a character that differs from the standard superhero protagonist but does not give us much background on the character. Noh-Varr may spit deadly saliva in the faces of his enemies and turn his pain into music but it is going to take more than that to make him a compelling character. On the other hand, I found the villainous Mr. Midas and his daughter to be quite a bit more interesting than the title's main character. Besides, Morrison seems to have forgotten the most important ingredient of all: a good plot. Luckily, he does compensate for the story with some great dialogue.

Prepare to feast your eyes on some spectacular art work that will dazzle you from panel to panel. There is a sense of vigor in the pencil work that only a few artists such as Bryan Hitch and Alan Davis have been able to attain. The dynamic layouts really captures the look and feel of a major blockbuster action film. There is plenty of explosions, lens views, and close-ups to thrill art lovers. The fantastic coloring elevates the finished pencils and brings a sense of awe to the finished product.

For all the chest thumping that Morrison may be doing about Marvel Boy, the fact is that this series is a desperate attempt to copy the formula that has brought praise to titles such as Authority and Planetary.

Review by Brian Grindrod