Marvel Voices is a new anthology series created by a plethora of artists and writers to tell a story uniquely important to them. It makes the 14 stories here a product of their perspectives and applying that to their love of Marvel and its characters. Stories generally range from one to two pages, with one story going as long as six. Throughout the book, familiar heroes are used, but also lesser-known characters too. If you’re a fan of anthology comic book storytelling, you’re bound to find something for you in this work.
This book opens with an introduction from Marvel’s Voices podcasts host Angélique Roché who explains the podcast, the purpose of this series, and more. Following this is four pages that outline different essays you can read on Marvel.com/Voices depicted via a handy chart. At the back of the book is a nice letter from editor Chris Robinson, who has done a great job curating a collection of stories.
I love the race idea. More of this please.
Credit: Marvel Comics
The general flow of this book is quite good. The first story by Evan Narcisse and Jaynoy Lindsay (with colors by Emilio Lopez) reminds us heroes can come from anywhere in a Brother Voodoo tale. Things get exciting with an international Science Race Expo with Forge going up against Shuri. By Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo on colors the deeper message of working together, not against, is heard loud and clear. Or at the very least, go one on one to avoid sabotaging each other! There are a plethora of art styles and stories throughout the rest of the book. Here are my favorites:
“Inspiration” by James Monroe Iglehart and Ray-Anthony Height with colors by Emilio Lopez
We spend so much time worrying about Peter Parker, but what about the spider that bit him? This is a clever story reminding us great struggle and heroism can come from the tiniest of places. It also has a dark underbelly that will please horror fans.
“A Diamond’s Worth” by Anthony Piper
Emma Frost fans won’t want to miss this one-page story where Emma talks about diamonds and how ridiculous it is we expect a diamond to be flawless. It’s a nice message, plays with her past antics a bit, and is a reminder Emma is as confident as they come.
“Back to Madripoor” by David F. Walker & Chuck Brown with art by Sanford Green and color by Matt Herms
This story is gruesome, gritty, and real in its depiction of the highly violent Wolverine. His task is to free up a Krakoan gate that is being guarded and sets up a confrontation between Logan and Hulk. I just love how it doesn’t hold back, especially the last few panels, and is a reminder he’s one of the most violent heroes in all of comics.
There are quite a few more stories, all of which are good to great and play to their own strengths and merits. The beauty of an anthology book like this is it’s okay to not love everything. One standout story for me might not be a favorite to someone else. Above all though, I think Marvel has curated an entertaining read from cover to cover and it’s exciting to see the perspectives within.
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