Marvel Europe is a graphic novel, collecting 3 stories that were originally published by, well, as you may well guess, Marvel Europe. I do not believe that the material included in this collection has been published in America prior to the release of this graphic novel. I regret to say that in large part, this side of The Pond doesn't greatly benefit from seeing it now.
The first story, featuring Wolverine taking what turns out to be a working vacation in Brazil, The artist (Phillipe Buchet) uses a style that exaggerates facial proportions and it distracted me from enjoying his ability to tell a story through smooth panel transitions. The story itself had its moments, with a touching ending that caused me to do some reflection although just who/what is that mystical being that makes a cameo in the middle of the tale??
Daredevil and Captain America (with a guest appearance by the ubiquitous Nick Fury) battling a foe they believed to be dead and they may not be wrong. I found the story to be decent, and the art by Claudio Villa is the best in the collection, reflecting the moodiness and gloominess of the tale itself. Good not great, though. (Aside: I wish that Mr. Villa had been selected to do the art on the Wolverine tale.)
Captain Britain joins Spider-Man to battle the Red Skull in the final story. All I can say is PLEASE!! The Red Skull possesses the full power of the Cosmic Cube, and two superheroes neither of which are in the top 10 on either the strength, mystical, or cunning level meet up, encounter the villain, and defeat him in a total of TEN pages?? uh no.
The last 3rd or so of the book is devoted to an Atlas of sorts, defining Marvel's version of Europe. All of the fictitious countries that have been featured in Marvel Comics over the years have 1 or more pages devoted to them, as do the real countries as they have appeared in Marvel over the years. For example, this feature shows exactly where Latveria is in relationship with other European countries I am surprised, I pictured it as the 4th Baltic state and explains how Victor Von Doom came to power. Under Germany, it mentions the role that Adolph Hitler played in the real world, but also references his clones which, of course, do not exist in the traditional history book you would find at the local high school. This was an entertaining and interesting feature albeit a bit long, and with a font so small that it made it almost mandatory to read in small doses!
Overall and I rarely say this about a book the reader's time is probably better off being devoted to reading something else.
RATING: 2 stars.
The first story, featuring Wolverine taking what turns out to be a working vacation in Brazil, The artist (Phillipe Buchet) uses a style that exaggerates facial proportions and it distracted me from enjoying his ability to tell a story through smooth panel transitions. The story itself had its moments, with a touching ending that caused me to do some reflection although just who/what is that mystical being that makes a cameo in the middle of the tale??
Daredevil and Captain America (with a guest appearance by the ubiquitous Nick Fury) battling a foe they believed to be dead and they may not be wrong. I found the story to be decent, and the art by Claudio Villa is the best in the collection, reflecting the moodiness and gloominess of the tale itself. Good not great, though. (Aside: I wish that Mr. Villa had been selected to do the art on the Wolverine tale.)
Captain Britain joins Spider-Man to battle the Red Skull in the final story. All I can say is PLEASE!! The Red Skull possesses the full power of the Cosmic Cube, and two superheroes neither of which are in the top 10 on either the strength, mystical, or cunning level meet up, encounter the villain, and defeat him in a total of TEN pages?? uh no.
The last 3rd or so of the book is devoted to an Atlas of sorts, defining Marvel's version of Europe. All of the fictitious countries that have been featured in Marvel Comics over the years have 1 or more pages devoted to them, as do the real countries as they have appeared in Marvel over the years. For example, this feature shows exactly where Latveria is in relationship with other European countries I am surprised, I pictured it as the 4th Baltic state and explains how Victor Von Doom came to power. Under Germany, it mentions the role that Adolph Hitler played in the real world, but also references his clones which, of course, do not exist in the traditional history book you would find at the local high school. This was an entertaining and interesting feature albeit a bit long, and with a font so small that it made it almost mandatory to read in small doses!
Overall and I rarely say this about a book the reader's time is probably better off being devoted to reading something else.
RATING: 2 stars.
