SWORD #1
by Sigrid
Kieron Gillen’s SWORD #1 is out this week. I had been eagerly anticipating this series, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Why was I awaiting this comic? A few things. First, Abigail Brand is the lead character of an ensemble cast that includes Hank McCoy (Beast of the X-Men) and Lockheed the Dragon. So that makes this title the direct inheritor of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. In Astonishing we were introduced to S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient Worlds something something something — the organization devoted to defending Earth from aliens. In Astonishing we were introduced to Agent Brand. And in Astonishing we found out that Lockheed is a hyper-intelligent alien spy. So anything that picks up some of those loose ends — including my biggest loose-end pet-peeve of all, the fate of Kitty Pryde — is fine with me.
Second, Agent Brand is one of my current favorite underused characters in the Marvel U. I cackled with glee when Bendis used her in Spider-Woman: Agent of SHIELD. I’ve loved Brand’s appearances in the other X-titles, and I delight in her relationship with Hank. Their snarky chemistry is palpable. I have enjoyed watching them comes to grips with the balance between respect, trust, and care — I don’t think they’ve found that balance, and I look forward to a comic that will feature this relationship. Also, a sexual relationship between adults who are not ingenues is refreshing.
Third.
Third, this is Kieron Gillen. I don’t know how many of you have read his work. He’s done a lot of stuff, all over the place. Journalism, video game comics, webcomics — but the stuff that made me sit up and pay attention is Phonogram. Phonogram tells the story of phonomancers — those people who make magic out of music. The vision in the comics is unlike anything I’ve read elsewhere, and the execution feels like that precious moment when you no longer care if anyone is watching you, as long as you keep dancing. I highly recommend it.
But Gillen also wrote the Dazzler story in Manifest Destiny — and that was as fine a Dazzler story as I’ve ever read. Go check out his credits list — if you read Marvel, odds are you’ve read something of his in the last two years. His short works have been everywhere. You probably already like something of his and don’t know it.
I’m not going to spoil SWORD #1 here. Generally speaking, though, it has everything I wanted. Agent Brand is in fine form, Hank is quippish, loose-end-type plots are picked up, a villain is introduced, a secret villain is shown to the reader. The plot gets rolling with a bang — with explosions and kidnappings and interstellar diplomacy and unexpected blasts from the past. If you liked Joss’s run on Astonishing, if you like Agent Brand, or if you like Marvel in space, I highly recommend checking out SWORD #1.
Email: sigrid @ fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: sigridellis
Now, all I can hear in my head is, “MARVEL… in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!”
There are no words to explain my excitement for this series. And you said everything I like better than me, so I shall only add:
Yes.
bewize
13 Nov 09 at 7:35 am
Despite this mysterious second feature–which, from what I’ve seen in reviews, will either be the most awesomest thing to ever happen in comics or go absolutely nowhere–I just can’t do it.
I like Agent Brand. I like Lockheed. But, I have to admit that I skimmed over a lot of the SWORD stuff in Whedon’s run.
Also…Cat-Beast = fail.
Dan
13 Nov 09 at 7:46 am
As great as the Brand/Beast interplay is, I have to say that my favorite moment was Lockheed getting sloppy drunk while psychic-dragon-dude tells him, “Pull yourself together! Kitty wouldn’t want to see you like this!” (I’m not sure if the comic is actually hypothesizing that Lockheed is in love with Kitty, or if it’s just playing with a trope, but anyway it’s both sad and absurd).
@Dan — Can I say, with great affection, that you’re being absolutely ridiculous?
Caroline
13 Nov 09 at 7:52 am
@Caroline: Yes, you may.
I’m just not sure how I feel about SWORD as an agency. But, if this book gets enough good buzz, I’ll certainly check out the first trade.
Dan
13 Nov 09 at 8:07 am
You understand it’s pretend, right, Dan?
(Also, for the record, when I read ‘Sentient Worlds’ in Sig’s review, I automatically filled in ‘Observation and Reporting Division.’ Never mind that there are acronyms at the place I work that I still have to look up every – not infrequent – time I have to write them out. I know my Marvel back-ronyms!)
Caroline
13 Nov 09 at 8:34 am
@Caroline
Pretend? *wibbles*
bewize
13 Nov 09 at 8:43 am
I made a point of picking this book up this week, the holiday made that easier. And yes, this does feel more of the heir to the Wheadon Astonishing run than the Ellis Astonishing run.
This view of Beast is one that I’m not familiar with, but is decidedly interesting. This issue set the stage for the Brand/Beast pairing and started outlining the conflict points. I expect the next issue will flesh those points out, and we’ll start getting more of it. Mmmm.
talkswithwind
13 Nov 09 at 9:29 am
Loved it. Loved the re-appearance of a certain Marvel UK character that most readers probably don’t even recognize as not “new.”
Pj
13 Nov 09 at 6:28 pm
I agree! I was skeptical about this series, for no good reason, but all of my doubts have been erased after this first issue. Beast and Brand were both wonderfully in character, and the Lockheed stuff was amazing. Plus, Gyrich being a jerk ALWAYS makes good comics. I look forward to more!
Jennifer
13 Nov 09 at 9:42 pm
@Pj Oh, who? I would not be up on those things . . .
sigrid
14 Nov 09 at 6:51 am
[...] this strong debut issue for what seems will be a pretty amazing book.” Fantastic Fangirls: “I highly recommend checking out SWORD #1.” Panels on Pages: “I’m going to stick with the book for the foreseeable future, as I really [...]
Kieron Gillen’s Workblog » S.W.O.R.D. 1 Out For Nearly A Week
17 Nov 09 at 5:11 am