COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Revolutionary War: Alpha #1

Writers: Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill

Artist: Rich Elson

Colors: Antonio Fabela

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Back in the 90’s I had a slew of comics that fell under the Marvel UK banner and I still have them to this day. Characters that my friends who were all into X-Men and Avengers had never heard of were ones I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I loved reading Deaths Head and Motormouth and I was a huge fan of Excalibur. Now while Excalibur was not technically a Marvel UK comic it did bring me to notice the characters of Captain Britain and Meggan the latter of which I was happy to see back in comics in Infinity Hunt.

So when it was announced at SDCC that Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill were bringing back the Marvel UK heroes I was excited and I could not wait for the first issue to arrive. I remember looking in an issue of previews and seeing the cover for Revolutionary War Alpha #1 and I was sold right from the get go. Everyone was present from Captain Britain and Deaths Head to Motormouth and Killpower, all were represented with the British Flag underneath them. So with it finally coming out this past week I was ecstatic to dive right in for some great adventure.

And it did not disappoint!

Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom are up to their necks with dealing with Psycho-Wraiths, creatures created by Mys-Tech a group of immortal Techno Wizards who long ago had sold their souls to Mephisto. Over the years Mys-Tech has been supplying Mephisto with souls and now even though they seemed to be finished for good, their creations are back and it has drawn the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom must reassemble Britain’s mightiest heroes to combat this new threat and hopefully avoid a Revolutionary War.

Lanning and Cowsill have truly forged the beginning of a tale that I hope will reignite fans interest in these characters. It also seems Marvel has been getting all the fans prepared for this story arc over the past few months. With introducing characters from the Braddock Academy in Infinity Hunt and Avengers Arena and also having Pete Wisdom in a few issues of the now concluded Gambit series, Marvel was planting the seeds of these characters to get people interested and to wonder who they truly are. So with that I am excited to have these heroes back in action and hopefully this will lead to more ongoing series.

Once again Lanning and Cowsill are the masters here and with them not only reintroducing these heroes but also giving us glimpses of the villains they have faced was a welcomed site. I myself went nuts when I saw Saturnyne in this issue as I always thought she was a very interesting character from when she would appear in Excalibur. That had me jumping for joy like no other and now I am foaming at the bit for the next issue.

I also felt that the meeting between MI-13 and S.H.I.E.L.D was a fantastic part of the issue as it showed not only a begrudging annoyance to Wisdom that they were even their but also that S.H.I.E.L.D has a global reach and will show up anytime anywhere. MI-13 is the British form of S.H.I.E.L.D and it truly gets under Wisdoms skin that they are getting involved with British affairs so this could lead to some very good shots at each other in upcoming issues.

Everything was spot on with the writing of this issue, even down to the slang used by the British heroes. This adds so much to the dialogue as I want to read this with them being themselves and not speaking like people in America do as there are different terms and slang used all over the world so it brings more realism to the story that I found exhilarating.

The art is fantastic and everything you could want in a book, the colors and shadows are so much different than what you would see in say X-Men and truly Rich Elson and Antonio Fabela has made the landscape different then what you see in the US based series. So with that I want to give kudos to the art and colors team on the fantastic work that they have put into this issue. I truly loved every single panel but my favorite was the spread of the Battle of London Bridge with all the heroes represented. Those two pages I want framed and hung on my wall that is how fantastic it truly is.

The other great thing I loved about this issue was at the end with the letter from Alan Cowsill talking about how for four and as he put it often drunken years the Marvel UK introduced not only heroes but allowed a new generation of artists and writers to start their careers and become huge names today. I think that really is a fantastic thing to have in this issue and will make new reader go find and pick up older issues of these characters and see what the talk was all about in the 90’s.

All I can say is fantastic for this issue and I am looking for some more great stories in the upcoming issues!

So from Spin to all of you I give this issue a MI-13 approved

5 out of 5 nerds