Written by: Paul Allor (Sanctuary), Jeremy Whitley (Mile Hydra), and nick Koucher (Propagandamonium)
Art by: Brian Level & Jordan Boyd (Sanctuary), Diego Olortegui & Andy Troy (Mile Hydra), Tana Ford and Rachelle Rosenberg (Propagandamonium)
Published by: Marvel Comics
In theory, I really like the concept behind Secret Empire: It’s the perfect opportunity for solid social commentary and good character work. However, considering the publisher, I was skeptical that they would be able to commit. Those fears were proven valid. As event comics go, it’s fine, but it sure as hell is an event comic.
Secret Empire: Brave New World, however, is the opposite. I guess it doesn’t fully commit either, but it gets a lot closer than the main book. It’s positioned as an anthology series, telling stories in the world of Secret Empire that aren’t directly relevant to the events of the main book. These are the stories I’m interested in, to be honest.
Unfortunately, they don’t all hit the mark. The opening “Sanctuary” is quite strong. Checking in with Namor and Atlantis, Paul Allor pens a story depicting what a third party does when the rest of the world’s gone to shit. It makes for some smart commentary on emergency powers and examines the position Namor is forced into. I honestly wish this was a little longer, because it’s a fascinating and excellently handled, story.
“Sanctuary” has echoes of numerous contentious issues, from the refugee crisis to executive overreach. On top of that, Brian Level and Jordan Boyd do excellent work bringing it all to life. There are some sweet panel and page layouts that make for an aesthetically pleasing piece.
“Mile Hydra,” the second story, is considerably weaker. Unlike “Sanctuary,” Jeremy Whitley wastes a lot of time setting up the character. And sure, I’m not familiar with this iteration of Giant Man, but that doesn’t mean I want a history lesson condensed into the space of four or five pages. It’s especially a shame because there are promising ideas here.
As far as I know, it’s the only story in all of Secret Empire that touches on the immigration narrative. Had this been about Giant Man’s father grappling with America under HYDRA, it would have been so much more effective…and far more resonant. It also would have been a clever critique of the event itself. There are hints of all of that, but ultimately, we get 12 issues of story packed into a third of an issue. It’s not a good look, and the art is, at best, serviceable.
It isn’t as bad as “Propagandamonium” though. This story is completely off the rails, and I tuned out pretty much as soon as I saw Gwenpool. Again, it’s a story that has so much potential. A look into the inner workings of HYDRA’s propaganda machine? Gimme gimme gimme. Instead, it’s played for laughs, and it fails at even that.
Evaluating this book is difficult. For as much as I love “Sanctuary,” $3.99 is a steep price point for ten pages. The other two have interesting ideas but are poorly executed. Ultimately, I’ll leave it up to you, but I don’t think I can recommend a third of a book. If the other installments are good, then I could see this being worth getting in trade.
