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Marvel’s Voices: Identity assembles veteran and new comic book creators to weave adventures starring the Marvel Universe’s Asian superheroes.
Marvel Comics’ latest anthology spotlighting marginalized characters and creators is titled Marvel’s Voices: Identity #1 and focuses on comic creatives and characters of Asian descent. Featuring a blend of established and fresh creators, the one-shot special includes eight short stories spotlighting different Asian heroes within the Marvel Universe in standalone adventures that range from introspective to lighthearted fare. With its rotating roster of creative talent, the special stands as a consistently solid and genuinely entertaining collection of tales — making it one of Marvel’s better anthologies published this year.
Current Shang-Chi scribe Gene Luen Yang kicks off this anthology, with Marcos To and Sunny Gho on colors, to present the Master of Kung Fu with a tale featuring a dark mirror of himself. Christina Strain and Jason Loo provide a heartwarming story of Jubilee, which reflects on her family life and upbringing before she joined the leagues of the X-Men. Agents of Atlas writer Greg Pak, with Creees Lee and Brian Reber on colors, deliver a period piece adventure for secret agent Jimmy Woo in an untold mission from 1959. Ms. Marvel goes on her own team-up mission in a short story created by Sabir Pirzada, Mashal Ahmed, and Neeraj Menon.
The second half of Marvel’s Voices: Identity continues with Alyssa Wong, Whilce Portacio, and Jay David Ramos crafting an adventure for the Filipina superhero Wave as she embarks on her own surprise team-up when the Philippines are threatened. Jeremy Holt, Alti Firmansyah, and Irma Kniivila depict Silhouette, formerly of the New Warriors, as the hero tries to balance the rigors of superhero responsibilities with personal commitments. Ken Niimura delivers an all-age-friendly story of Silver Samurai enjoying a quiet moment on the mutant nation-state of Krakoa. The anthology is closed out by Silk writer Maurene Goo, joined by Lyne Yoshii and Sebastian Cheng, with an impromptu team-up between Cindy Moon and Amadeus Cho.
All of the short stories presented here are engaging and never quite particularly heavy with the subject matter. However, the anthology’s two opening tales lean into the unresolved issues that can be found in one’s personal history. In terms of writing, the standouts are Yang’s anthology opener, Wong’s lighthearted team-up, and Holt’s day-in-the-life vignette. Additionally, Pak’s period piece spy yarn and Niimura’s Silver Samurai story in Marvel’s Voices: Identity #1 provide an alternative from usual superhero fare.
Throughout Marvel’s Voices: Identity #1, the artwork remains strong, with particular praise for Loo’s visuals keeping readers invested in Jubilee’s flashbacks to her domestic life and Lee and Reber bringing the pulpy espionage thrills to the Marvel Universe of 1959. Among the more conventional superhero stories, Portacio and Ramos’ artwork has an impressive kinetic quality to it while To and Gho deliver a martial arts adventure worthy of the Master of Kung Fu. And, of course, anytime Niimura gets to write and draw a Marvel superhero story, that alone is well worth the price of admission to check the anthology out.
Marvel’s Voices have provided comic creators that unfortunately don’t often get the chance to work in mainstream comics the opportunity to tell stories featuring some of the Marvel Universe’s more diverse characters. This particular special contains more of a range of superhero stories than in previous renditions, which creates a fully entertaining experience.
Hopefully, this anthology special opens the door for more creators from marginalized communities to play with some of Marvel’s biggest characters; but, in the meantime, Marvel’s Voices: Identity #1 is a good, if overdue, start to bringing more Asian voices to the page.
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