New Champions #1 review

A lovely day in San Francisco for veteran supervillains the Brothers Grimm is rudely interrupted by unfamiliar figures.

Soon they’re very familiar with the quartet of teenage heroes calling themselves The New Champions.

With the bad guys in the paddy wagon, the kids go home for the evening, three to their birth parents…

… one to her current guardians.

Hellrune’s spell takes her to a dark forest in Norway.

If you’re a fan of classic Marvel, buy this book. I saw it announced, couldn’t see the point of yet another teen team – especially one that looked like Younger Avengers – but tried it, light week and all that. And I love it. Writer Steve Foxe isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, he’s given us a solid, stylish spin on classic comics. The core four members are quickly and efficiently introduced via an action scene, we see something of their background, then quickly move on to the real opening storyline.

And if you recognised that silhouette in the forest, you won’t be surprised to hear that undead Norse monsters populate the final pages of the story. Along with them come more of the characters seen on the cover, who show up via a very fair play piece of plotting.

One thing I really like is the lack of bickering among the New Champions, they really do seem to care for one another. Another is that all their parents seem like lovely people, supportive of their kids’ heroing… it’s unlikely this will remain the case, drama requiring conflict and all that, but as a starting point it’s a lovely change.

Foxe’s script is fast paced, and bright, an easy read without being empty of content. I like what I see of Hellrune, Moon Squire, Liberty and Cadet Marvel, and definitely want to know more about them.

Ivan Fiorelli is the perfect artistic partner for fox, his open, breezy art bringing the script to further life. The storytelling is excellent, the characterisations equally fine. The Brothers Grimm have rarely looked better, and the dead guys are suitably horrific. I don’t recognise Fiorelli’s name but I hope he sticks with this book, he brings a bit of a New Warriors vibe and that’s a good thing.

Arthur Hesli is another new name to me, but his colours are terrific, a lot less grim that those we get on many Marvel books these days. There’s a particularly eye-catching moment as one Champion lets loose with a surge of power on the grim forest.

Travis Lanham is a very familiar name; he gets a lot of work because he’s at the top of his game.

The story closes with a hugely fun splash that guarantees I’ll be back… but that’s not all, we also get a five-page Ig Guara-drawn primer on the core Champions, a great way to get new readers up to date without bringing the main story to a halt.

The fact the heroes’ names were the product of Hydra gives me hope the Champions’ new start will prompt them to change them – I mean, Cadet Marvel? Moon Squire? Hellrune? In the real world I doubt anyone at Marvel gave much thought to the names – along with the visuals they were designed for a series of variant covers, not viable characters. But Foxe and Fiorelli have a real shot here of making them hits.

I liked this comic so much I went straight to the Marvel Unlimited app to see their debut in the Foxe-written Spider-Woman #7-10. It’s great stuff, with splendid art from Ig Guara – sadly, #10 was the last issue, I shouldn’t have slept on such a fun book. (Weirdly, Liberty and Cadet Marvel have totally different skintones now.)

I’m a fan of Gleb Melnikov’s work at DC but his cover here isn’t his best, failing to capture the energy and joy of the interiors. Edgar Delgado’s colouring works, I especially like the unusual red background.

I hope this comic is the hit it deserves to be.