Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn

(Marvel, 2002)
™ and © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Stunts like these generally come off somewhere between pedestrian and dismal, and, on first look, doing a “mock manga” take on Marvel characters seems an idea well past its sell-by date when so much of the real stuff is available. But Ben Dunn has enough street credit accrued, through decades of doing his own American manga-style comics, to pull it off.

The results are fun — a cute and clever blend of manga/Marvel clichés and conventions — which is why there’s an incredibly well-built blonde in the Iron Man armor and a near kiss between The Wasp and Bruce ends with a slap and near hysterics. Cute moments include seeing Hank “Ant Man” Pym running around with Dragonball Z hair and the original Iron Man armor super-deformed into a bow-tie wearing butler. Moreover, there are clever ideas (undersea dialogue is given a “wave” effect) that wouldn’t be out of place in the genuine Marvel universe.

— S.A. Bennett

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#1

March, 2002
Cover Price: $3.50
3 copies available from $1.50

Ben Dunn