The murder mystery that will reveal more secrets than an episode of whatever show it is that reveals a lot of secrets has begun! So with Original Sin actually getting underway, Infinite Man & Aron fist once again venture into a Marvel event to see if there’s anything worth reading in the these pages amidst all of the rubber glowing eyeballs and alternate covers. And if not, will their kung-fu and ultimate disc golf skills be enough to see them through til the end?
Original Sin #1
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mike De’Odato
Welcome back! It’s nice to see you! How many of y’all got the limited edition eyeball-bouncy ball? I didn’t. My LCS was charging $4.99 for them. I am not sure who was screwed worse. Someone who bought a $4.99 eyeball-bouncy ball, or Uatu.
Speaking of Uatu….
We’ve all seen the image of Uatu bleeding from the head and eyes, so I won’t spoil anything by telling you that somebody made him dead. But who? Why? What do they want with his eyes? Why does it seem like Nick Fury always just shows up and invites himself to dinner? Did he have a purpose to being there?
A hodgepodge team was formed to answer these questions and go deeper into the why. It is probably the best hodgepodge team I have ever seen assembled. I won’t spoil the team; you should find out for yourself.
That’s right, folks! So far, Original Sin is something you need to be reading! The best part? There isn’t going to be 48 individual title tie-ins with 3D covers like the Distinguished Competition is doing. I think I just heard a thousand wallets cry out and then were suddenly silenced.
I know it is only a first issue, but Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato have a good thing going here. I’m really excited for it! – AF
Rating: 4/5
The first issue of Original Sin is a solid introduction to the series, with Jason Aaron setting up events and making us want to find out more about Uatu’s death and who is behind it. Not only is The Watcher murdered, but key items from his home were stolen before it was destroyed as well. So, at the request of Captain America, Nick Fury has returned to action to help with the investigation, and due to the sensitive nature of things he delivers a pretty dark warning for Steve.
Since the impending death of Uatu has been known for quite some time, it was a little hard to be impressed/excited during this part of the story. Call me old fashioned, but I like to be surprised every once in a while, and knowing too much about this hindered Aaron’s otherwise great issue in my opinion. However, once we move from that moment things really improve, and Aaron introduces the players involved.
The pairing of characters like Emma Frost and Ant-Man along with Punisher and Doctor Strange may seem odd at first, but it’s these interactions that really help the story. Instead of the usual band of Marvel marquee characters leading the charge, Aaron mixes things up by only giving us a brief look at them. Reinforcing the tactical and often offbeat thinking Fury has when putting together a group of individuals to help save the world.
Deodato happens to be one of my favorite artists, so I hold him to a pretty high standard when he’s on a title. So, as expected, this is one good looking issue, also in part to Frank Martin’s colors. Deodato keeps things moody and intense in the beginning during what would normally be a regular conversation at the dinner table. Sometimes the inks were a bit thick in certain areas, but it helped to add to the overall tone of the story. It was also great seeing him throw Spider-Man and The Thing in action again in a pretty tragic fight sequence. Very reminiscent of his work on the previous New Avengers title a few years ago.
Whatever negatives about the issue I had didn’t come from the writer or the artist, but the Marvel media machine that constantly pumped out plenty of info about this issue. This stole some of the thunder from Aaron’s story which could have been allowed to hit even harder had we been allowed to be surprised. But other than possibly having Boyz II Men stand around Uatu and sing “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday,” this issue was a definite step in the right direction! – IM
Rating: 3.5/5
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
Aron White
aron@comicattack.net
