Nick Fury #1-3 (2017)
Written by James Robinson
Art by Aco
Coloring by Rachelle Rosenberg
Published by Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
This comic series is not about the cigar chewing Nick Fury that I grew up with in the early 80s. Neither is this the Samuel L. Jackson version from the Ultimate line and the Avengers movies. Nope, this book focuses on the Ultimate version's son, Nick Fury Jr. For all intents and purposes he IS the Samuel Jackson version, just younger. Like his dad, he works for SHIELD and has the Infinity Formula running through his veins, which slows down his aging. Think of him as a cooler, younger American James Bond.
The thing that jumped out about these comics off the bat is the art by Aco, which is great. It has the feel of the Batman 66 series from DC in terms of information overload and color but tones down the kitsch and the creepy photo realism. Aco does a lot of nods to Steranko and reminds me a lot of Mike Zeck. This feels like an 80s comic book mixed with millennial chaos and quick movie editing. But I was never at a loss as to what was going on. The comic is busy with lots of panels but it had its own internal flow which I loved. By the way, the coloring is by Rachelle Rosenberg. To me, without the art, this comic would have been mediocre at best. Aco's art and Rosenberg's color transcend the rather pedestrian writing.
Another aspect of these comics that I enjoyed and that also reminded me of my childhood was the fact that each issue focused on one mission, one conflict. That's unusual in comics of this age. Usually, you have some sprawling saga lasting multiple issues and spanning across other books. I liked the simplicity of the stories here. One and done. So you could pick up the book at any point and not have to know 50 years of backstory. Really, the only recurring baddie so far in the book is Frankie Noble, a Hydra Agent, who takes killing Fury as her personal mission from God.
This book would make a good jumping on point for someone that is a new comic fan or someone that has just seen the Marvel movies. The writing isn't very strong, but the art is superb. I will definitely try the next issue.
Writing Grade: C
Art Grade: A+
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