Comic Review: Beta Ray Bill #1

Beta Ray Bill #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson

Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Beta Ray Bill #1 is coming out of the gate facing high expectations due to Daniel Warren Johnson’s rising superstar name being attached. Couple that with the fact that the book stars the ever beloved and underrepresented horseman, Bill, and this is just daring to be my favorite book of the year. Though it is too soon to make that declaration right now, Beta Ray Bill #1 is an amazing start.

Right off the bat, I felt a groan coming on seeing there was some King in Black overlap. It just felt like I had been tricked since there’s no hint of it on the cover or in the title. Luckily, it ends up being very inconsequential to the story, as the only real effect it has is on the coloring of the big monster that Bill fights.

Speaking of fights; phew. The action in this book is riveting. It’s the kind of fist-pumping action all comics strive for, yet rarely achieve to this effect. The dynamism and energy Johnson displays are nearly unrivaled in the industry today. His style is unique and unmistakably his own. Not unlike the King of Thor comics, Walt Simonson himself. This book channels Simonson in all the right ways without just aping him.

His skill doesn’t begin and ends with action, though. There are some pages in this book with so much emotion poured into them from both an art and a writing standpoint that I almost felt like crying. I certainly wasn’t expecting that from the space horse book. I left the issue feeling genuinely sad for a horseman named Beta Ray Bill.

The plot itself is fairly thin, so far it’s mostly setting up character arcs and motivations. The end of the issue leaves us off right where the actual story seems to begin, so this one is more like a cold open than anything. This really is not a criticism, but given that I don’t know where we really go from here, I just hope the series can maintain this level of energy.

Beta Ray Bill #1 is a gorgeous book accompanied by all the right Simonson sensibilities. The plot hasn’t quite kicked off yet, but there’s clearly a high level of respect and love for the characters and world. Daniel Warren Johnson has delivered an issue that’s as packed with emotion as it is with frantic action, and I can’t wait to read more.

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