Comic Review: War of the Realms Omega (2019-) #1

War of the Realms Omega #1

Marvel Comics

Writers: Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, Daniel Kibblesmith, Gerry Duggan

Artists: Ron Garney, Cafu, Oscar Bazaldua, Juan Ferreyra

As I usually do, I sat down to read this comic with no idea of what is actually inside. I don’t read the solicitations companies put out in order to avoid spoilers. It helps keeps the surprises surprising. So what did I discover inside this comic? A couple of pages to wrap up Daredevil’s time as The God Without Fear, and three stories that are all just primers for new series coming from Marvel.

The Daredevil story acts as a frame to show the three other stories in this issue. Heimdall shows up to reclaim his sword and gives Daredevil one last look across the realms. I like this one, more than the other stories, purely because Daredevil as a god is one of the better concepts from War of the Realms. It’s a nice way to finish off his part in it. The art is good, I like Ron Garney’s style. It’s a bit “looser” than the others and has a more classic feeling to it.

The other three stories I don’t dislike, but if I knew this would be a teaser for future series I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. “The Job I have to do” from Al Ewing, Jason Aaron, and Cafu, tells us the fate of Jane Foster. After she became Thor to help end the war, her hammer broke and became a weird bracelet. This bracelet allows her to become the new (and only) Valkyrie. The story in this is good, I like that it starts in a morgue full of dead Valkyries. It helps cement the impact their deaths had. The art is fine, it’s got this realism to it that approaches uncanny valley for me. It’s not bad, just not a style I’d really prefer.

“Born Small” shows us the new king of the Frost Giants, Loki. He takes on a new protege, a smaller Frost Giant who just wants to have fun, and gets taken under Loki’s protection. I like the art, Loki has his “hipster-ish” modern look. The small Frost Giant looks like a kid. I’m not really “with” the story though. I like Loki just fine, but I’ve never really had any interest in his solo adventures. I never really thought he’d stay dead after his “death” in War of the Realms #1, but I kinda hoped he would. But it might be interesting to see him as king, so who knows. This is my least favorite of the three/four stories in this issue.

“War Orphans” sets up everyone’s favorite skull guy to fight a new war. There’s still trolls and other mystical creatures on Earth post-war. Frank Castle is a man with a mission, and that mission is to kill them. Kind of. He’s made a promise to hunt down a creature that killed a man’s family, and he’s going to keep that promise no matter where he has to go. And apparently, he’s taking a bunch of orphan kids as his “Kill Krew”. Gerry Duggan is a good writer, so I’ll probably check out Punisher Kill Krew when I get the chance. The art is good, though it’s a style I’m not too fond of. It’s very much like a painting, and that’s fine. Just not something I prefer, though there are still some cool visuals in this one.

At its worst, the separate stories in this issue are fine. At it’s best it’s Daredevil and Heimdall jumping off a church roof to fight crime together. My expectations were that we’d get some closure for the events of War of the Realms. We did get that, but at the same time, this is really just an advertisement for the new series from Marvel. If you’re a completist, I guess this is something you’ll have to get to get the full collection. Otherwise, I think this issue is fine, but you won’t be absolutely lost if you decide to skip it.

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