Defenders #1

Ewing continues to show why hes the consummate master of his craft here, as he flawlessly builds upon storylines hes been cultivating for almost a decade. The disparate parts fit together perfectly creating a perfect synthesis between classic and new. Ewing continues to showcase his vast knowledge of Marvel history by referencing a story that took place before the creative team was even born, and does it flawlessly.Add in Javier Rodriguezs classical style, and you get a comic thats perfect from cover to cover. Read Full Review

Defenders #1 is a great start to an epic adventure. Ewing is the best writer around in regards to crafting a tale with the scale that this one has. There are a lot of factors at play. And the small cast allows the comic to be swamped by the magnitude of its settings. This is a book that revels in both magical grandiosity and universal majesty, and Rodrguez makes both look absolutely stunning. Read Full Review

As much as I thought the plot was alright, the art was always the reason to pick Defenders #1 up. This might have been a slow opening, but I'm wildly excited for the rest of whatever this story ends up being. Read Full Review

Defenders #1 makes a great first impression in terms of showing off its POV character, Doctor Strange, and how dire the full series plot will be with its pacing. Read Full Review

Featuring groovy art, an intriguing team, and a compelling mystery, "Defenders" #1 adds to Ewing's impressive mythology building. Read Full Review

As fun as this was, I genuinely get the impression Ewing was holding back his best stuff for the next issue or two. Any book going forward with Galactus's Mum is a must buy for me. Read Full Review

As fun as this was, I genuinely get the impression Ewing was holding back his best stuff for the next issue or two. Any book going forward with Galactus's Mum is a must buy for me. Read Full Review

Javier Rodriguez delivers some fantastic art throughout the issue. There are so many fantastic visual elements throughout the issue and the look is perfect for this type of story. A visually fun ride all around. Read Full Review

What is truly impressive about this debut is not the plans it lays out for itself, although those may be great indeed, but how it makes even the most mundane storytelling tasks something to ponder. Read Full Review

Defenders #1 is a comic that feels both fast and slow. The Masked Raider brings an ultra-high-stakes problem to Dr. Strange, and the magician speedily pulls together a team to address it. This issue accomplishes a great deal, and it looks gorgeous doing it. But it's also loaded with a lot of exposition; fortunately, it all goes down smoothly. Read Full Review

The Defenders #1 is a gorgeous book that is somewhat hamstrung by a simple plot that's muddled by narration overwrought with jargon and vague statements that don't explain what's actually happening. Read Full Review

THE DISPATCHThe question I asked myself was while reading was, isnt DOCTOR STRANGE going to die soon? Marvel has been pushing the DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE for months now leaving this reviewer to wonder about the relationship to this book right here and now. Are the two connected? Truth be told, youll get absolutely no inkling this week. However, readers will get a rather confusing, over-the-top, deep diatribe from the Sorcerer Supreme as he conjures this new DEFENDERS team together. Read Full Review

And even with Ewings caliber of plotting, Javier Rodrguez matches and possibly even exceeds what he brings to this issue with tremendous visuals. Im not surprised to see great art from him, but his retro pulpy art style is perfect for Defenders, and it seamlessly conveys the script through clever panel composition. His last big project, History of the Marvel Universe, pushed that angle a bit further than he does here, but its hardly something I would level as a complaint. Frequent collaborator lvaro Lpezs inks are also worth a mention, as they really give Rodrguezs pencils a graphic quality that leads to some lovely contrast in the colors and linework. Read Full Review

The original Defenders book was a cult classic; Secret Defenders was a mutt of a book. It will interesting to see how this new mini series fares, especially given the up and coming publicised Death of Doctor Strange, Read Full Review

This first issue is extremely dense when it comes to continuity and exposition, but fans of Cosmic Marvel will be chomping at the bit to find out where this goes. Read Full Review

Defenders #1 offers the kind of weird set-up you would expect from a Defenders title. I'm happy to see the Surfer here, although I'm unsure what to make of Cloud or the Raider. After a prolonged set-up, the adventure begins in earnest in the next issue. Read Full Review

Let us know if you enjoyed our Review of Defenders #1 if you read the book or rate it yourself. Read Full Review

KittyNone

Aug 11, 2021

This was so much fun! And Rodriguez's art is unbelievable; I had to double-check and confirm that I'd never read his work before because it seemed impossible that an established artist who can draw pages like that is someone I'm not already a fan of. Also, while Jack Kirby pastiches can be a bit cliche, Ewing nails Kirby's voice so flawlessly that it's hard not to love. (Did the King himself ever write a more Kirbyan line of dialogue than "We DON'T 'play possum' when ACTION is the WATCHWORD!!"?) Great start.

The Wondrous Wand of Watoomb

Aug 12, 2021

Wow. What an absolute thing of beauty! Talk about getting the gig to do the good doctor and running wild with it. Love what Al Ewing does with Strange's dialogue and Javier Rodriguez is climbing up the charts for me as of the best cartoonists to tackle Dr. Strange among the other gods like Kevin Nowlan, Michael Golden, Marshall Rogers, etc....He totally got the trippy Ditko visuals down and his added touch of psychedelic colors kick it to the Nth degree. I am totally on board with this! OK, enough gushing.

Kalaoui

Aug 13, 2021

Impeccable! This has grabbed my attention like no book did in a little while. Ewing's deep cuts and way with words mixed with Rodriguez's art are a match made for me!

Psycamorean

Aug 16, 2021

I think this issue is a wonderful test of taste. The people who think this is bad are not people you should listen to. I mean, how off base can one get? Especially calling the art bad? What the fuck is wrong with these people?

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Psycamorean - Aug 17, 2021

I know, right? It's insane.

Psycamorean - Aug 17, 2021

That would require them to actually buy something instead of pirating it, like most of them do.

TSMack - Aug 17, 2021

I'm no pirate. I support my local CB store.

Psycamorean - Aug 17, 2021

I don't think we were talking about you.

maelstron

Aug 11, 2021

The art is amazing. The writing could be better if Ewing did a more straight up story. Seriously he is good, but indulge himself too much. This will be a hard reading for mos readers. No surprise Incredible hulk is his big comercial success My grade is mostly for the art, but if second issue is like this the grade will be lower

CrazyforRAMU

Dec 31, 2021

The Masked Raider delivers a magical time-travel crisis to Doctor Strange. He wastes no time putting together a team and breaking the laws of magic as he does so, plunging them into the soup unprepared. This is definitely an indulgent passion project for both of the main creators; what Javier Rodríguez does with the art is a lot easier to appreciate than Al Ewing's writing work. The script is stuffed with big, challenging ideas -- and "challenging" isn't necessarily a compliment. I hope that future installments are a little more plot-driven, with more characterization and less esoteric hoo-ha.

Raging Rainbow

Aug 19, 2021

Overall, I don’t know what to expect for this series. The team up is nothing spectacular that will have people excited, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are many examples from the past of superhero groups made up of characters most people would not combine going on to have successful runs, but that success was always due to proper handling of the team and entertaining scenarios through which they grow together. The art is engaging and the colorwork is done to great effect, particularly in the magic fights. I will continue to hope for the best but expect the worst, as is my motto and because, unfortunately, these books tend to go south sooner rather than later. Read my full review: https://ragingrainbow.substack.com/p/def enders-1-review more

Merlyn

Aug 11, 2021

This bored me out of my mind, I don't think I've read in a long time a book that made me fell asleep while reading it, it really was an effort to get through it, this is Ewing indulging himself in his worst reflexes.

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maelstron - Aug 13, 2021

This is true. When eing indulges himself, the writing become a mess. Almost impenetrable for casual readers. dude is a encyclopledia but needs to chill a bit

Merlyn - Aug 13, 2021

And he has an obsession with synchronicity and the esoteric which for me kinda sounds bonkers and cringey. :))

Briton

Aug 12, 2021

Oh dear, what a disappointing mess. Rubbish artwork, nonsensical plot, crap lineup. What's to like?