A-Force #1 Review

A-Force #1
Written by Marguerite Bennett and G. Willow Wilson
Art by Jorge Molina
Colored by Laura Martin and Matt Milla
Published by Marvel Comics

Now that the first two issues of Secret Wars are out and in the wild, the first of the many, many tie-in series are beginning to show up on comic book store shelves. This week alone sees the launch of several, including the much hyped and talked about A-Force.

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When A-Force was originally announced, it was billed as an Avengers title with an all-female team, including such characters as She-Hulk, Dazzler and Captain Marvel in addition to pretty much every female hero in the Marvel Universe. It was compared to Brian Wood’s X-Men, which was a team of mutants made up entirely of women, as a new era for the Avengers and a sign of Marvel’s further attempts at diversification and clear effort to appeal to their ever growing female readership.

Before I go any further, I want to say up front that A-Force is a very good book and a title I plan to read regularly. Marguerite Bennett, G. Willow Wilson and Jorge Molina have done something really special and created something fresh and new just when you thought that was pretty much impossible. A-Force is filled with strong characterization, incredible action and an art style that is a perfect match for the story. I seriously cannot recommend this comic strongly enough.

But even though I really enjoyed the book, I feel like Marvel pulled a fast one on me.

A-Force takes place after the events of Secret Wars #1 and 2 and has nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with the Avengers. Instead, She-Hulk and her team are the protectors of one of the nations on Battleworld called Arcadia. The first issue acts as an introduction to A-Force’s world and shows us their situation, what happens if you break Doom’s rules and gives us a humdinger of a cliffhanger. But nowhere is there any Avenging.

The “A” in A-Force doesn’t even stand for Avengers for cripes sake.

So what was sold to me as a comic about an all-female team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is instead a book about Arcadia’s Mightiest Heroes.

Normally, things like this don’t bother me because it’s comics, and plans and storylines change. It has already been announced that A-Force will continue past Secret Wars, and when the event is over, I know that this will be an excellent Avengers title that I will gladly read each and every month. However, if you are going to promote a book as an Avengers title and sell it as such, it should be an Avengers title, plain and simple.

That all being said, don’t let my issues with Marvel’s promotional campaign stop you from trying out what looks to be a great series and a key part of the Secret Wars storyline. As far as first issues go, A-Force #1 is top notch across the board.

The Bottom Line: Despite the fact that A-Force #1 has absolutely nothing to do with the Avengers, it’s still a great way to kick-off the avalanche of Secret Wars tie-ins that will be flooding comic shops over the next few months. I’m already looking forward to when the “A” stands for Avengers and I can watch this team really start to kick some tail.

A-Force is an idea that is long overdue and I can’t wait to see what kind of stories future issues hold.

Next: Secret Wars #2 review

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