Magnus 1 Reviews

[400yrs]

So overall it seems people enjoyed this more than Solar # 1 right?

Definitely. I wish this book came before Solar #1. Hell, Solar was so bad, they better turn it around quick.

[ian_house]

Just finished my 1st issue of Magnus and it was stunning. I thought it looked a hell of a lot better than Solar and even read better. You got alot of story and character/world building in the 22 or so pages. Looking forward to the next issue! Also, Leeja looks pretty damn hot!

I got the variant cover, I don't think the regular cover shipped to the UK this week.

[superman-prime]

seems like the general comsensis is magnus 1 rocked great start to the 4000ad stuff the backstory slowed it down but was needed for those unfamiliar with the story also will help if they incoperate others in to it later on rai and suck (which they dont have rights to yet )
solar was so so at best though

[dave]

Rai and suck? Do you mean the Future Force?



I think the art had some bad moments. Magnus often looks a bit "stretched" if you get my meaning.

I liked this one better than Solar, but I liked the Solar too.

I've read the Magnus Gold Key before. Anyone know where? I mean, I don't have the original, this was reprinted somewhere else, right?

[superman-prime]

i ment turok lol

[Ryan]

I've read the Magnus Gold Key before. Anyone know where? I mean, I don't have the original, this was reprinted somewhere else, right?

Probably Vintage Magnus 1 from Valiant? That one actually looks a lot better since they used scans of the original art and re-colored it. Dark Horse always uses scans of the comics, which loses some of the crispness of Mannings art

Rai and suck, I like that name for Rai 9+

[magnusr]

I've read the Magnus Gold Key before. Anyone know where? I mean, I don't have the original, this was reprinted somewhere else, right?

Probably Vintage Magnus 1 from Valiant? That one actually looks a lot better since they used scans of the original art and re-colored it. Dark Horse always uses scans of the comics, which loses some of the crispness of Mannings art

Rai and suck, I like that name for Rai 9+

Agree, that's probably what dave remembers, and agree, it was superior in quality.

Some trivia:
It was also reprinted as Gold Key's Magnus issue 22 and by Dark Horse in their hard covers (exactly the same as this reprint). So this is the 5th time it's published in the US.

This is the only issue where the bottom of the tunic is actually a cloth. It wasn't a tunic at first, but the art was changed at the request of the publisher (though Manning missed a line in the second panel of story-page 9).

/Magnus

[Ryan]

It was also reprinted as Gold Key's Magnus issue 22 and by Dark Horse in their hard covers (exactly the same as this reprint). So this is the 5th time it's published in the US.

Isn't Dark Horse reprinting it again next month in a $1 issue? That's some good exposure at least

[Daniel Jackson]

It was also reprinted as Gold Key's Magnus issue 22 and by Dark Horse in their hard covers (exactly the same as this reprint). So this is the 5th time it's published in the US.

Isn't Dark Horse reprinting it again next month in a $1 issue? That's some good exposure at least

Yeah, DCBS had them for 50 cents on pre-order.

[JonesyAZ]

Okay guys...I have a potential spoiler-esque question, so to those who haven't read this issue yet:

SPOILER ALERT!!!

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Do any of you that have read this issue think that the old man in the green jacket is the same green-hooded man from the FCBD Solar/Magnus issue that is seen in the background of a couple panels running from left to right with stuff in his hand? I dunno...something about that old man gives me the impression that he's not what he seems...

[depluto]

So overall it seems people enjoyed this more than Solar # 1 right?

Definitely. I wish this book came before Solar #1. Hell, Solar was so bad, they better turn it around quick.

I think it needs time ... the seeds are there for a tight little universe in Solar.

[raymondsolar]

...

[superman-prime]

spoiler



spoiler










IVAR

[dave]

I would doubt that it was Ivar.

Was Jim even "on board" for the retcon third brother idea?

Here is my review of the Magnus issue that I posted on my blog.

Warning.

I get a little side-tracked.

I didn't make it to the comic shop until Friday of last week, and then I didn't get the chance to read Magnus until late Sunday night. Then, I didn't take the time to write a post about it until now, so that is the reason it is so tardy.

You can stop e-mailing me about it now, because here it is.

Seriously. Stop.

The second offering from Dark Horse's new run of books which we've been referring to as "Dark Key" is much like the first. It's a good story, and the art is less than inspiring at times. That is not to say that I didn't like, it's just that I've already begun to temper my enthusiasm. I believe that every thing you'd need to make a great story is there. We have a nice foundation. The question is, where will these books go from here?

I am expecting them to be very good stories, and I am very hopeful that when all is said and done we will be able to look back on these as every bit as good as Pre-Unity Valiant books were. Right now, the books have not quite measured up. They seem to moving at a slower pace, which is fine, as long as we are building up to something fabulous. It's simply too early to tell.

I do not agree with many of my on-line friends who have described the writing as "clunky" but I do understand where they are coming from. By the way, I recently learned that it is in fact permitted to end sentences with a preposition. This "rule" it turns out, is a myth. Can you believe it? No? I read it on the internet, it must be true. I know with absolute certainty that at least two of my readers want to know "where I read it at" so here goes:

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/en ... tions.aspx

I feel so liberated.

This has been verified by a second source as well. In the book "Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies" the author labels this rule a myth as well. There you go.

Don't expect me to go too crazy with my new-found freedom; just realize that I am no longer going to go this far out of my way to be "correct":

I do not agree with many of my on-line friends who have described the writing as "clunky" but I do understand from whence they are coming.

The Grammar Snobs book is highly recommended by the way, and I learned quite a bit about colons, semi-colons, parenthesis and quotation marks as well, but I won't be regaling you with all of that (in this post) today.

Back to the year 4000. I really hope that the modern-day Solar story ends up linking with the futuristic world of Magnus. I would say that Jim Shooter's greatest strength is his focus on continuity. It would be a waste to have him orchestrate four titles and not connect them.

SO far, 1-A, Magnus' robot "father", seems far too human to be merely a sentient robot. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. His being unable to bear watching Magnus attempt his feats of daring-do seems slightly out of character. He is a robot after all. Or is he?

Back to the writing. As I mentioned, I understand from whence cometh my good friends who have been less than impressed with the writing (at). I've given it some thought and I have come up with my own explanation. I believe that it is entirely possible that the fact that Dark Horse is not a start-up may be working against Jim here. In the early days of Valiant Jim was under tremendous pressure. He was the driving force behind the companies survival. The investors were anxious to see a return on their investment. Many of the employees would have no where else to go if the company failed, and I believe that, at least in part, the pressure resulted in a larger "wow" factor. He knew he needed to grab the readers right away, and that he'd only have the one chance to impress.

At Dark Horse that pressure is not there. If Dark Key goes away, many Valiant fans will be disappointed, but the company will stay afloat.

I am not saying that Jim is giving us a "less-than" effort, here. I'm saying that he may just be taking a little more time, and preparing the foundation a bit more than he has in the past in order to gird up a towering structure in the future. To those of us who are comparing these books with Pre-Unity Valiant it will seem as though the story is moving at a snail's pace, when really, it is merely the calm before the storm.

[Phantom..]

Just finished my 1st issue of Magnus and it was stunning. I thought it looked a hell of a lot better than Solar and even read better. You got alot of story and character/world building in the 22 or so pages. Looking forward to the next issue! Also, Leeja looks pretty damn hot!

I got the variant cover, I don't think the regular cover shipped to the UK this week.

You got a copy?
I still haven't recieved mine.
Seller says that NONe were shipped to the UK.
I ordered the variant, but he just emailed me saying no shipment of any magnus has arrived for anyone.

Forbinden planet, has nothing either.
Draco, does the guy upstairs have any?

Back in two weeks, of to France ~ I will buy something from Knightt and ask him to post it to me their

See you guys latter.

[ian_house]

Just finished my 1st issue of Magnus and it was stunning. I thought it looked a hell of a lot better than Solar and even read better. You got alot of story and character/world building in the 22 or so pages. Looking forward to the next issue! Also, Leeja looks pretty damn hot!

I got the variant cover, I don't think the regular cover shipped to the UK this week.

You got a copy?
I still haven't recieved mine.
Seller says that NONe were shipped to the UK.
I ordered the variant, but he just emailed me saying no shipment of any magnus has arrived for anyone.

Forbinden planet, has nothing either.
Draco, does the guy upstairs have any?

Back in two weeks, of to France ~ I will buy something from Knightt and ask him to post it to me their

See you guys latter.

Yeah I got the variant. It was the only one that shipped. Got it from Forbidden Planet for cover price on the Saturday after it was out, the missus grabbed it for me after work

This is the only one on eGay at the mo:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAGNUS-ROBOT-FIGH ... _Comics_ET

[ian_house]

Sorry misread, didn't notice that you said you'd ordered one. Who was the seller?

[Knightt]

JUST bought my copy of Magnus #1 (and my darn LCS didn't put the variant cover in there for me, no surprise there) but my damn Crohn's made it hard to even lift my head last night let alone read it. I will make that my #1 priority on Saturday and give a review (HA, like my opinion weights in around here but I'll give it a go).

[Chuck64]

Solar #1, Magnus #1, and the FCBD Solar/Magnus arrived today. Unless my memory is failing this is the first new release comics that I've gotten in 13 to 14 years.

I really liked all of them and am glad I made the purchase. The story, art and colors in Magnus 1 were great.

Although I liked the art in Solar 1 it did seem that some of the backgrounds were bare and that the colors just weren't right. It was almost like one person colored the background using a more muted palette while someone else colored the characters using a more vibrant palette. Magnus didn't seem to have this problem. The art and colors blended well and worked with the story.

I did like the little bits of humor in both books. Maybe it's just me, but I liked the FCBD Solar story better than Solar 1.

[HaloReach2010]

Just finished Magnus #1 and really enjoyed it. I thought it was better than Solar #1 (which I liked a lot even though the reviews were bad). I am not going to say anything else except enjoy.

Ditto....enjoyed both, but Magnus was better than the Solar book. (IMO)
Just glad to see new stories by Shooter.

[eternalwarrior]

I must be the only one who liked better.
IDK this Magnus issue just didn't do it for me. It was too much of a departure from the Valiant stuff that i love. I guess i just want the old hand coloring and the valiant supporting cast. Does anyone know if shooter plans to tie the books into one universe? That was my favorite part about the early valiant stuff. I know it's early with only a couple of books out, but i really want an early Valiant like universe to come from this....

[Ryan]

Does anyone know if shooter plans to tie the books into one universe?

That's the plan. Lovejoy industries has already been mentioned in both Solar and Magnus and seems to have a big role in this new Universe. Give it time, I'm sure he wants to establish the characters before any big crossing over happens

[superman-prime]

I think the first ones are minis to see how they sell after that they will hash out how many will launch in to ongoing so crossovers is a liittle soon to hope for

[eternalwarrior]

yeah. makes sense. I just want the old valiant back so bad i can taste it lol

[Daniel Jackson]

yeah. makes sense. I just want the old valiant back so bad i can taste it lol

It's a shame VEI couldn't secure the GK rights, cause it would have been great to have all of the characters in one universe again. At least Shooter is behind the helm with the Dark Horse versions, so that's something at least.