Quicksilver No Surrender #1 Review

Quicksilver No Surrender #1 Review

Written by: Saladin Ahmed
Art by: Eric Nguyen
Colors by: Rico Renzi
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Published by: Marvel Comics

Review by Cory Webber

Quicksilver No Surrender #1 picks up where the Avengers No Surrender event ended, with Quicksilver racing to save the day. Pietro Maximoff has run so fast that he has become unstuck from time. I’ve always wondered why Quicksilver is such a polarizing character when the Flash has been popular for decades. Well, Saladin Ahmed is trying his best to convince me that he warrants a closer look.

Ahmed is a writer you should be following. More than anything, he has proven a knack for deconstructing unpopular characters and making them interesting…just read his Black Bolt and Exiles. Now, not only did he make me care about Black Bolt, but he almost made me shed a tear for Crusher freaking Creel. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to crack open this comic.

Ahmed begins by narrating from Quicksilver’s perspective. The way he explains how fast he really is and what it means provides wonderful insight into Pietro’s psyche. Pietro is equal parts arrogant, sullen, juvenile and self-aware. The moment he becomes unstuck in time he goes from confusion and fear to being goofy and petty. After racing around the world and sitting down to enjoy the Northern Lights, he becomes bored. But before boredom can settle in, something, or someone, appears.

Nguyen’s art is mesmerizing in the way he mixes the frenetic energy of the speedster against a completely static background. Leaving the background in black-and-white gave it a cardboard cutout-type feel. For the most part, it worked great to juxtapose against the colorful, seemingly always-in-motion speedster; however, some panels did feel a little too stiff and lifeless.

Renzi’s use of color, which was minimal, was effective. I noticed that there were different colored motion streaks trailing Pietro in different sequences. These colors allude to something suspicious on the final page.

Verdict:

Buy it! While the hook isn’t super strong, and the threat to Pietro isn’t entirely clear, Ahmed has shown that he is worth sticking around for. He has already proven that he can make me want to follow Quicksilver, a character I’ve never really cared for.