I was shocked to see this LS on the racks last week. I didn't know that Marvel was publishing a Marvel Boy book, and I've always viewed the character as the Quasar prototype so I picked it up. If anything, I figured it would make for some cool backstory regarding the Quantum Bands.

I haven't read any of the Atlas book that Marvel was (is?) publishing, but I know Marvel Boy has been in that. By no means is Bob Grayson a suitable replacement for Quasar, but he is a predeccessor of sorts, so I figured it would intrigue our group here at the Zone.

The first issue was a decent... the highlights were actually the reprinted Golden Age material that first featured Marvel Boy. Those are two back issues I've wanted to place in my Quasar collection for years, but will simply never afford them. It was neat to see them reprinted in a monthly. It amazes me how far a cry the original Marvel Boy's Quantum Bands were from what they are now. I think this new 3 issue series is going to try and bridge the gap a bit between what the bands were back in the golden age to what they are now.

For example, in the original stories they were only capable of emitting a light to blind opponents (kind of ridiculous, I know). But in the revisionist Marvel Boy: The Uranian limited series, we see some basic constructs like a platter-shaped shield and so forth. It's only three issues, so I'll buy it and file it under my Quasar stuff. I am curious though why Marvel even saw fit to publish this. I have to wonder if it was simply to maintain copyright.

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Ironman John
A.I. Editor-In-Chief | A.I. Forum Moderator
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I picked this up, as well.
I've always had a soft-spot for ol' Marvel Boy (because of the Quasar connection). He kind of got a raw deal pre-Agents of Atlas (going crazy and blowing himself up), so the retcon of it being a Uranian Eternal clone-thing worked for me.
I thought the first issue was pretty good, but it seemed to be a lot of back-story and setup. I'm interested, though, to see where the story is going.

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Will
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Will Allred <wallred@quantumzone.org>
Quantum Zone
Grand Comic-Book Database