Marvel Comics 1000 1978 page by Carlos Pacheco

Marvel 1000 felt special and ambitious when it was announced and it delivered upon reading.

A great mystery story in the Marvel tradition that non-linearly unfolds during all of Marvel’s history in the form of one page per year and per artistic creative team. The only caveat I have is to see how it will resolve in the long haul (I probably would have to follow up in al Ewing’s book as he was the sole writer of the book).

I immediately knew I’d want a page from it and this one was one of the few affordable ones after several inquiries. Proof if needed that each artist considered his contribution to be special if prices are to be the barometer.

As a huge fan of Byrne self-despised Alpha Flight run, this one pushes all the right buttons.

Guardian’s design was simple yet an instant favorite and Carlos is paying a perfect tribute to it, proof that he himself is a big fan of Byrne and that run.

The first panel is perfectly in tone with how Byrne drew him. Just look at the position of his flying hand. The second one I would say is more a Pacheco typical position but I could not be 100% sure. Third and fourth panels are also a nod to Byrne’s way of drawing him mid air or hit by assault.

In the following panel, we also get a full body glimpse of the mysterious character that is the red line of the whole story even if he is drenched in shadows which is a treat as he does not appear that much within the book.

The last two panels graphically refer to what would be Guardian’s tragic and quite memorable demise.

Without spoiling it (= Don’t read the published page below if you don’t want to be spoiled), I also greatly loved Ewing’s setting up said demise within this page, years before it would happen, which resulted in making it probably my favorite of the whole book. A nice way to play to Marvel’s continuity which is not always top priority from writers these days (not that a care, it’s just a fun Easter egg).

I will conclude by underlying how fluid the storytelling on this page remains despite the fact the layout is not traditional and the fact it’s quite a busy one in terms of panel number.