Nick Fury, Jr. has been in the Marvel Universe for the last five years, but he hasn’t had his own ongoing series until now. The new Nick Fury title wisely takes inspiration from the adventures of Nick’s father, and the creative team is channeling Jim Steranko’s groundbreaking work on Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. to give the title a bold graphic style that energizes the superspy narrative. Writer James Robinson’s recent Marvel work has been strongest when he tells single-issue stories that can be read on their own (see: the recently concluded Scarlet Witch), and he’s sticking with that format for Nick Fury, sending Nick on a different mission in each issue. Unlike in Scarlet Witch, Robinson is working with a single art team for this series, and it’s one with the skill and imagination to create ambitious visuals that push what superhero comics are capable of.
Penciller ACO and inker Hugo Petrus previously worked on DC’s Midnighter, one of the best action series of the last few years. That series featured striking layouts that found creative ways to present brutal fights, and while this exclusive preview of Nick Fury #1 doesn’t feature any action, the layouts play an integral role in adding drama and excitement to the script. The opening page keeps everything tight as Nick Fury walks up the stairs to the casino, but then there’s a huge expansion for the title splash showing the majesty of the French Riviera. These layouts are still pretty conventional, but then there’s a page turn revealing how Nick’s prototype eyepatch takes in the environment, showing a swirling tableau of interconnected circles that forces the reader to slow down to process all the visual information.
Rachelle Rosenberg is one of Marvel’s most versatile colorists, and she’s embracing a bright palette of neons and pastels that intensify the spectacle and make the linework pop even more. The colors help set a rhythm for the artwork, like the alternating of orange and green in the opening page as Nick walks up the stairs, and draw the eye to the most important parts of the page, which is especially important in that final splash that overwhelms the reader. This is a phenomenal art team, and hopefully Robinson will give them plenty of room to play and experiment with each issue.