Vision Vol. 1: Little Worse Than A Man

This series collection posits how the Vision family might react with and learn from (or not) from living in 21 st century suburbia. At times, this places a mirror right up to modern society's face and not all is likable.

Easy to recommend this to adult readers....children may be disappointed but for those is us who have got the point of raising a family, the themes all ring true. A pulp tale in the American Gothic vien...the writting is spot on. This one doesn't pull punches.

Thanks to the release of 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, the introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of The Vision, the synthezoid android created by Ultron, means a new comic series. The character has had a long time husband to Scarlet Witch, but in the recent All-New All-Different Marvel phase decided to have him ditch his emotions. With up-in-coming hotshot writer Tom King takes on the Avenger and it is one hell of a psychological/horror comic that is not like any Marvel title out there.

Collecting issues #1-6, THE VISION VOL.1: LITTLE WORSE THAN A MAN see’s the Vision has started his own family to understand normality. That means owning a house, having a job as a Whitehouse assistant (and working for the Avengers), and conforming to societies norms. So Vision has created a wife named Virginia and two teenage twins a boy named Vin and a girl named Viv. While Vision is trying to deal with his daily job and maintain his family, the other three synthezoids are trying to comprehend what it means to be human and normal, but something goes horribly wrong and it only gets worse.

While my basic summary might not explain much, that is simply because I would be spoiling so much of what makes this book fantastic, which is all about the haunting and nuanced look of the inner workings of the Vision family. Writer Jeff King does a series that is nothing like a comic published by Marvel or DC in making this an incredibly detailed take on Marvel’s long-time Avenger whereas many stories of Vision showcase his powers and humanity over being a robot, this new take shows the fear and complexity he has to go through in trying to be human. And it simply gets dark.

The mood is conveyed a problem as Vision stays in his cold, calculating characterization to his duties and family, yet an equal amount of page time is for each family member gets fleshed out in their own unique and creepy ways like the wife Virginia coming to terms of what is emotion by context of general terms, the siblings Viv and Vin learning what it feels like to deal with high school and being a teenager. There is a ton of underlining themes explored here where I could write an essay on that you would miss to such a point, it might require some re-reads with the vast metaphors and red herrings. The depth here by writer King keeps the vibe of uneasiness at all times showcasing the typical suburban area with the ever-feeling that something horrific is under the surface. This is every present by the omniscience narration, who to great surprise, becomes revealed by the last issues collected in a great full-circle way. It’s just solid level stuff that dense, insightful, and makes for a creepy tale that keeps you hooked.

Tom King’s script works wonders by artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta (with award winning colorist Jordie Bellaire!). I loved his work with Magneto because his art style fits a noir-ish and muted, yet its clean and subdued to match the cold, sterile vibe the book gives. It works wonders.

So this is the part where I list possible flaws here. As you can plainly see, I gave this a 5-star rating because I had no problems with it. Alas, it’s not for everyone sadly. The book is incredibly slow-paced, highly nuanced, and meant to be taken in a little at a time. There’s barely any form of action and the content are aimed for adults (even if the comic is T+ rated). It’s in the same category with other acclaimed graphic novels, not in terms of legacy or impact but just how dense it is for readers like Watchmen, The Sandman, and Maus for examples. This book is aimed for those readers to pay attention at a slow pace, something not many mainstream comics are meant for. Additionally, this means possible re-reads to grasp meanings and plot details hidden throughout, and maybe even a quick search to Wikipedia when you find out who the narrator really is.

So THE VISION VOL.1: LITTLE WORSE THAN A MAN is a truly stunning series for the character in the vast array of concepts and psychological/horror it conjures up. Whether you’re a fan of the Vision or one who saw the “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and wanted to give him a try, this is special case. After this, writer Tom King signs an exclusive with DC Comics, making the second volume the last. Don’t worry though, King himself has stated this was his intent to write a 12-issues series. And if this first volume is any indication, the second volume will be truly encapsulating.

Tom King is the man. Everything he is writing , you should be reading . Rarely does a story come along that makes you realize how close to real life some comic books can be . Minus the super powers , cosmic creatures , and eater of worlds .
W/O spoiling too much , The Vision finds out the hard way , raising a family isn't as easy as it looks . The absolute best Vision story I've read since his origin . Highly recommend.

Good lord is this book brilliant. The Vision is a gorgeous, philosophy heavy, A.I. sci-fi story, which explores heady concepts all while maintaining a readable, clear plot. The Vision is complex, full of characters and intrigue, without ever becoming confusing or difficult to read. The Vision stands as one of Marvel's absolute best titles, and I can't wait to read the conclusion. To say much more would spoil the true nature of this book, so suffice to say that you should absolutely be reading it.

This series is deeply dark existential suburban gothic horror. There’s an excellent balance between “normal” and “other” presented here. It’s difficult to grade the first half of a story, so I’ll stick with a 4 of 5 here. You’ll need to pick up the second volume to get a complete story, but it’s worth the time.

I really wanted to like this series, I really really did. I love Vision, I love the idea of him having a synth family and stories that may come from them moving in among suburbia. But I just didn't, at all really. I like the art, so I'll give it 3 stars for that and the effort. It's the writing that is killing me. I understand how dialog among the family will be full of techno jargon, they are rocking processor-like brains after all, but that should not extend to the narrative word bubbles and yet it does. The dialog reads like a philosophy textbook as they work to understand why the humans act like they do around them and the narrative just rocks the same, waxing philosophic and not giving you a chance to breath and process. Maybe they are going for this, a focus on both forms of writing as seen by a synth, but if it is, I hate it and can't convince myself to push through anymore volumes. I understand everyone has different tastes, but it just seems weird that I love the robot genre of sci-fi in all it's forms. I love techno babble like Neal Stephenson fills his book, but I don't love this. Good luck to the series otherwise.

I knew next to nothing about the character going in but I was hooked on the story. I would suggest this for anyone interested in AI or androids. Vision and his family made a compelling cast of characters. If the Marvel reboot seems sour to you at least give Vision a try.

Vision is a long standing member of the Avengers, who was created by Ultron. He is a synthezoid, not completely a robot and not completely human, but something apart from both. So it makes sense that he would want to create a family and try to gain acceptance from people.

My first issue with this book is that the blurb makes it sound like we will get to see him building his family. This would have been cool and could have led to some Frankenstein like moments. Instead, the story starts off and everything is established. He has a wife, Virginia, and twin children, Viv and Vin, and they have a house not far from Washington, DC. Sticking with the "V" names seemed unnecessary to me, but I get it. Vision's goals are clear, but his family felt underdeveloped. Being early in their existence, it makes sense that they are struggling a bit more with the idea of acting human than Vision does.

The other big problem I had with this book is the way it is told. The content for the most part is not bad. The Visions don't fit in for numerous reasons, and most of the story focuses on that. There are some issues that come up that are wholly atypical as well. On the other hand, the way the story is presented is awful. People always say that a good story will show the reader what is happening rather than telling them. This books spends the majority of the time telling the reader what is going on. Caption boxes cover the pages. The art does a good job of conveying what is going on for the most part, but those caption boxes bogged down the story for me.