This wannabe epic is a sprawling mess of slow-paced set-up.

The narrative jumps around the decades. Frustrated that the Vietnam War happened too long ago to fit in modern continuity, Kurt Busiek presents us with Sin-Cong, a southeastern Asian country that has all the colonialism, Ugly American diplomacy, covert operations, and even the feel and look of the 1950s and 1960s, but is set in the early 2000s. Pre-cosmic rays Reed Richards and Benjamin J. Grimm get involved in a black op to hunt monsters in the jungles that has them bumping into all sort of obscure old supporting characters from the Marvel Universe. In the present day, from the dozens of characters bopping around in seemingly random scenes, a small strike force slowly coalesces to face a mysterious black dome that has formed over the renamed Siancong. And through it all, the Punisher abides.

For no good reason Prince lookalike Ace Spencer is dragged in from the 1980s and teamed up with a cosmic sort of dude who looks like David Bowie and goes by the name Threadneedle.

The title would have us think this is a sequel to Marvels so in the midst of all the heroes, a civilian punk named Kevin Schumer traipses along taking pictures of everything on his phone.

I might pick up the second volume, but I certainly won't care if I never get around to it. ( )