By Christos N. Gage (Writer), Rafa Sandoval (Pencils), Roger Bonet (Inks), and Edgar Delgado (Colors)
Some Thoughts Before The Review: I enjoyed Rafa Sandoval’s work for Incredible Hercules quite a bit. I look forward to seeing how the artist handles all the characters that appear in The Initiative.
The Story: Chapter 1: Learn the origin story of Johnny Guitar (and his pal Dr. Sax) and about how they got involved with the Initiative program. Chapter 2: The Initiative members try to take back the Negative Zone prison currently controlled by King Blastaar.
What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: As far as the writing by Christos Gage goes, the latest issue of Avengers: The Initiative is a great example of everything that’s right about the series as a whole. Pretty much any character can show up in the spotlight and, more often than not, truly make an impact on some sort of level (emotionally or during an action scene). Case in point: Johnny Guitar. His journey is very well-written and, while a bit heavy-handed, definitely makes you feel for the character whether you had any intention of doing so or not.
If Gage takes center stage during chapter one, then the whole Negative Zone battle is the art team’s show. The fight is chaotic, colorful, and quite fun to look at as far as crazy superhero battles go. Rafa Sandoval, thanks to help from Roger Bonet and Edgar Delgado, manages to put a whole hell of a lot on every page, and it works to great effect. While faces tend to look similar and some of the action is a bit hard to follow, the artwork, as a whole, really gets the job done far better than it has any right to. There’s a LOT going on in the Negative Zone, and Sandoval makes sure that the reader knows it.
Conclusion: Avengers: The Initiative #27 doesn’t amount to a whole lot (it’s basically a character highlight reel followed by a fight scene), but it delivers a whole lot of entertainment. Johnny Guitar’s story and the Negative Zone rumble combine to make the latest issue of The Initiative an example of what happens when a creative team makes the most of the series concept.
Grade: B
-Kyle Posluszny
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