Avengers #17 – Review

Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli, Marco Rudy, Marco Checchetto (Artists), Frank Martin (Colorist)

*Spoilers alert*

The Story: The Avengers realize that they have to get even bigger and soon as they make concessions for the greater good.

The Review: Payoffs are nice. Readers crave them, cherishing the situations that escalates to a climax as a resolution or conclusion to a particular problem arrive and lead the story or a character to new areas ripe for development or surprises. Payoffs are what nourish the whole industry and pretty much every stories since the beginning of carefully-written fiction.

Well, it seems like both Hickman and Spencer have a rather tenuous grasp on the concept, as this story does not do much in term of satisfying conclusion to an arc or as a prelude to the upcoming event.* In many ways, the story does use a lot of what has been introduced in the multiple stories by Hickman, yet it does not feel particularly satisfying after what has been basically 17 issues of teasing and hinting at bigger things.

The recruitment of Ex Nihilo and Abyss, two characters that are genuinely interesting and full of potential for further storylines and moral conundrums for the team, it feels a bit hollow in terms of payoff. It makes sense if it’s seen as a series of slow development, yet as far as building up to Infinity and as the conclusion to a good chunk of teasing concerning the fact that the team will have to get bigger and that the universe is still broken. The addition of Starbrand and Nightmask also seems logical and build up naturally to their new role, yet there’s no surprise or twist that makes it fun or merely entertaining. It just happens.

What is perhaps infuriating, or at least annoying down the line, is the fact that despite the fact that several plot points have been handled in this issue, close to none are close to an actual resolution. Worse, Hickman and Spencer continues seeding new subplots and giving us hints that things are coming, something that comes as just annoying now considering that it’s what the title solely did since the beginning of the new volume.

Avengers #17 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita, Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: During Fear Itself, the Avengers battle Skade in the wreckage of Avenger’s Tower.

What’s Good: What I’m liking best about these Avenger’s Fear Itself issues is how momentous the battles feel.  I’ll have some other thoughts on this video commentary/documentary-style storytelling technique that Bendis is doing down below, but it does make for a dramatic turn to the comic.  Rather than just jumble up all the action in a big, frenetic scene, Bendis keeps pulling us in and out of the action.  These documentary scenes with the characters talking to the camera about what happened next function a lot like a comma in a sentence or a paragraph break and allow the action to have more impact.  For example, first we see Skade standing there with her hammer with power emanating off her.  Ohhhhh!  Ahhhhh!  And then we cut away to hear how the Avengers felt at the moment.  It is a nice pause for dramatic effect and the battle feel bigger when we rejoin the live action in a few panels.  Anything that adds dramatic peaks and troughs to a comic is a good thing.

And, the Romita/Janson/Mounts team is really doing a nice job with the art.  Even when I look at some of the actual figures and think, “Why do I enjoy this art so much with this blocky style?” I’ll look at what a great storyteller Romita is.  Like these little scenes showing the Avengers lined up on a rooftop and gawking at the action.  It’s just something about the scene composition, the tightness of the shot and the way they’re standing that sells the fact that these superheroes are freaked out and a little unsure of themselves.  A lot of artists would overdo this scene and have all the heroes poised to lunge into action, but this approach is more effective.  The coloring is awesome too.  Paul Mounts really makes this feel like a warzone crackling with supernatural energy and explosions.  Bravo!