Avengers #3 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writing), Jerome Opena (art), Dean White, Frank Martin, and Richard Isanove (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  Cap brings his new recruits to bear on the Garden, fighting the good fight on Mars to save both his friends and his planet.

The Review:  Usually when you think of a book like Avengers or Justice League, or what have you, there’s a bit of an expectation for good old fashioned superhero comics in a very specific mold.  Hickman’s Avengers is anything but.  It’s chock full of ambition and there really isn’t anything else like it on the stands.

A key reason for this is Hickman’s emphasis on scale.  Hickman makes it clear that the sheer scale of the stories and conflicts in his Avengers book are greater than they are in perhaps any other Marvel title.   As such, you could say that with ridiculous powerhouses like Hyperion and Captain Universe on the team to go along with Hulk and Thor, all of them battling entities which are, in essence, gods of a sort, Hickman’s book has taken the old line about the Avengers’ being focused on “foes no single superhero can withstand” to heart.  Here, they are battling gods and as the scale of the threat goes up, so must the size and power-level of the team.  That’s the core concept of Hickman’s run and it shines here, so while Hickman’s run feels very different, you could say that it also is perhaps truer to the core concept of the Avengers.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Batman #16 – This comic shows what is possible when a publisher puts a stunning level of talent on a series.  In Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia, you have four guys who are probably Top 5 at their current positions right now.  Seriously, there is nobody in that line-up who is a “role player”.  Clearly there are no salary cap considerations on this title!   And with the exception of a single fill-in issue, these guys have been churning out monthly Batman excellence for almost a year and a half.  If you demand “excellence” from your superhero comics and “pretty good” just doesn’t cut it, Batman is the place to be.

Most anticipated this week: 1). Witch Doctor: Malpractice #3 – It’s a shame that the Witch Doctor comics can’t be a 12-issue-per-year thing because they’re really, really good.  These books are funny, have clever concepts, demons and monsters and glorious art.  Seriously, Lukas Ketner is an artist to keep both eyes on.

2). Chew #31 – After the shocking events of last issue, I’m curious to see what direction Chew goes next.  I’ve heard some speculation that this series is planned as ~60 issues and that the second half will not be as funny and frolicsome as the first half.  I hope that’s not the case because Chew is precisely the type of black and slightly mean-spirited humor that I love.

3). Mind Mgmt #7 – If you feel like it’s been awhile since we last saw Mind Mgmt, you aren’t wrong.  The last issue of Mind Mgmt dropped in late October, so we’re a couple of months late on this issue.  That’s a shame because the series was really starting to hit its stride and show how there was more to the tale than a simple plane full of passengers who developed mysterious amnesia.  Matt Kindt was bringing in weird mental powers and the CIA and sinister governmental plots.  I loved it and Kindt’s art is wholly unique in mainstream-ish comics.  Let’s hope that issue #7 pulls me right back into the series rather than leaving me confused because I’m old and don’t remember stuff very well anymore.

4). Saucer Country #11 – Man, I feel like DC is just on a mission to have none of my money.  Seriously, they just want to sell me Batman once per month?  What a shame that Saucer Country is canceled after only a few more issues!!!!!  It makes me almost want to cry seeing what Vertigo has been reduced to: Fables, on-hiatus American Vampire and a few upcoming miniseries.  That’s a far cry from a couple years ago when we had: Fables, Hellblazer, Scalped, AV, Sweet Tooth, DMZ, Northlanders and always a miniseries or two like Spaceman, New York Five or Joe the Barbarian.  Anyway, let’s enjoy the last few issues of Saucer Country and see how the very talented Paul Cornell can give the series a decent ending!

5). Bedlam #3 – Who knows what to expect from this issue?  Issue #1 was light-your-socks-on-fire awesome!  Issue #2 was good, but nowhere near as special.  Let’s hope that talented creators Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo were just having a sophomore slump and that we dive right back into the warped and transgressive world of Madder Red in issue #3.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Saga #9 – I really enjoyed this issue.  Vaughan’s humour was on point and once again he shows his ability to make likable, human characters.  More than that though, what marked this issue in particular for me was how one of the tools Vaughan used so effective in Y: the Last Man shows up here.  Much as in Y, it’s not as simple as our protagonists going on their own quest, it’s how that quest leads to others going on their own, related missions.  It’s a way of making the book feel larger and gives the cast more depth and it works just as well here as it did in Y.  Furthermore, it makes the mission of our lead characters feel all the more important, when it can spawn epic adventures for other characters, in other parts of the galaxy as well.

Most Anticipated:  Uncanny Avengers #3 – Holy crap, this is coming out this week?  Really?  I realize that Uncanny Avengers is actually THAT delayed.  I mean, I’m a long-standing fan of Powers.  I’m still waiting for issue 2 of Nonplayer and issue 6 of Scarlet.  I know what real delays are all about.  But with Marvel cranking out so many new books, many of them double-shipping, it makes UA look really bad by comparison.  Which is a shame, because I quite like the book.  It’s really solid all around, with great character-work and lots of fun to be had.  So perhaps this is a case of distance making the heart grow fonder.

Avengers #3 – After so many years of Bendis’ Avengers, Hickman’s Avengers is actually a bit confounding.  It’s just so different.  In fact, it’s so different from what I’m used to in terms of “the Avengers comic,” that I still haven’t wrapped my head around it.  Of course, I’ll probably be reviewing it this week, so hopefully I’ll make a little more headway!

FF #3 – The first issue gave us very little to go on, but with the second issue, I feel that FF really has just about crossed the “too early to tell” line.  I think it’s safe to say that this book is just plain fun.

Winter Soldier #14 – And so ends Brubaker’s tenure at Marvel.  As a huge fan of his pulp noir superheroics, this is a bittersweet issue for me but, judging on its rock-steady consistency, this issue of Winter Soldier is sure to be a good one.

Justice League #16 – I have no idea what the hell happened last issue, but it feels as though Geoff Johns has really turned a corner here.  The jump in quality on this book came seemingly out of nowhere and was truly exponential.  With last issue, I felt like Johns was FINALLY delivering on the potential that have had fans clamoring for him to take over the Justice League franchise for years.

Avengers #3 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers battle Apocalypse and his horsemen as the broken timestream causes mayhem.

What’s Good: After complaining about the mediocrity of this title for the last two months, I admit that I was fully prepared to voice some variation of the same concerns this month.  I’m happily able to report that, much to my surprise, that’s far from the case.

I think a big part of this is due to the book’s no longer being so self-conscious about headlining the Heroic Age or moving past Dark Reign.  Status quo, rosters, and pondering the past are all shuffled to the side.  We’re also no longer mired in the ambiguities of Bendis’ ideas relating to time travel or the “broken” timestream.  In the place of all this muck is a barrel-full of fun, as this issue smashes you in the face with a fist-full of Marvel insanity.

And really, this insanity seems key to the book’s identity.  The brawl with Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen is awesome and a really cool throwback and reminder of the late 80s and early 90s.  Mix this together with Apocalypse’s cheesy, old-school villain dialogue and the whole conflict is an absolute blast.  It makes the Avengers completely unlike anything else offered by the Avengers-line of titles.  This issue is such a concentrated dose of camp and nostalgia that it ends up being truly unique.

Along with this newly-found identity are the beginnings of the team dynamic and synergy that were sorely lacking in the first two issues.  Spider-Man and Iron Man of all people have something of a bonding experience that feels almost inexplicably resonant, perhaps because this title has thus far been starved of this sort of meaningful interplay between team members.  Meanwhile, Spider-Woman and Spider-Man rekindle their spark and Noh-Varr and his ongoing attempts at humanity add another source of comedy.  Surprisingly integral as well is Maria Hill, who acts as the glue that holds the team together and provides narrative direction.  Her constant snark added a great deal of colour to the issue and catered well to the voice Bendis does so well.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daytripper #8 – It is so hard to make a comic that can cause an emotional reaction in someone who consumes tons of media, but Ba and Moon pulled it off yet again in this issue that shows the death of Bras through the eyes of his wife and child.

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #75 – Kirkman really started to stir the drink last issue and something tells me that the slow-burn of the survivors’ stay in the enclave outside of D.C. is about to get exciting (in a bad way).

Other Top Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #638, Neonomicon #1, New Mutants #15, Avengers #3, Thunderbolts #146

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Invincible Iron Man #28 – While nothing awe-inspiring or groundbreaking, this was the sort of quieter issue that made realize how much I love Fraction’s cast of characters and the corner he’s carved out for himself.  Great dialogue and a good build-up make this my pick.

Most Anticipated: New Avengers #2 – Last month’s debut totally took me by surprise with its general awesomeness and I’ve been hankering for more ever since.  Will New Avengers #2 once again make Bendis’ main Avengers series look like fodder in comparison?  We shall see, particularly since both are coming out in the same week.

Other Picks: Zatanna #3, Avengers #3, Legion of Super-Heroes #3, Brightest Day #6

Joe’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: X-Force: Sex+Violence #1 – Like I’d pick anything else?  My unabashed love of all things X-Force has been well-documented on this site, but this first issue would be deserving of my praise despite that.  Del’Otto’s painted artwork makes this a beautiful rollercoaster ride, and what a ride it is thanks to the fun, blockbuster-styled plot from scribes Kyle and Yost.

Most Anticipated: Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pigrim’s Finest Hour – Really, is there any other choice this week?!  Bryan Lee O’Malley’s magnum opus has scratched every itch in my entertainment-loving brain, from romance to music to action to comedy to Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros. homages.  The most magnificent treat from these annual visits with Mr. Pilgrim?  They keep getting better every time!  Alas, this is the end of the journey and it looks to be a blast.  I, for one, cannot wait.

Other Top Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #638, Darkwing Duck #2, Pale Horse #2, Brightest Day #6, Supergirl #54, The Walking Dead #75, Avengers #3, Marvelous Land of Oz #8, New Avengers #2, New Mutants #15, Thunderbolts #146