Avengers Arena #2 – Review

By: Dennis Hopeless (story), Kev Walker (art), Frank Martin & Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors)

The Story: Anyone up for s’mores and a rousing chorus of “Kumbaya”?

The Review: My biggest concern for this title, and one that a lot of people share if the comments to last issue’s review are any indication, is that it will basically be a gore fest and little more.  Unlike quite a lot of folks, I have no pre-existing attachment to any of these characters, but I have really very little interest in seeing kids get killed.  As recent events have shown, we have too much of that kind of thing going on in the real world already to care for it in our fiction.

The signs are definitely not good if you’re hoping for any redeeming value to this series.  After Hopeless carelessly disposed of Mettle with the least fanfare possible last time, he almost immediately repeats the act in the first few pages of this issue, getting rid of another hapless youth in the same sudden and emotionless fashion.  Granted, there’s a twisted poetry in it, but you’re more likely to see the twistedness and none of the poetry.  In fact, it just seems mean on the part of the writer.