Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Mark Brooks (Pencils), Mark Morales w/Walden Wong & Dexter Vines (Inks), and Emily Warren & Sotocolor’s L. Molinar (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Dark Reign: Young Avengers got off to an interesting start. The first issue of the mini-series frustrated as much as it entertained, yet it still had that “something” that made me want more.

The Story: The Young Avengers and their Dark counterparts battle over name rights. The fight quickly turns into a discussion however as the coolest heads prevail. Coat of Arms tells her story and more is revealed about how the Dark Young Avengers came to be.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Am I allowed to just copy and paste my review for Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 into this section? I ask because, in all honesty, most of what I said about the first issue applies to the second. In Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2, more questions are raised than answered, Paul Cornell tosses around some cool ideas about being a superhero in the Marvel U., and most of the cast remains an intriguing mystery. Sounds like another C+, right? Well, almost…

The second chapter of Dark Reign: Young Avengers gets a higher grade than the first for two reasons: the artwork improvements, and Coat of Arms. The artwork looks much more defined and detailed. As a result, the characters look much more distinct and recognizable. As for Coat of Arms, her dialogue is written in such a way that it’s difficult to tell whether she is artsy, pretentious, obsessive, or, possibly completely bat-shit insane. And you know what? It works to great effect. While I wish more of the cast would stand out like Coat of Arms does, I’ll take what I can get.

Conclusion: Dark Reign: Young Avengers stands out because it really feels like something unique. If Paul Cornell can develop the plot a bit more next issue, I think I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of the Dark Young Avengers in the future.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark Reign: Young Avengers – #1

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Mark Brooks (Artist), and Christina Strain (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: After reading very mixed reviews about Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1, I figured it might be worthwhile to see which side of the debate about the book I fall on. Is it a comic weighed down by it’s cast of unknowns? Is it a comic that’s full of interesting “meta” commentary? Or is it a comic that just feels completely unnecessary? Time to find out…

The Story: Melter, Executioner, Big Zero, Enchantress, Coat of Arms, and Egghead are the Young Avengers for a Dark Reign world. Are they heroes, or are they villains? Who are they and where do they fit? If the way they break up a store robbery is any indication, they definitely are a product of the current Marvel Universe…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Interestingly enough, Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 is everything mentioned above, for both good and bad. It provides some interesting commentary on comics in general as well as the Marvel U. It also winds up being a bit weighed down by a cast of unknowns that aren’t given much time to flex or shine. Most damning, however, is the fact that the book feels somewhat unnecessary because, well, no information has been given regarding whether or not the team actually has a future. The team of unknowns seems compelling and unique, but their debut raises lots of questions and gives very few answers. I’m interested in finding out more, so I will definitely stick around for at least another issue, but it’s hard to tell if the team has any staying power beyond Dark Reign.

On a technical level, D.R. Young Avengers #1 is pretty solid. The anime influenced artwork for Mark Brooks is well done, the color work by Christina Strain is rather impressive, and the writing by Paul Cornell most definitely makes an impact. However, there are some flaws worth pointing out.

One problem worth mentioning is that Brooks’ style makes it a bit difficult to keep names and faces straight because some characters look very similar. It’s a problem amplified by the nature of the book because it is about a brand new cast of characters (Enchantress may not be new…hard to tell) and it’s very noticeable when trying to sort out Executioner and Egghead in costume and Melter and Executioner out of costume.

Another flaw I want to point out is that Cornell spends very little time introducing his cast. Sure the personalities are distinct, but as a whole the introduction of the team is something of a mess. I’m sure more will be explained sooner than later, but it makes reading the first issue a bit frustrating.

Conclusion: Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 is definitely smarter than your average Marvel book. It tosses around some pretty intriguing ideas and introduces a team full of wild-cards. However, the comic is also pretty vague and, at times, quite frustrating because the cast really isn’t properly introduced. Is it worth a read? Most definitely. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. As for me, I like  it more than my review probably makes it sound. It’s got problems, but I really like what Cornell is doing with the book.  It’s unique, it’s different, and it has me looking forward to more.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny