Dark Avengers #9 – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mike Deodato (Art), and Rain Beredo (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: With Utopia out of the way, I fully expect Dark Avengers to get back to being a favorite of mine. With a kick-ass cover and the promise of a guest appearance from Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors, it’s a pretty safe bet that Dark Avengers #9 will deliver.

The Story: Ares discovers that his son, Phobos, isn’t exactly heading off to school during the day. Meanwhile, something strange is going on at Avengers Tower while some of the Dark Avengers chat it up about funny heroes.

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: Before I really get into the review, I have to first toss out a quick suggestion: Do yourself a favor and try to ignore the cool image on the cover of Dark Avengers #9. While Ares goes on a little rampage and some stuff is destroyed, Brian Michael Bendis (I almost want to say, “as usual”) opts to let dialogue do almost all of the work in the latest issue of Dark Avengers. Is this a bad thing? Turns out, it’s not at all.

Bendis’ decision to let words bring resolution to an explosive situation works extremely well because of how the scene plays out. It gives the characters involved a little extra depth and goes a long way towards humanizing a character that, most recently, has been little more than muscle in superhero battles. I do, however, have one major issue with the dialogue in regards to how Phobos is portrayed. Bendis handles him as though he is a normal kid afraid of his father. While that works as far as what’s happening is concerned, Bendis’ take on Phobos seems to go against what Jonathan Hickman is doing with the character. It’s hard to really call what Bendis does a negative, but it is something that must be mentioned.

So the Ares/Fury/Phobos scene is pretty great. Thankfully, the rest of the book doesn’t disappoint. The exchange at Avengers Tower is something really close to hilarious, and the weird stuff happening left me thinking “WTF!?” in a good way. In short, it’s clear that the series is back on track and I really couldn’t be much happier. That said, I do wish that the Dark Avengers would stop being stuck as the supporting characters in their own series. I buy Dark Avengers to read about the Dark Avengers damnit…

The artwork in Dark Avengers #9 is, as expected, moody, gritty, and impressive all around. The unfortunate thing is that there really isn’t a whole lot of ways for Mike Deodato and Rain Beredo to show off given the script. The characters look good and the emotion on display certainly works, but it’s clear that neither artist is really being put to the test.

Conclusion: Dark Avengers fans… it’s safe to come back to the series now.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

WCBR’s Picks Of The Week

Ray’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Blackest Night: Batman #2 – Although this issue wasn’t anything special, it was still entertaining as hell. Tomasi delivered with this fast-paced,action-packed issue. It was enough to reignite my interest in DC’s ongoing event.

Most Anticipated: Blackest Night #3 – Who or what can stop the Black Lanterns?! This’ll definitely be my first read for the week.

Other Top Picks: Action Comics #881, Batgirl #2, Batman and Robin #4, The Brave and Bold #27

Kyle’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Unwritten #5 – Alex’s excellent review covers all the reasons why Unwritten #5 was easily the best book of the past week.

Most Anticipated: Batman and Robin #4/Walking Dead #65 (Tie) – Superhero comics don’t get much better than Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin.  As for The Walking Dead #65, the ending of T.W.D. #64 set the stage for what should be a very memorable issue.

Other Top Picks: Dark Avengers #9, Wednesday Comics #11, Agents of Atlas #11, Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil, Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #3, Vengence of the Moon Knight #1, Invincible Iron Man #18

Alex’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: The Unwritten #5 – Five months in a row now, the Unwritten remains the most consistently excellent book on the stands, and certainly the smartest.  Going out on a limb this month and abandoning its main characters and main plot, the series chose to explore some history and backstory and hit a homerun in the doing.

Most Anticipated: Captain America: Reborn #3 – After a somewhat tepid first issue, this miniseries really upped its game last month.  I’m curious to see whether the upward trend continues this Wednesday.

DS’ Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Red Robin #4 – flat out running action around the world as Tim Wayne is on everyone’s list as either the only crazy man or the only sane man in the room.

Most Anticipated: Batman and Robin #4 – With Professor Pyg out of the way, what’s up with this new villain – Morrison and Quitely will deliver the goods.

Other Top Picks: R.E.B.E.L.S. #8, Blackest Night #3, Agents of Atlas #11, Captain America Reborn #3, M.O.D.O.K.: Reign Delay #1, Thor Annual #1