Infinity – A Look Back

Now that the latest huge event of Marvel is finally done, with its 16 parts divided in three series being released and available, it’s time to take a look back at the whole thing. Jonathan Hickman, alongside he army of artists, inkers, colorists, letterers and the whole team, gave us something rather different this time around, with a huge story that did things in a way that diverted from the norm established by previous events. However, what were the strongest and weakest points now that the story is actually complete? Does the story, as a whole, ends up being good or a missed opportunity? Let’s find out with a look at the best and worst that Infinity offered.

The Good Points

1. The scale of things – The story, dealing with a huge war going on in the universe, was nothing short of astounding when it came down to its scope. Not only did it bring out every members of the Avengers alongside other species best known to the Marvel fans, but it also brought out Thanos on Earth, creating something that was impossibly huge, spanning worlds and galaxies.

2. The cosmic stuff – For many fans of the Giffen/DnA era of cosmic stories, this event as a whole was a godsend. With plenty of panel and pages given to the Galactic Council, formed by well-known characters like Annihilus, Gladiator, Kl’rt the Super-Skrull, Ronan the accuser alongside others, it was an all-star cast of cosmic stars. Not only did they shine and participate, but they also evolved in the story, giving old fans plenty to enjoy.

3. Thanos – It would have been easy to actually mess up the Mad Titan in terms of characterization. Plenty have done it, yet Jonathan Hickman went on and gave fans the character as he was meant to be: a cunning, dangerous and nihilistic being with a vision. His presence and dialogue in this was well-handled, never putting him as just a mere nuisance but a powerful menace, one that could have destroyed everything if he had but gotten his way.

4. The concepts – Hickman is a writer that is well-known for having rather grandiose ideas, of being a man with a plan. Despite the slow build to this story in the main Avengers title, he actually made a lot of the seeds he planted bloom in this story, bringing the whole war in the universe idea on its tail, while taking advantage of it to create a double narrative, with a situation in the stars and one on Earth. The way he used terrigenesis, the Inhumans, the son of Thanos, the Galactic Council, the weakened Skrull empire and dozens of other ideas made for a rather interesting read.

5. The opportunities – Many events are done in the prospect to tell more stories, to shake things up in order to sell other titles spinning off of it. It is basic marketing, of course, but Infinity went on and gave quite a lot to the Marvel universe in terms of change. The cosmic landscape is different, inhumans are now blooming everywhere and some characters are definitely not in the same place they were in before the start of this event. There are many stories that could come from this, with a good lot of these with plenty of potential already.

6. The art – The whole artistic team on these books were simply great. Leinil Francis Yu, Jim Cheung, Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver, Mike Deodato, with colorists like Justin Ponsor, Sunny Gho, Frank Martin and a whole army of inkers. The story looked big thanks to a lot of excellent effort from these skilled artists, which made the books that much more enjoyable thanks to them. Marvel went all the way to make this good and it certainly showed in terms of art.

Infinity #6 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jim Cheung, Dustin Weaver, Mark Morales, Guillermo Ortego, Dave Meikis, John Livesay (Artists), Justin Ponsor, Ive Svorcina (Colorists)

The Story: The fight against Thanos and the Black Order reach its crux as close to every players gets to weigh in on the ongoing action.

The Review: Well, this is it. Many events in Marvel’s history had a rather great premise, yet always failed to deliver on their ending, rushing things along to prepare for the next big status quo or to simply lead to the next big thing. However, with Infinity being rather different in many aspects when compared to the likes of Siege, Secret Invasion and Avengers vs. X-Men, does it actually delivers on the good with every players being in the grand finale against Thanos and his Black Order?

Surprisingly, Infinity goes for the unexpected as it manages to both create new possibilities for stories along with a new status quo, but it also conclude very well on some of its themes. Bringing a sense of evolution and change to some of its key players, the event does fulfill some of the promises that every events bring forth to readers. It doesn’t accomplish this without any sacrifice to some elements of the story, but it is still rather impressive nonetheless.

One of the biggest draw of this issue would be the action, with a good chunk of this book dedicated to the fight against Thanos and his lieutenants in the Cull Obsidian. These scenes, despite them not featuring most of the Avengers, are quite striking as members like Thor, Hyperion, Captain Marvel and other heavy hitters are along for the rather brutal, yet diverse enough slugfest. Other parts of the action are also divided amongst the Illuminati and the group fighting in space, but the main feature is the battle against the Mad Titan.

New Avengers #12 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

*If you follow Infinity, I strongly urge you to read the final issue of the event before reading this issue. You have been warned.*

The Story: Being done with the invasion of Thanos and the war against the builders, the Illuminati returns to their present affairs as they are warned by what might be much more dangerous for their universe.

The Review: With a pretty big event now being done with, it’s the job of New Avengers to provide an epilogue and perhaps a new way to envision what just happened in the Marvel universe. While this series did suffer a bit from some of the threads of Infinity, can it actually provide some form of satisfaction with some of the elements of Hickman’s large story?

In many ways, this issue does actually shows a lot of great stuff, merging some of the events of Infinity with some of the threads of the title. This has the result of making it so what did happen prior all count toward the evolution of the cast as well as the problem they face. Not only does it heighten and bring the focus back on the memorable cast of characters, but it also use the Builders wars and the coming of Thanos to centralize and put in perspective the future battle they might have to face yet.

One of the better scenes, which takes about a third of the issue is one dedicated to perhaps the best duo of conflicted souls in the series: Namor and Black Panther. Putting forth the many problems and sacrifice that T’challa has made in order to protect the world from unknown threats and how he got betrayed unwittingly by Namor, the parables between the two comes forth in a way that makes their antagonism that much more interesting. With the conflict between Wakanda and Atlantis being still going on, the relation between those two characters become that much more interesting considering the new status of these two after the massive events of Infinity.

Thunderbolts #18 – Review

by Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo (Artist), Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Story: Red Hulk tries to get Mercy to cooperate and the Punisher and his crew tries to finish off the Paguro . Meanwhile, Deadpool has pizza.

The Review: It’s always disappointing to see a book do well in so many areas, only to see it fail in one where it’s critical to its enjoyment. Perhaps it has really great character interaction and development, but dull antagonists. Maybe it’s really great-looking, yet has really weak colorization. Either way, it always lead to something that you know can be better, yet are powerless to see change in any way. You either stay patient and hope that the problems gets resolved, or go away in order to not feel any disappointment in the future.

This book, unfortunately, has a problem of its own as there is plenty of humor, some great action and the handle on the characters is interesting enough, yet some really weak art and colorization. Many of the elements here are just waiting to be appreciated, yet the deformed and square-looking art remove a lot of potential for the book.

Where this comic goes right is the juxtaposition of humor and rather dark themes. With a team of almost psychotic killers going out of their way to bring the pain to criminals, a good deal of humor is the one thing that really bring some sense of identity and fun to the title, which Soule really brings forward thanks to the great use of Deadpool along with a good sense of comparison between relatively normal situations and surrealist ones. Still, Soule is able to not just rely on humor, balancing things out with darker scenes as well as some pretty neat action.

Secret Avengers #11 – Review

by Ed Brisson (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: A new inhuman has arrived on the scene! It’s a pity he’s hostile to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents though.

The Review: The latest issue of this series was kind of a letdown, with a replacement writer trying to tie-in to the larger Infinity event. Bringing a new character with him, Ed Brisson had the unenviable task of trying to set up the biggest spy agency in this rather colossal event, tying many of its events into its narrative while telling a story. It was, however, a story in two parts, with this issue being the conclusion. Does he actually fares better this time around, though?

In some ways, Brisson does keep around some of the elements that he made work in the previous issue, with Sarah Garza still retaining her great approach at getting superpowers and being thrown in a situation of high stress. The way she sees things and how she tries her best, yet cannot seem to fathom how she should do things is something that shows good characterization.

Not all characters are written as well, though, with Phil Coulson coming of as rather boring with the low amount of dialogue he has and Marcus Johnson who comes off as a poor planner and a bit stiff in terms of characterization. The way Brisson handles Maria Hill is not half-bad, though, showing her more angry and stressed-out scene, which does help in setting the dire situation the world is in right now.

Avengers #23 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Artist), Sunny Gho, Paul Mounts (Colorists)

The Story: The Galactic Council gives one last push for the Avengers to reach Earth and save it as the titular team needs to save the day.

The Review: It’s always a bit disheartening to see something done wonderfully in one aspect, yet somewhat fails in another one. Enjoying anything is to accept its strengths and weaknesses, letting both get together for a cohesive experience. However, when there are two extremes, it leaves for a somewhat confusing experience, neither knowing it was superb, weak or simply acceptable.

This is pretty much what happens in this issue of Avengers, as it pretty much close to the bigger cosmic parts of the storyline attached to Infinity, doing it in a way that does feel satisfactory.

Giving one final focus on those cosmic characters for this event, Hickman present how these characters have evolved during this storyline, with one last hurrah given to them. With a few choice lines said by them and a particularly memorable action scene near the very end of the issue, Hickman does more with those beloved characters than most did with them in the last two years. Those that really liked the Giffen and DnA era of cosmic Marvel will be pleased to see Gladiator, Ronan and Kl’rt being so preeminent and awesome here.

Avengers #22 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan (Artists), Sunny Gho (Colorist)

The Story: The galactic council and the Avengers prepares for their final battle on Earth as some people express doubts and a certain sensation of feeling small.

The Review: While big action scenes are the very foundation of capes comics, a series cannot strive on punches being thrown and huge super powers being used to vanquish foes. During big arcs, events or any such things where a lot of action will be one of the main focus, there usually breather issues where the focus comes a bit more on characterization or how things are simply shaping up, where they will go. Results may vary, but those kind of issues can break down the monotony of repeated clashes if handled right.

This issue of Avengers is one of those, as it acts as a bridge between the latest issue of Infinity (issue 5 to be precise) and the last one. Focusing on the Avengers and the galactic council as they prepare and plan ahead for their eventual fight against Thanos, it serves up as a character piece as well as setup for what will come next. However, does it manage being a satisfactory issue with the action being toned down?

Guardians of the Galaxy #8 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Francesco Francavilla (Artist/Colorist)

The Story: S.W.O.R.D. is under attack! Thankfully, the curiously Earth-obsessed Guardians are there to save the day…or at least try to.

The Review: Brian Michael Bendis could be seen as a writer that really like to take his time, to let the situations and conflict build up just the right way in the stories he is telling. In his tenure on Daredevil, he had used his style to great advantage as he let one change affect the whole life of Matt Murdock in strange ways. In some of his books, his decompression and the way he treat dialogue is truly an advantage.

However, this style of his does not really work in some series or with certain genre of stories, with this issue of Guardians of the Galaxy being an example. While his take on dialogue, characterization and action can certainly work on other books, it makes this cosmic oriented series suffer a bit.

The first thing that is hurt by this is the pacing, with the issue being incredibly uneven at times. The first few pages of Gamora and Star-Lord bickering doesn’t seem to get to the point fast enough, lingering on with potentially interesting points that aren’t explored enough. When the action do start, it picks up in speed as it sometimes seem to slow down and then go faster as the dialogue and the non-descriptive action continues with Star-Lord, Rocket and Abigail Brand. It jumps around in terms of its plot progression and the importance of its elements, with character development and the action suffering as a result.

Infinity #5 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver (Artists), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: It’s an Avengers universe, with plenty of planets declaring that those people from Earth are pretty okay in their book. On Earth, things gets a bit more dire though…

The Review: Jonathan Hickman sure do work in ways that are impressively different than other writers. While this could be said of anyone, as Bendis is surely very different than Brubaker and so on, there’s a certain way that Hickman builds concepts and how he use them that makes him the somewhat unique writer that he is. Ambitious is a word that could describe him, full of plans could work as well. However, he does have his share of problems as well, as no writers is perfect.

This issue of Infinity is a pretty complete package of what can make Hickman work or not for readers, as some of his best traits along his worst are on display here. With this being a big event comic, it makes only sense for things to get huge, meaning the analysis of the qualities and negative traits become that more obvious on the pages.

To start on a positive note, some of the concepts on display are simply awe-inspiring, with the ”Avengers World” idea presented at the very beginning of Hickman’s tenure on Avengers getting to a whole new level here. The very idea that the way humanity could be perceived on a universal scale throughout their actions in the war against the Builders is changing is a very sound one. The note on which the whole battle against the alephs ends, when looked upon with the strength of the theme and their presentation makes for a rather satisfying take on things.

Secret Avengers #10 – Review

by Ed Brisson (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: There’s a new recruits for field work at S.H.I.E.L.D. and she’s one of the new inhumans. It’s a pity for her that Infinity is still going on…

The Review: It’s not necessarily the fairest or most positive thing to say, but there is a reason why most people hate even tie-ins. Shoehorning elements or characters important to the main book, stopping the natural narrative flow for elements that will be untouched further along and many more are possible reasons for the general dislike those issues receive. There are some rare cases where it can produce something of quality, like when Jason Aaron took on Black Panther during Secret Invasion, yet those are few and far between.

This is one of those issues, as regular writer Nick Spencer is replaced by Ed Brisson in order to show readers what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing during Thanos invasion in Infinity. Set right after the terrigenesis, this shows how a young agent gets turned into an inhuman and then gets sent to the field right away. While this concept could actually give way for a satisfying story, this issue doesn’t really use it very well as it rushes along.

Thunderbolts #17 – Review

by Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo (Artist), Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Story: The Punisher and his team fight the mob in their bunker, Red Hulk tries to fight the invaders and Deadpool finally gets his pizza.

The Review: I rather like Charles Soule right now. Discovering him as he took over Swamp Thing at DC, he has been in some more books in the previous months and now seems to be doing some work for Marvel as well, with this title as well as She-Hulk coming in February. With a knack for taking over books and giving them either a new direction or focusing on the stronger elements of the core concept, Soule is rapidly becoming a writer on the rise in terms of visibility.

Thunderbolts is one of the book that has received a bit of his skill, to good effect as the mix of rather dark humor to the sensibilities of hard killers makes for a rather enjoyable book. Tying in to Infinity, Soule tries to incorporate those stone-cold killers to the larger Marvel universe, yet does he succeed in making them interesting and his tale good enough for readers to care?

He starts with the right footing as the first thing he seems to be doing well is creating a nice balance between plot and humor, advancing the story without putting too much emphasis on the horror of what the characters are doing. The pacing in itself in terms of development is good, with each scene getting to the point and delivering something worthwhile for readers, like how outgunned the mob is against Venom, Punisher and Elektra or when Deadpool finally get the pizza slice he wanted in the first place. There is enough going on in this issue that it doesn’t feel decompressed in the slightest, giving a central conflict with many smaller problems on the side for the characters to resolve in the issue. In terms of storytelling, it’s good.

Avengers #21 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan (Artists), Sunny Gho (Colorist)

The Story: The resistance against the builders gains a lot of momentum as the Ex Nihilii tries to create a miracle.

The Review: Infinity is cosmic done right. As Jonathan Hickman advances with his larger story in the main title, the books tied to it also deals with the main themes without letting it own go away, creating a symbiosis of sort in terms of storytelling. The threats are huge, the players numerous and the events occurring in the pages are simply gigantic in scope.

Readers who were fans of Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Keith Giffen cosmic corner shall find much to love here, as many a great things are referenced directly from their contribution to the larger Marvel cosmology. The Annihilation wave, Annihilus, Gladiator, Kl’rt the Super Skrull, Ronan, the Imperial Guard and Ikon the space knight all appears in some manner in this tale, adding to the large tapestry weaved by Hickman. Not all of them receive meaningful moments like Ronan or Gladiator, though, with most of them being set in the background or participating in the action silently. Still, fans of the older cosmic stories will probably feel like Christmas came early this year with how those elements are handled.

Another element that is handled in a very competent manner is the tone, which makes the actions and the setting even bigger than it seems. Most of the tone is set in the narration and the dialogue itself, which may comes a bit cold in some places, yet for the most part it really set the mood of war and the tides turning for the heroes. It’s a space opera, a war comic, a super hero comics and a cosmic one, which makes this issue works really well when it deals with its stakes and with grandeur.

New Avengers #11 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist) Frank Martin (Colorist)

*I strongly urge people to read this week’s Avengers #21 before reading this story. You have been warned.*

The Story: The Illuminati gets to see why and how and the Builders destroys worlds as Thanos gets in the Necropolis after his assault on Wakanda.

The Review: This issue should be called ”how to use events to propel a book forward”. While it was to be expected that Jonathan Hickman would find the better use for his event called Infinity in his own titles, it seems that there were some ideas that he was keeping for his ongoing.

What Hickman successfully do here is tying in the incursion events, the problem in the multiverse, the Builders and many other elements together in a cohesive manner. Better yet, he is also able to add quite a lot of depth to the concepts he introduced in Infinity as well as in his other book, Avengers. What he accomplish here is nothing short of impressive, as not only he is able to surprise his readers, yet he keep the progression of his themes going without slowing down any threads.

This all begins with the incursion as the Illuminati tries to see how it is and whether or not they should use the same technology as last time, when a particular being comes to meet them, inviting them to see the end of the world and the very reason why the Earth cannot be left alive. The Illuminati and their encounter with this specific group is a fascinating second point-of-view to what is happening in their own universe and how Infinity can be perceived by other beings in other universes. Hickman also manages to bring in a few character moments as well as he is still able to bring what makes some of the Illuminati interesting to begin with. Not all characters gets the spotlight, but it is still entertaining to see how Beast, Reed and the others reacts to these revelations.

Infinity #4 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver (Artists), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: The terrigen mists causes immediate change to the planet, as Thor negotiates with the Builder on Hala.

The Review: Events comics have many things to accomplish, but the most important one would be to possess a sense of spectacle. Things need to be big, memorable, surprising on an even grander scale than usual. In a world where resurrection and world-saving battles are the norm, it can be hard to excite readers that can be jaded with the constant event-mode that is on-par for the big two.

Well, believe it or not, Hickman delivered with this issue, as not only there are big moments and rather spectacular twists, but he also manage to actually deliver on a saying that has become some kind of a joke these days in the comic fandom: the ”nothing will ever be the same” paradigm. It may be too soon to say so, as the ramifications of this event will probably be felt in the coming months after this event is done, yet there is a huge sensation of importance in display.

The issue is split in two bigger scenes, with one dealing with Black Bolt and the terrigen mist while the other deals with the war against the Builders. The former one is actually much more focused on the results of Black Bolt and Maximus action’s rather than moving the plot forward. The strength of this scene, though, is on narrating the ramifications of such events, with a good number of people now being changed as Hickman does some massive change in the Marvel universe. The way things are narrated and the way the scene switch from the effects of the terrigen mist to Black Bolt and Thanos fighting makes for a rather neat reading experience, enhancing the tension and letting the gravitas of what Black Bolt has done reach the readers.

Thunderbolts #16 – Review

by Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo (Artist), Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Story: Red Hulk and Red Leader tries to fight off the alien invasion as the rest of the team continues their work against the Paguros.

The Review: It’s always a bit disappointing to keep hoping for ameliorations in some specific areas only to find others lacking as a result. While the Daniel Way run had its share of problems, it seems that Soule has its own, which are completely different from the previous writer. It’s one step forward, two backwards as they say as Thunderbolts soldiers on with its cast of killers.

Where it did improve and it keeps on improving would be the handle on the killers themselves, as Soule really do seem to get how they work and how their interactions could very well be entertaining. Everyone gets a bit of panel time in this issue, with most of the cast receiving close to equal spotlight, which is commendable enough. From Venom being the somewhat idealistic, Deadpool’s shenanigans about searching for a slice of pizza and Red Leader being mysterious and threatened by a member of the Black order, close to everyone do make their presence known in this issue in ways that count. I say close, as Elektra seems to have nothing much to say or do except participate in the action, with little else to give for readers and fan of hers.

There is also quite enough space given to the villains, with the alien goons and the Paguros contributing quite well with the issue. Those characters do permit for Soule to throw in some concepts which are solid enough, like what exactly happens to the criminals, gangsters and unsavory elements when a big threat arrive in New York? How do the Paguros actually get themselves protected in times of dire need? All those concepts really do bring a new vision on the underworld of the Marvel universe, as they do make sense considering the high number of costumed vigilantes in New York alone.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #3 – Review

by Robert Rodi (Writer), Michael Del Mundo (Artist)

The Story: As Otto fights the invasion with the rest of the Mighty Avengers, a girl gets transformed into something else entirely.

The Review: Sometimes, during large event comics, we can get some unfortunate creative changes for some books. Some of them are temporary and some of them are actually for the best, like when Jason Aaron took on Black Panther during Secret Invasion, but some of them can be short affairs that have the only comfort is the rather short time they will be on a title.

It’s sad to say, but Robert Rodi is more easily associated to the latter statement than the former, as while he does play to the team-up format of this book and do seem to get how to write Spider-Ock, his story never really lift off in a way that seems natural or even well thought-out.

Part of the problem is due to the pacing, which is atrocious at times. There are two scenes, tow narratives that jumps around in the beginning, with a new character named Sylvia being in a library while Spider-Ock battles on with the Mighty Avengers. The two scenes are very disconnected from each other, with their progression being halted each times the focus is altered. The two scenes do finally connect in some way, yet it takes quite a bit of time to reach that point, which doesn’t help the progression of this story at all.

Avengers #20 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan (Artists), David Curiel (Colorist)

The Story: Captain America may have found a new strategy in order to deal with the Builders as Ex Nihilo goes on to see just what is going on with his people.

The Review: From what we’ve seen so far, Hickman seems to have rejuvenated this title with Infinity, his big event that ironically enough was build up from pieces introduced in this very title. With a much more focused plot and very clear stakes at play, the strengths came to the forefront that much easier, but with the story moving forward with almost every week of the month, does the book continue to be relevant to the event while keeping its own plotline and a modicum of quality?

So far, so good from what can be seen, as many of the plotlines and characters introduced in this title continue. Many of the threads are played with here quite aptly, with some of them moving the story forward in ways that really do bring surprising twists. One of them would be the scenes featuring Ex Nihilo, a character created by Hickman especially for this series, who deals with the Builders. For quite a long time, the motivations of the Builders to destroy and kill around the whole cosmos was pretty vague, much to the event discredit. In this issue, though, we do get an evolution and some explanations as to the problems that plagues creators that are turning into destroyers and killers. It is a fascinating development that makes this conflict a bit more interesting and that promises to make it even more so in the upcoming issues.

What’s also handled with care and gravitas would be the Galactic Council and how they are trying to pursue this whole conflict. The decisions, the in-fighting and how Captain America is portrayed makes for a rather suspenseful read that put the readers right into an impossibly large conflict. There are twists and a good use of those featured in the main event book without letting it lessen the impact of this book. It’s a neat use of the event, which is central to the book, without destroying the importance and the ongoing subplots of the book. It maintains its identity while it adds up to the whole experience.

Thunderbolts #15 – Review

by Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo, Terry Pallot (Artists), Guru eFX(Colorist)

The Story: The Thunderbolts reach New York and do their best to help Frank Castle with his mission. As they do so, Thanos and his army invade Earth.

The Review: Charles Soule is not a lucky writer. Not only does he take on a book that the core idea was not one of his own, but he does so right when a huge event comic is on the verge of releasing. As a writer, he has to play with dynamics previously established by someone else, but he needs to tie-in some plot elements from a story that is not his own. Decidedly, it’s not a recipe for contentment or success.

Such is why seeing him succeed in most parts is actually quite surprising as not only Soule play with the dynamics and the characters quite well, but he also seems not to rush in with the Infinity plot points. There is a certain balance with a lot of the characters on this team that not every book is able to maintain, which is commendable of Charles Soule skills as a writer.

What he seems to be really getting is most of these characters and their psychology, with Red Hulk being restless when he’s out of the action, Punisher being solely driven by his mission, Elektra with her subtle manners and so forth. Soule gets bonus points for Deadpool though, as he is a character that a lot of writers simply write in a comedic tone and nothing else. He has a certain balance with his personality, his humor and just the way the character is that he doesn’t become the buffoon he can be written as. The scene in the subway is a true testament to this vision of his, which forebodes good things with Soule at the helm for this character.

New Avengers #10 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Black Bolt reunites the Illuminati and reveals the existence and potential location of Thanos son. Meanwhile, Thanos and his Black Order makes their move.

The Review: Last month, we were unfortunately the spectators of one of the downside of huge events: tie-ins that bring the story flow to a lesser quality. While the latest issue of New Avengers wasn’t terrible by any means, it was far off from the brilliance it could attain as Hickman made the conflict on Earth the sole focus as he set some stuff for his longer stakes. However, the Infinity train isn’t losing any steam as the story continues in this month’s issue. Can Hickman return to some of the better aspects of this series while juggling with the big event comic of his own?

As it turns out he can, as he manages to play with both the previously established elements while playing with the new ones, as the political and power plays with the Illuminati continues while Thanos and his Black Order brings chaos to Earth. Bringing the Illuminati back together instead of skipping from scenes to scenes with each of them, Hickman focus his narrative in a much more solid manner, as the interactions with each members is brought back to show the potential of this cast.

Infinity #3 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Dustin Weaver, Jerome Opena (Artists), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: After the attack of the Builders, Captain America decides he’s had enough. All the while, Black Bolt gives a definitive answer to Thanos about the tribute question.

The Review: Things gets dire before they get better. This is something that writers knows very well to do, as tension and drama adds much more to a story instead of an even-level or smaller happenstances. Considering the cyclical nature of most stories in our general culture and how superheroes comics really do stick out in terms of cycle, it rings even more true when it comes to events.

In the tie-ins and the main book, the war against the Builders and the arrival of Thanos on Earth had not exactly been without any struggle for our heroes, which built up the importance and the level of the conflicts rather sharply, which is good when it comes to event comics. However, something that many writers try to accomplish, with varying results, would be something I’d like to call the ”Oh snap!” moments. Those scenes are usually the result of build up, resulting in the payoff being immensely surprising or satisfying to the readers. While those moments are subjective to the readers, there are perhaps two of such moments that could very well be established as such in this issue alone.

However, to arrive at those moments of pure super heroic pleasure, Jonathan Hickman makes good use of the two fronts he has established with both of his titles. This time, the issue is divided exactly in two, with one portion completely devoted to the Builders cosmic war and the second half delegated to the Earth, with special devotion to the Inhuman side of the conflict. The pacing for both of those scenes is especially well done, as the comic has a forward momentum that never allows it to spin its wheel incessantly. There is a good balance between exposition, narration, development and action that do bring out the grandeur of this tale that unfolded in the pages of both Avengers and New Avengers.

Avengers #19 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan (Artists), Sunny Gho (Colorist)

The Story: Captain Marvel is captured by the builders as the Avengers and the Galactic Council rest after their battle, tending to their wounded. All the while, a traitor is in their midst…

The Review: It’s an usual and unfortunate thing that event comics drag some other titles in their large plot. It doesn’t always mean it’s a bad thing, but plenty of titles have seen their momentum being a bit lost as several elements of a story that isn’t integral to their own plot and subplots gets shoved in the way. This can destroy the flow and sometime even mean that the readers shall suffer through some plug-ins of other characters and elements alien to their book, which makes it much less enjoyable for those that don’t want anything from those events to begin with.
There are also those that are integral to the story structure, those that actually add something to the whole event or use them in ways that feel organic to the whole narrative. Those are rare, to be sure, but much appreciated, like Journey Into Mystery for Matt Fraction’s Fear Itself or Guardians of the Galaxy for War of Kings. Instead of having to contend with these elements, those stories included them naturally, making them that much stronger for the duration of the event.

What Jonathan Hickman has done with Avengers is even more rare, as he has built up a whole lot of plot points and conflicts throughout his tenure on the title, resulting in an event comics, Infinity. The event, having its own book, is split up in two fronts which are covered by the same author with each of them being in one of the two books. This has caused the main Avengers book to receive a much-needed shot in the arm after what was basically seventeen issues of foreshadowing as Hickman shows full cosmic actions in this title.

Continuing where the last issues of Avengers and Infinity left off, the team is divided in two as those with Captain Marvel are in captivity while the rest are with the Galactic Council. While the comic switch from two perspectives, it juggles very well with both plots at it manage to connect the two together. The pacing is good as there are multiple events in this comic, with many great development brought to the forefront as well as some good character moments.

Infinity #2 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jerome Opeña, Dustin Weaver (Artists), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: Things heat up as Corvus Glaive wants to claim a tribute from the Inhumans and the Avengers are off with the rest of the Universe against the Builders.

The Review: Cautious optimism is an attitude that many readers learn to have when dealing with a great many things. Sometimes, despite the fact that many elements are lining up together in a way that feels too good to be true, it is normal to have some kind of defensive mechanism against too much hype. This kind of position is one that is very connected to event comics, as those type of stories are usually much hyper, with key sentences like ”nothing will ever be the same again” or ”this will have key repercussions across the whole line and the future of the shared universe”. With so many events failing to actually live up to their potential, it seems normal to adapt our desires to being a bit disappointed, as many events begins on a strong note only to falter in its own conclusion as each chapters reveals flaws that just kill the hype for its readers.

By having this attitude, a reader can also receive something that is not the norm to see, yet is always utterly pleasant when it arrives: surprise. This issue of Infinity definitely fits that very description, as the strong, yet mysterious direction does serve the story and the themes quite well. As the two fronts are given some attention, both of them receive either a ton of action and emotions, while the other receive mystery and revelations that really do make for two distinct stories that never really clash against each other.

The first angle being covered is the one on Earth, as Thanos and his Black Order are invading and seeding chaos everywhere they can. Opening up with a scene featuring Abigail Brand and Sydren of S.W.O.R.D., the comic swiftly switches to the Inhumans, then finishes up with the Illuminati. The second angle, all the while, features the Avengers and the Shi’ar with favourites like Mento and Gladiator fighting against the Builders. If there’s one thing that Hickman is doing right in this event so far, it’s selling the point that this is a story encompassing the Marvel universe, with a special emphasis on the universe part.

New Avengers #9 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: The Black Order arrives to Earth as each member of the Illuminati tries to deal with them in their own way.

The Review: With Infinity still in its debut, we have already seen most of what the Builders are doing as we have seen a bit of what threat looms over Earth with the Black Order and Thanos. Since there are multiple threats and the other title by Hickman covers what happens in space, this one covers the Earth as the big response team is gone. Does this title uses this big threat in an original and entertaining way, though?

For the most part, it does show the scope and the motivation behind the attack as the Black Order is shown in action. Considering they are all new characters, Hickman does well in showing their capacities in action as each of them try to attack a member of the Illuminati, with Black Dwarf against Black Panther, The Ebony Maw against Doctor Strange and so on. We get the kind of threat they can be, yet they are still mysterious in some ways as to pique the interest of the readers. However, we don’t get nearly enough characterization for them to be compelling just yet as it is an area where they are mostly vague. Perhaps they’ll become incredibly memorable after this event, yet for now they are much more a threat than actual characters.

Part of this problem comes out of another issue the book has: pacing. It is by no mean a jarring and devastating problem, yet the issue jumps from scene to scene quite rapidly, leaving some of them without much room to breathe and develop. An obvious one would be the Wakandian conflict with Black Dwarf as Black Panther deals with the intruder, showing him as competent and full of bravado against a foe so large. However, the next scene we see shows the foe beaten and retreating, leaving the readers to wonder just how T’Challa did vanquish him. There are some other scenes which have that kind of trouble, setting up some the conflicts between other characters yet does not continue it, making sure there would be something left for the other issues tying into the event. It is fun to see what might happen, yet it only hurt the pacing to see two pages of Doctor Strange without us seeing any payoff or the character again for the rest of the issue.

Thunderbolts #14 – Review

Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo, Terry Pallot (Artists), Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Plot: It’s Frank Castle’s turn at choosing the mission the team has to do as he explain just what he has in mind for this team to do. Lucky him, the Avengers are in space…

The Review: Following characters isn’t something that is logically sound when one thinks about it. While a reader might want to know everything that happens with a certain character he or she grew to like, it does not mean that person will get quality stories featuring the beloved fictional being as not every writer know how to handle things the way those people like it. The more a character is popular, the worse it can get as you can get characters that get poor or uneven characterization, resulting in frustrating experiences for the aforementioned reader.

While I do rather like characters like Frank Castle, Deadpool, Venom and Elektra, the main reason I gave this title a shot to begin with was to see Red Hulk, a.k.a General Ross in action, a character that Jeff Parker made me like immensely in the solo title he once possessed. However, I only did so recently as Charles Soule, the current writer of Swamp Thing, went in with another artist to give a new direction and a shot in the arm to this title that needed it. Does he succeed in keeping the characterization and giving some quality to this team now that he is actually writing them all in action for the first time?

He is quite competent actually, as not only Soule understand the dynamic between each characters and how their personalities might clash, but he does so in a way that is entertaining. This result in a team that is barely functional (as exposed by Deadpool nicknaming the team ”The Selfish Avengers”), yet it is one that is professional enough to get their task done. The military tone and their awkward morality comes in play here, as it creates a vibe that is different from a lot of the team out there, one that is not unlike Remender’s Uncanny X-Force. It’s not quite there in terms of quality when it comes to comparison, yet the characters are well-written, especially Frank Castle and Red Hulk. The only one I could have any disappointment about would be Flash Thompson, who comes as rather gullible and without any real personality, going with the flow without doing anything much.

Avengers #18 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu,Gerry Alanguilan (Artists), Sunny Gho (Colorist)

The Story: Many of the empire and civilization of the entire Marvel universe gathers together, Avengers included, to prepare the battle against the builders.

The Review: Infinity is finally here, with the build up to it being behind us as 17 issues of Avengers were needed in order to prepare for its arrival. Now that the event has started, though, does it mean that the book has gotten the shot in the arm that it needed most of the time?

The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes as this issue brings many interesting concepts and do something that the series hasn’t done for quite a while: go big in a very explicit way. While the earlier concepts of that title always hinted at big things, those were mostly teasing or hint at what was to come. Now that the very event has arrived, the comic benefit as it brings us many new elements into play while using some of the older one.
The first one and best, in my own humble opinion, would be the very cosmic tone of the story as the scope of the story gets incredibly bigger. It’s no secret that I have a particular fondness for stories set in space, yet this one really bring a lot of the best of what these stories are about, as Hickman use the galactic council created by Bendis to great effects, showing a cohesion of the major empires to vanquish a greater threat. Many of the cosmic favourites are present, as the Shi’ar, Brood, Kree are present as well as characters like Ronan, Gladiator and Annihilus.

Another race that Hickman plays really well with are the Skrull, who gets a welcome reintegration to the larger Marvel universe as the writer use both what happened in Annihilation and Secret Invasion to build up from there, showing us a race that is on the brink or death, yet fight will all of its might to survive and stay relevant. The scene featuring Kl’rt, another fan-favourite, and the other warlord as they try to fight the builders shows a human side to these aliens as well as some nobility that really heighten the whole race. I sure do hope that Hickman will continue writing them during the tie-ins, as the rejuvenation of these aliens and the cosmic aspect makes for some interesting comics.