Avengers #6 – Review

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

The Story: The Avengers try to reach an agreement with Ultron to stop Kang’s breaking the timestream.

What’s Good: This issue really goes out of its way to establish the Avengers as the central title for the Marvel Universe through its both hinting at, and setting up, major stories to come.  Bendis is able to do this thanks to the story’s conveniently being located in the future.  There’s a really nice reference to the outcome of the “Trial of Captain America” storyline over in Captain America, while the final events of the issue seem to hint at a major Ultron-related storyline that might possibly lead to an event spreading to other titles.  All told, it’s stuff like this that makes the Avengers feel really important as a title.

Bendis does a good job with the wacky time traveling dynamics.  For the first time, I feel as though things not only made perfect sense, but also were actually rather clever.  Bendis puts everything where they ought to be and, unlike previous issues, the timestream stuff is never dubious.  In fact, it actually allows for Bendis to write a really, really nice ending, allowing for this story-arc to end exactly as it began, as the murder of Immortus is explained and cast in a wholly different light given what we now know.  It’s really quite good, so much so that I was taken by surprise by how eloquent and well constructed it was.

The Avengers’ attempting to stop the war from ever happening is also well done; their dialogue with Ultron is tense but logical.  Bendis writes a really good back and forth, doing solid work in making Ultron’s reasoning and thought processes appear calculating and ruthless.  Honestly, Bendis just writes a good Ultron.

Romita’s artwork continues to sharpen and improve.  This may be his most polished issue yet, as it really cuts back on the “scratchiness” that at times gets out of control in Romita’s work and ends up making things look sloppy.  The detail work is solid and characters look Romita-trademarked cartoony, but never deformed.  The action and pyrotechnics are enjoyable and Romita also joins a very, very nice Ultron.

Avengers #5 – Review

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

The Story: The Avengers discover the truth behind the breaking of the time-stream and come up with a gameplan.

What’s Good: The new main Avengers title continues to deliver its brand of old-school, pulpy stories, which is a good thing, as combined with Romita’s distinctive, scratchy style, it makes the title stand out among the mass of Avengers-related title, and that’s a major accomplishment in and of itself.

It also provides grounds to use a smattering of characters that can’t be found anywhere else, guys like Maestro, the Next Avengers, and most importantly, Kang.  Kang is presented really well this month, both arrogant and sniveling, seemingly in a constant state of petulance.  There’s a sense throughout this issue that Kang’s up to something that the others can’t quite put their fingers on, despite their suspicions.  I couldn’t help but get the feeling that despite his current downcast state, he’s still pulling the strings somehow, which did intrigue me about the story-arc’s future.  There’s also a certain kind of tragedy inherent to the fact that the broken time-stream has resulted in, or perhaps is caused by, Kang’s fighting the same unwinnable battle against Ultron again and again and again.  It’s a nice statement on the classic comic villain and, combined with Romita’s down-trodden rendition of Kang, makes the character all the more compelling, even sympathetic.

Beyond that, Romita’s art maintains its recent upswing in quality.  Large panels are very impressive, and the bigger the action, the better.  Giant, flamboyant images are clearly what Romita excels at and he attacks any and all action sequences with gusto.  The book isn’t lacking character, and while it may not be for everyone, I found it to be fun.

Avengers #4 – Review

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

The Story: In the future, the Avengers encounter the Next Avengers and their masters while in the present, the remaining Avengers meet an unlikely ally and struggle against total chaos.

What’s Good: This issue is basically total mayhem and, honestly, the crazier and wackier it is, the better.  Spider-Man bumping into Killraven riding a dinosaur and Thor blowing up War of the Worlds style aliens are just part of the fun.  Really, at times things get so ridiculous that they border upon comedic, and certainly Bendis’ dialogue helps that along.  Much like last month, there’s a strong old school vibe here, but also a slight sense of self-awareness.  While a lot of it has to do with Spider-Man, particularly his conversations with Killraven and Jessica Drew, this is an unexpectantly funny book.  Things are completely insane and the fact that the characters are hyper-aware of it makes for a generally fun read.

That feeling of absolute chaos and insanity also makes for Romita’s best issue thus far as he continues to improve after the first two underwhelming months.  Bendis really lets Romita stretch his legs here and let his imagination run wild.  Pretty much every splash and double-page spread is a lot of fun and all of them had me staring for quite a while.  There’s so much packed into them that it feels like a cosmic Where’s Waldo at times.  It’s as though Romita just through as many random, awesome things onto the page as possible.  His work is, overall, just a lot of fun this month.

Avengers #2 – Review

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

The Story: The Avengers attempt to build a time machine with disastrous result and Wonder Man decides that it’s time for action.

What’s Good: This issue is a definite improvement.  Unlike last month’s unfortunate misstep, this issue has a solid structure and feels far more cohesive and organic in its plot developments and narrative progression as many of the growing pains begin to ease out.

I think a lot of this greater cohesion comes from this issue’s really spelling out the niche for this particular Avengers title.  Free from Dark Reign aftermath and such, the book is allowed to do what it was intended to do, which is delve into the high level, almost cosmic styled adventures reminiscent of classic Avengers comics.  Things are quickly gaining that wacky feel that lets you know that you’re getting increasingly distanced from street level, which is a refreshing shift from Marvel’s direction over the past while.  There’s a greater sense of camp and escapism and the book is finding its identity.

I found myself intrigued most of all by Wonder Man’s sudden, violent involvement.  It’s a promising development and I appreciated the Avengers’ fear of Simon becoming another Sentry or Scarlet Witch type debacle.  Wonder Man himself may serve as an opportunity for the Avengers to prove Simon himself wrong; that the Avengers can avoid repeating the mistakes of old, preventing rather than causing destruction.

Romita also shows improvement.  His art feels a lot more fun and comfortable with itself and while Maria Hill still looks weird as hell, there are, overall, far fewer oddities.