Young Avengers #14 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (story), Jamie McKelvie, Emma Viceli, Christian Ward, Annie Wu (art), Matthew Wilson, Lee Loughridge, Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: You can bet this evening will end with a rousing chorus of “We Are Young”.

The Review: So we’ve come to the conclusion of Young Avengers’ relatively short-lived run, and what a conflicted run it has been.  While it was certainly the It Girl series when it premiered, much of its hip luster has rubbed off since, revealing more of a mixed bag underneath.  As you can see from the activity on the Comic Book Resources forums, there’s a great deal of debate on whether Young Avengers has lived up to its ambitious promise.

I can cop out and simply cite some hard numbers, like the fact that last month’s issue sold only 23,790 copies to get a Comichron rank of 92.*  Diehard fans may protest that numbers don’t mean everything, and they’re right, but these dispiriting figures do indicate a disconnect between the story Gillen’s been telling and the wider readership.  Something along the way must have turned people off, to the tune of an almost 50,000 sales drop from the first issue.

Young Avengers #6 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (story), Kate Brown (art)

The Story: When David met Tommy.

The Review: I gave Batwoman #21 a bit of a hard time for abruptly switching from one storyline to a completely different one with little notice or reason.  No matter how good the interlude was (and it was actually very good), the timing just seemed all wrong for it.  I have no such hang-up here.  For one, Gillen wisely finished his first arc before making the switch, and no one minds a proper break between arcs (though some refer to them derisively as “filler”).

For another, Gillen also writes a very good interlude issue, starring a rather inspired combination of young heroes: the stolid, former Young X-Man Prodigy and the breezy, former Young Avenger Speed.  Instead of rubbing each other the wrong way, their opposing personalities instead bring out the most interesting parts of the other, generating a dynamic that feels easy and natural.  Maybe it’s David responding to Tommy’s friendliness, or Tommy responding to David’s loneliness, or both, but somehow together they seem more human and sincere than they ever were with their own teammates.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1 – Review

by Allan Heinberg (writer), Jim Cheung (pencils & inks), Mark Morales (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: A sudden outburst of power from Wiccan and a temporary loss of control sparks questions about his relation to the Scarlet Witch.

What’s Good: It’s great to see the gang back together again and certainly, the team dynamic is just as strong as ever.  This is thanks in no small part to to Heinberg’s dialogue, which is tight, natural, and humorous, and at different turns evocative and light-hearted.  It’s by far the best part of this issue, mostly because of how human it is and how well-managed the voices of the various team members are.  Each characters is well-defined and their close relationships with each other are clear just through Heinberg’s tone.  The conversations are a joy to read.

Of course, this issue also marks the return of Jim Cheung and, as expected, that means that this issue looks absolutely gorgeous.  Cheung’s style, to me, represents the pinnacle of what Marvel’s “house style” would look like, were there such a thing.  Everything is well defined and, well, heroic with a very light anime touch.  Essentially, this looks like the greatest Saturday morning action cartoon to never exist.

As far as the book’s plot goes, it takes a while to be really pulled in, but by the book’s final pages, the team’s dynamic and their new, troubling position had me eating out of Children’s Crusade’s hand.  While this issue in itself wasn’t the fastest or most engaging overall, in itself, I feel sure that this series as a whole, and most likely every issue after this one, will be awesome and of the standard we were expecting.  By the end of the book, I really, really wanted more and it wasn’t just due to the massive cliffhanger at the end.

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