Avengers #29 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Penciler), Gerry Alanguilan (Inker).

The Story: It’s Civil War part 2 as Captain America confronts Iron Man over his continued shadiness.

The Review: This was an extremely frustrating comic book, on the one hand Hickman’s Avengers Saga seems to be turning a corner and gaining momentum as it barrels along to its conclusion. On the other hand I had already read a third of this issue in New Avengers #1-4 last year. I can understand wanting to get readers up to speed but these pages succeed in doing little else, Bendis seems to be a big fan of re-framing sequences we’ve already read but usually shows it from another perspective that reveals something hidden or shows something new immediately preceding or following the scene. Here Hickman simply retells Captain America’s involvement with the Illuminati, making an already often slow moving story feel incredibly wasteful of the space it has to tell it’s story. It’s generally accepted that storytellers should show rather than tell when writing for a visual medium but here it does come off as an overly indulgent way to provide context for an issue.

Despite the issue I had with the first third of this issue, the fallout from Captain America remembering the Illuminati’s treachery is great as a righteously angry Captain America confronts Tony Stark as the Avengers are forced to quickly choose sides in the argument. Thor trying to placate Cap was an especially strong bit of characterisation for the two comrades, as was Tony Stark’s reversion back to his Civil War era attitude of “I know what is best and I’ll do what I have to regardless of who I have to screw over.” It seems almost a shame that this confrontation is interrupted by the re-emergence of the time gem which appears to fling the Avengers 48 years into the future, regardless of the outcome of this arc it’s enjoyable to see Hickman dealing with some emotional fallout after two years of  plot heavy stories.

Avengers World #1 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Problems arise in a lot of areas on Earth, as the collaboration between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers start now.

The Review: I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first opened this issue. With this being a clear spin-off of the larger Avengers narrative of Jonathan Hickman, it’s a bit unclear what makes this book different. While it is detached from the structure that Hickman developed and it does try to connect with some of the A.I.M. threads that Nick Spencer has installed with his Secret Avengers run so far, there is a certain problem that doesn’t make the book what it could very well be.

That problem is a lack of a certain angle. It’s not particularly humorous, it’s not something that displays more character work or even something that tries to implement big new ideas. It might seem like a boring book, but it isn’t at all, despite this particular flaw.

One of the actual strength here is the use of the large roster, with both Spencer and Hickman using many characters aptly as the story is divided in multiple areas in the book. While Captain America and Bruce Banner are on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, many teams with characters like Hyperion, Smasher, Cannonball, Hawkeye and plenty more are put on display, with most of them actually contributing through their voice or action for the story. It’s not the entire team, but it is a bit different from the regular title in the respect that not all of them are window-dressing, which is nice.

Avengers #24 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Esad Ribic, Salvador Larroca, Mike Deodato, Butch Guice (Artists), Dean White, Frank Martin, Paul Mounts, Laura Martin (Colorists)

The Story: An Iron Man from the future comes to warn the Avengers about a possible problem that could be prevented. After their barbeque, of course.

The Review: The tenure of Jonathan Hickman on the flagship Avengers title has been a weird one. There were moments of brilliance tempered with mediocrity, superb concepts and action but little characterization and a good load of other strong points and weaker moments. It has been something full of up and down that has garnered its fans and its haters all the same with an approach that was definitely different from the previous writer of the franchise as a whole. Still, now that one of the better moments has passed, it’s time to see if Hickman can do something else than just be ominous and if he has other plans for the franchise beside putting Thanos and an intergalactic war for this mighty team to confront.

Thankfully, Jonathan Hickman does seem to know that constant bombastic problems can be a bit tedious at times, delivering readers a bit of a breather with this tale. Fans of the ”break” kind of issue shall definitely pleased here, as the various members of the Avengers are seen resting as they play games, drink and have a barbeque with each other after their immense victory after the colossal event that was Infinity. There is a certain sense of levity and a smaller, though not that bigger, focus on characters here as Thor, Hulk and others are enjoying their modest time out.

Sure enough, though, this issue is not dedicated to those kind of moments as Hickman goes on to not only insert new elements for his run, but also pulls out newer plot points for the future of the title. Newer ideas like a rogue planet and a possible shift and expansion in the Avengers rosters are meddled with older, yet appreciated ones like the rather impressive Franklin Richards from his Fantastic Four run.

Hickman has a talent for big ideas, which is something he puts on display very well here, with the future being a mix between stereotypical techology from the future combined with some surprising elements like someone with the Mandarin rings and Stark Industries being a subsidiary from Richards Industries. There’s a certain boldness at play which indicates bigger things for the title and some upcoming elements that are rather exciting in the prospect.

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.

Infinity #1 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, John Livesay, David Meikis (Artists), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: The Builders are wreaking havoc everywhere in the cosmos as the Avengers prepare to face them in order to defend Earth. However, Thanos might just see this as an opportunity in disguise…

The Review: Event fatigue is something very real for readers. The world can be in crisis so many times before we can get jaded and tired of the fact that Earth (or America) always seems to be the target for whatever catastrophe is coming. Skrulls, political unrest, old Norse gods and so forth have tried to change the Marvel universe in a permanent way, yet nothing real stuck out in terms of quality*, nothing that people really called as timeless or flawlessly executed. However, this one is written by Jonathan Hickman himself, a master of long-form storytelling capable of reaching a rather large scope in terms of stories and conflicts. Could he be the one to actually deliver a Marvel event that could very well be satisfying?

It is, of course, much too early to say, as this is solely the first issue, yet this is a very promising debut. Hickman picks up a vast number of plot threads from his Avengers and New Avengers runs to create something that is logical and organic to his stories. The Builders, the destruction of the infinity gems, the fact that the universe is undergoing a certain crisis, all of these elements are brought to the forefront to create a large conflict that seems to expand as the issue goes on. People that followed both ongoing by Hickman shall be thoroughly pleased by this introduction.

Avengers #17 – Review

Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli, Marco Rudy, Marco Checchetto (Artists), Frank Martin (Colorist)

*Spoilers alert*

The Story: The Avengers realize that they have to get even bigger and soon as they make concessions for the greater good.

The Review: Payoffs are nice. Readers crave them, cherishing the situations that escalates to a climax as a resolution or conclusion to a particular problem arrive and lead the story or a character to new areas ripe for development or surprises. Payoffs are what nourish the whole industry and pretty much every stories since the beginning of carefully-written fiction.

Well, it seems like both Hickman and Spencer have a rather tenuous grasp on the concept, as this story does not do much in term of satisfying conclusion to an arc or as a prelude to the upcoming event.* In many ways, the story does use a lot of what has been introduced in the multiple stories by Hickman, yet it does not feel particularly satisfying after what has been basically 17 issues of teasing and hinting at bigger things.

The recruitment of Ex Nihilo and Abyss, two characters that are genuinely interesting and full of potential for further storylines and moral conundrums for the team, it feels a bit hollow in terms of payoff. It makes sense if it’s seen as a series of slow development, yet as far as building up to Infinity and as the conclusion to a good chunk of teasing concerning the fact that the team will have to get bigger and that the universe is still broken. The addition of Starbrand and Nightmask also seems logical and build up naturally to their new role, yet there’s no surprise or twist that makes it fun or merely entertaining. It just happens.

What is perhaps infuriating, or at least annoying down the line, is the fact that despite the fact that several plot points have been handled in this issue, close to none are close to an actual resolution. Worse, Hickman and Spencer continues seeding new subplots and giving us hints that things are coming, something that comes as just annoying now considering that it’s what the title solely did since the beginning of the new volume.

Avengers #16 – Review

Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: A big robot comes crashing down on the Avengers as we see some development on Starbrand and Nightmask.

The Review: It must be really hard to write a proper team book. Having to juggle with different characters, different personalities that can clash together as they face bigger threats that the members might not be able to overcome all on their own. We can all name some team books that are or were more successful than others, yet what made them so memorable for us? Was it the fact that each characters were important and distinct enough so that we got to see enough of them in order to grow to like them? Was it the numerous large or innovative problems they had to solve? Was it simply the action, seeing the characters display their fighting abilities and powers in ways that were impressive?

Many could argue that it takes a bit of all three elements named earlier in order to make a really good superhero team book. When all these things align, we know that we have something that we’ll look forward to each month. However, does Avengers, by the standard of this issue, possess these elements?

Plot wise, I’d have to say that this issue does deliver in a lot of ways, as both Hickman and Spencer advance several elements that can catch the interest of the readers while advancing the main plotline. Here, not only we catch up with what happened in all those early and confusing issues dealing with what happened to the planet, but we also see Nightmask and Starbrand again, two characters that had been teased as being quite important to the future of this title. While both plotline are significant for their own reason, the writers balance them quite well, giving us the burgeoning awareness of Starbrand and his discovery of what he can do and what he has become with the more action-oriented Avengers part. Of course, the issue also delves into other parts as well, as this arc does use what has been built before in order to prepare for Infinity.*

NewUniversal: Shockfront #2 – Review

By Warren Ellis (writer), Steve Kurth (penciler), and Andrew Hennessy (inker)

Okay, I have officially lost patience with this book. I mean, is it too much to ask that the so-called protagonists of a book actually do something? In eight issues (counting the previous mini-series), this is what has happened: Spitfire has gotten drunk; Starbrand has whined like a six-year-old girl; Nightmask has spoken to the mothership from Close Encounters and teleported to California. Whoopee. Justice, at least, has killed some people, but what’s he going to do next? Kill more people? Not exactly a masterpiece of suspense.

At this point I should summarize the plot of this issue, but honestly, nothing happens. A bunch of people talk to each other. And they’re not talking about their secret pasts or arguing competing points of view, either. No, they’re summarizing all the stuff we already know! Granted, something finally happens in the last few pages, but I’m not going to spoil the only bit of drama in the whole book.

The biggest problem with the “New” Universe (other than the mediocre art) is there’s nothing really “new” about anything in it. Parallel universe? Seen that. A government that hates and fears its heroes? Seen that, too. Murderous vigilante? Ditto. A reluctant hero that never asked for his powers in the first place? If I tried to list every time we’ve seen that cliché, I’d crash the weeklycomicbookreview server.

The only original bit in the whole storyline is the White Event, but the TV series Heroes did it first and did it better. Now, I know that’s not really fair, since the original “New” Universe predates Heroes by a long time, but the reason the first season of Heroes worked so well (and the second season didn’t) is that there was a clearly defined problem (the impending destruction of New York) that all the characters were trying actively to solve. In New Universal, though, I swear I haven’t seen a group this passive since the Enron oversight committee.

Come on, Ellis. You can do better than this. (Grade: C)

– Andrew C. Murphy