Avengers Prime – Graphic Novel Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Javier Rodriguez (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Steve Rogers, Iron Man, and Thor find themselves trapped in a strange, Asgardian realm and under attack from Hela.

The Review:  Sometimes you get a comic that is not at all what it was advertised as.  Judging from the preview of the first issue of Avengers Prime, as well as Marvel’s hype around the miniseries, you’d think you were getting a comic that was heavily reliant on the aftermath of Siege.  You’d also think that you were about to get a thrilling comic focused on Steve, Tony, and Thor yelling at each other about the events of the last ten years of Avengers continuity.

Oh, thank God that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Funnily enough though, for the first few pages, that’s exactly what you get.  And really, those first few pages are by far the weakest portion of the book.  Then out of nowhere, the comic entirely shifts and you end up getting a continuity light (Steve Rogers falling in love with an elf chick), high fantasy comic that is barrels of old school fun for everyone.

Of course, when you say “high fantasy,” Brian Bendis most likely isn’t the first writer that comes to mind.  In fact, he’s probably not the last one either.  However, Bendis actually acquits himself really well here.  There’s something about the new setting and genre that revitalizes Bendis’ work, giving freshness to it.  You don’t really get any of the usual Bendis foibles of mischaracterization and irritatingly repeated lines of dialogue.  Instead, you get a comic that’s all fantasy ass-kicking and when there are “moments” between the Big Three, they feel genuine and sincere, and certainly more than enough to put a smile on your face.