Uncanny Avengers #15 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Steve McNiven, John Dell, Dexter Vines, Jay Leisten (Artists), Laura Martin (Colorist)

The Story: As Wasp fights the revived Sentry, the plan of the Apocalypse twins takes a rather sinister turn.

The Review: With the way the previous issue went down, I suppose it’s fair to assume that Rick Remender is not kidding around with this storyline. While I did enjoy this series in a general way, there was always something holding it back a bit. Either it was too much buildup for not enough payoff or the fact that the cast was so divided it provided for too many subplots at the same time, the book had its problems. However, with the arrival of Steve McNiven and the rather explosive last issue, does Remender actually succeed in upping the ante for this title?

It finally seems that yes, Remender actually did end up giving the gravitas and the high energy this title needed in some of its previous issues. Due to many elements handled very well, he is able to give the fans that were following the book quite a lot of great moments as he continues to make the conflict bigger with each issues.

Where he goes right, in a way, is in how he switch the focus on other characters instead of those that were in the conflict where those who died were situated. Putting Captain America, Wasp and Thor on the spotlight, he is able to not only rotate the focus a bit more on some characters that did not receive that much focus to begin with, but get in their head as well. We get to know how Captain America perceives this team and how he thinks he failed them, how Wasp sees her super heroic side and how some characters reacts to some unseemly news. It seems a bit of a waste to put characters like Sunfire, Havok and Wolverine on the side, yet he does quite a lot with this trio of characters in order to advance his plot.

Unity #1 – Review

by Matt Kindt (Writer), Doug Brathwaite (Artist), Brian Reber (Colorist)

The Story: What do you do when there’s a Visigoth in a space armor terrorizing Eastern Europe? Assemble a team of meta-humans, of course!

The Review: Mixing a thing I really like with something I am wary of isn’t something I am rather fond of. I am really appreciative when it comes to the Valiant universe, with titles like X-O Manowar and Eternal Warrior being particularly good, yet now Matt Kindt has rejoined the fray of this universe still in construction. While I certainly do like his Mind MGMT along with a lot of his indie work, his super-hero work has been really a mixed bag. With that respect, giving him a title as important as this one seems a bit of a gamble. However, does Kindt actually succeed in showing the Valiant universe while still telling a good story?

It is to my entire satisfaction to report that Matt Kindt do manage to bring out the strength of this blooming comic universe while still telling a worthy story. Even better, this comic actually do serve as a very good introduction to those characters, with everyone being properly presented with their quirks along with their concepts rather well.

The danger represented by Aric of Darcia and his space armor, the longevity of the Eternal Warrior, Toyo Harada and his schemes, Ninjak and his stealthy and cynical approach, everyone here gets enough dialogue and panel time to shine. Not only this, but the way super powers and meta humans are handled in this universe is also put on the spotlight in a way that isn’t extravagant or forced, pushing the difference with the other capes company to the forefront of the issue in the main action scene.

Uncanny Avengers #13 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Daniel Acuña (Artist/Colorist)

The Story: The members of the Unity squad are trying in their own way to solve the problems posed by the Apocalypse Twins. Meanwhile, the twins are themselves plotting for the fulfilment of their plan.

The Review: Even though I rather like the creative team, the themes and most of the characters featured in this series, something didn’t seem to click for me with Uncanny Avengers. This lead to me being rather harsh (though fair) in my review of the previous issue of this series, which seemed to represent many of the problems I had with the series to begin with, putting them to the forefront in a way that lead to an unsatisfying read for me. I, however, believe in the fact that not all issues in a series can be great, that missteps can be made. Was the previous issue simply a fluke or would this issue provide another assessment of a lot of the problem I had with the series so far?

In a lot of ways, this issue corrects a lot of what annoyed me a bit with this series as it tweaks some elements and move at a faster rate with its many plot points and characters. It’s not a complete reversal in terms of quality, with some of the problems I have still being present, yet it is definitely a step in the right direction, with all things considered.