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Comic Review by:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet |
Writer:
Brian Bendis |
Artist:
John Romita Jr. |
Shipped on:
051910 |
Publisher:
Marvel Comics |
MSRP:
$3.99
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(15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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“...a writer known primarily for his crime-fiction, and his smart dialogue,
manages to conceive this world-hopping, time-traveling adventure, on par with
some of the better ‘classic’ Avengers stories.”
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Oh, gosh-darn it all to heck! I was really counting
on NOT enjoying Brian Bendis’ interpretation of the Marvel heavy-hitters, such
as Thor or Kang the Conqueror, and yet his grasp of people, super-powered or
otherwise, superseded the typical stilted dialogue that usually goes hand in
hand with this sort of a book, enough so that I’m not only going to HAVE to keep
reading, but I might NOT end up switching to trades, a financial decision to
which I’d been giving serious thought. I should have expected as much. Bendis
doesn’t simply write characters, super-heroes, he writes people, men and women,
to whom the ultimate responsibility has been bestowed, and it’s that relatable
human quality that elevates this book beyond anything I ever thought it could
be.
‘The Heroic Age’ has arrived, and with it an entire new crop of problems are
beginning to creep up on the horizon, the first and most unusual would be the
future-offspring of the current Avengers re-taking the world back from the
villainous Ultron, and then carrying out swift justice on anyone with whom the
Avengers ever had a problem. If you’ve ever seen the cartoon movie “Next
Avengers”, and let’s be serious, no one has seen that flick, well, then you know
where the idea for the group of kids came from. For Bendis to reach out and tap
these obscure, never seen in comics before characters, and legitimize them, much
in the way he paid homage to “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends” in “Ultimate
Spider-Man”, I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed. Of course, the kids only appear
for a couple of pages, meaning that we won’t be properly introduced until later
on in the story, but there’s a twist at the end that leads me to believe that I
might want to watch this flick from which Brian drew his inspiration.
So, not everyone is anxious to be an Avenger, and even though there’s a
brilliant two-page spread that accentuates who is going to be part of the
in-crowd, there’s a very conspicuous detractor from Steve Rogers’ plan, Simon
Williams, the hero known as Wonder Man. He actually BLAMES the Avengers for the
events that have continuously transpired in the team’s absence, i.e. “Civil
War”, “Secret Invasion”, “World War Hulk”, and finally “Siege”, and thinks it’s
cocky of them to attempt to affect change without seeing it through. THEN he
says some pretty ominous stuff when Steve turns his back, but c’mon I wouldn’t
threaten Captain America to his face, and neither would you, no way, no sir.
The primary confrontation in this issue is a bit of the old, “I’ve come to warn
you…wait…Stop HITTING me!...I know I’m one of your oldest foes, but I come with
a message of peace this time, no seriously!”, when Kang the Conqueror shows up
hoping to bury the hatchet permanently with the team, if they can help him
defeat their own children. Everyone on the team is a bit taken aback by this
sort of stuff, especially Spider-Man, whose adventures are typically very
street-level and easy to digest, when faced with the possibility of warping the
construct of reality as we know it falls back on his shtick, while Jessica Drew
seems rather distraught. Iron Man, Tony Stark, is faced with his own potential
responsibility for ending the world, as Kang utilizes a ‘Doomsday Device’ that
Tony, at this point in time, had only thought of, and hadn’t even built yet, and
yet there it is plain as day, being used to goad the team into agreeing to help.
It’s an interesting concept, a writer known primarily for his crime-fiction, and
his smart dialogue, manages to conceive this world-hopping, time-traveling
adventure, on par with some of the better ‘classic’ Avengers stories that I’ve
been privy to, while maintaining his street-level sensibilities, and exercising
his ability to inject a bit of himself into characters like Thor or Iron Man.
There’s one scene in particular, and while it seems to go against the idea that
Stark had his brain re-booted to BEFORE the incidents surrounding the super-hero
civil war, Tony says to Steve: “When I look at you, all I see are all the
mistakes…”, which to me, is a big part of why Brubaker will be taking the Steve
Rogers character over to “Secret Avengers”, as Bendis has been criticized for
his handling of some of the bigger names Marvel has to offer, while Brubaker has
been praised for his work with Cap. I’m not implying that Bendis is apologizing
to the fans; I don’t feel as if he has anything to apologize for, but I think
he’s conceding the point before people start to raid the internet message boards
with hate-mail and flames, looking to put a hurt on the guy’s story before it
even gets started.
John Romita Jr. is THE guy. He’s the guy you turn to when you got a big
anniversary issue to put together. He’s the guy you turn to for a first rate
cover, or variant, or a pin-up. He’s the guy who’s worked on EVERY major Marvel
character of the last twenty plus years, and he’s incapable of drawing a crummy
looking panel. I never, for a second, doubted his ability to pull this book off.
I mean, following guys like McNiven, Deodato, Finch, amongst others, each of
whom have such a distinct and personal style, isn’t easy for any artist, but to
relaunch the biggest title of the company, the flagship book, and make it look
so effortless? I applaud you, John Jr., and you, Klaus Janson, for inking the
book and adding your own layer of depth to the art, and lastly, but certainly
not least, Dean White, whose colors POP when they need to, and feel slightly
more subdued when it’s appropriate.
I wasn’t actually looking to get into this series. I was content with “New
Avengers”, and, to be honest, was really only looking to get into that title,
and possibly the Brubaker book, when the “Dark Reign” came to an end. I knew I’d
end up reading this though, as it is my duty to do so and report back to you
fine people who see fit to read and support my column, but I didn’t realize that
it would be SO gripping, and raise the stakes SO much, that I’d be taken,
smitten even, with everything about it. I know, I sound like I’m gushing; but
seriously, I had my doubts about this title, and every single one of them proved
to be unfounded. If you’re a fan of the Avengers, classic, ‘new’, ‘West Coast’,
or otherwise, this is a title that you cannot miss, and if the others are just
as good as this turned out, my pull list is going to get quite expensive.
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2010 by their respective
owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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