Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by: John Romita Jr.I AM AN AVENGER! Plus: another chapter in the oral history of the Avengers!
I’m normally a fan of Brian Michael Bendis, but if you have been visiting Multiversity for a while then you know that I’ve been very tentative towards his new adjective-less Avengers since the start. Was the beginning of this new arc the issue to finally sell the series to me? Find out after the cut.
I feel like I’ve prefaced a lot of reviews this way, but I have to say it anyways: I really want to like this. At its core, Bendis’ Avengers has the potential to be really good. Bendis is taking classic Avengers plot hooks and giving them his own unique twist: last arc was a neat little time travel tale that took full advantage of the unique possibilities such a narrative can bring, and this new arc takes an Avengers staple (the Infinity Gems) and merges it with a character Bendis has been developing for quite some time now (The Hood). I know that some people have been tiring of Parker Robbins, but I understand Bendis’ desire to migrate from the standard Avengers villains.
As much as I enjoy the ideas behind Bendis’ Avengers, there’s still something that just seems off to me. One of the primary qualities of Bendis’ writing is his use of decompression. Now, unlike some, I don’t find that to be a dirty word. The way that Bendis structures his stories is usually very effective, which is why comics such as his Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil have garnered such critical acclaim. But it just doesn’t work when trying to tell stories similar in tone and feel to the classic Avengers stories. I can tell that Bendis is trying to adapt his style to fit the stories he’s telling, but it still sticks through at some points, disrupting what could be some great stories.
I have also never hidden my dislike for John Romita Jr.’s recent work. My complaints are nothing new: his characters seem too blocky, some bodies are proportioned weird, and so on and so forth. And, as much as it pains me to discredit a legend, Klaus Janson’s inks have been a bit sloppy in this series. However, all of that took a step in the right direction with this issue, and as much as I might dislike Romita Jr.’s style, I can’t speak against him in terms of storytelling ability. The book still isn’t what I would call aesthetically pleasing, but it doesn’t bother me enough that it distracts me from the story.
This still isn’t at the level of quality that New Avengers is (I like New Avengers, at least), but I would say that this is a good issue all around. It’s not quite what I want from a flagship Avengers book, but it’s definitely getting there, so I figure I’ll give the book another shot.
Final Verdict: 7.1 – Buy it
