I want to make it official: Kelly Thompson is a treasure. She’s a superstar. Every book she touches transcends its component parts, and we don’t give her enough credit. Take her latest Marvel series “West Coast Avengers.” It’s a light and breezy superhero romp, but deeply, desperately readable. And underneath its surface it has real themes and something to say about them. In a perfect and just world, Thompson’s books would be selling at least as well as red hot writers like Bendis or Millar. She’s that good. But until she gets the universal acclaim and sales she so rightly deserves, its up to you and I dear reader, to spread the good word.
Written by Kelly ThompsonCover by Stefano Caselli
Illustrated by Stefano Caselli
Colored by Triona Ferrell
Lettered by VC’s Joe CaramangaIf the team thought a 50-Foot Woman version of Tigra was trouble, just wait till they get a load of her “friends.” That’s right, it’s close encounters of the very large and destructive kind as the West Coast Avengers try to save the day from B-moviemonster-sized threats roaming Los Angeles! And while her team takes the direct approach, Kate Bishop finds herself in a compromising position when trying to get ahead of the game… Is she going to end up on the wrong side of this battle?!
Although it’s called “West Coast Avengers,” this series is really more of a follow up to Gillen and McKelvie’s “Young Avengers.” The heroes are quippy and fashionable. The stakes are comically high. But unlike that book, “West Coast Avengers” isn’t trading in allusion and metaphor. It’s high action executed at the highest level.
Stefano Caselli has a lot to do with that. This is a cool cast of characters, and he draws them as such. From their fashionable outfits to their relaxed posture it’s clear: you and I aren’t cool enough to hang out with the West Coast Avengers. Thompson’s writing creates a fun incongruity though: this team is actually a bunch of lovable losers. At least until the street sharks attack; then they are ass-kicking superheroes. That’s right. Street sharks.
Describing the plot in “West Coast Avengers” sounds like a joke. MODOK (the Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing) has rebuilt himself as the beautiful sexy golden BRODOK (the Bio-Robotic Organism Designed Overwhelmingly for Kissing). He’s been asking ladies out, but he’s such a creep he keeps getting rejected. So he does what any creepy mad scientist would do: he kidnaps the women and turns the into skyscraper-tall Kaiju. Not a joke. That’s what’s up.
And now we have the playground for Thompson and Caselli to navigate. Heroes have to overcome their interpersonal drama to work as a team using their superhuman powers to overcome a larger-than-life threat. At its core, that’s what all good superhero books are (even though so many miss the mark) and the team simply crushes it. I knew we were in for an excellent ride when Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye started calling the shots. He sends America Chavez to go punch a dragon (she thanks him for the opportunity), Quentin Quire to rescue the brainwashed minions of BRODOK, and Kate Bishop and Fuse to go rescue the civilians. When Gwenpool points out that leaves her and Clint with a supervillain and four giant monster women to fight. “First of all,” Clint answers, “don’t ever call me Mr. Barton again. Second of all, you are very good at counting. Let’s make some noise kid.” He grins. I grin. You grin. This is gonna be great.
And it is. Caselli draws big bold panels, with clean action. Each beat moves the story along or informs character is some ways. The images are totally wild, too expensive for a TV show, too weird for a movie. Even a Marvel movie. If someone wants to know why they should still read superhero comics in 2018, this is it. No other medium celebrates unshackled creativity like comic books.
Then towards the end of the issue, something unexpected happens. All the flying, punching, shooting, and joking culminates in a serious point. BRODOK tells Kate that he needs to get revenge on the city that rejected him, which of course makes no sense. She points this out to him: “Your anger at this city makes no sense. These women didn’t reject you because they’re shallow and you’re ugly – you’re beautiful now. They rejected you because still you’re the worst on the inside… unless you fix your insides, the outsides don’t matter.” That’s… huh. Subtle, no, but it’s a thing a lot of folks could do with hearing.
Which leads me back to my opening. Kelly Thompson is killing it across the board. This is the masterclass in how to do a good superhero team book. And it’s a confusingly titled “West Coast Avengers” book that’s really a “Young Avengers” book. Can you imagine what she’d do with an “Avengers” book? It’d be extraordinary. Hell, if you told me they were bringing back a monthly “Uncanny X-Men” series with Thompson and Caselli, I’d never miss an issue. In the meantime, this is their ongoing and well, I don’t plan to miss an issue. Neither should you.
Final Verdict: 9.1 – Nine points for being a near perfect superhero team book and an extra 0.1 for what happens on the last page. Genius. I cackled out loud.
