By Brian Bendis (story), Stefano Caselli (art), Daniele Rudoni (colors)
From a visual stand point alone, this book is worth buying. I know there’s people out there who may not like Stefano Caselli’s artwork as much as I, and that’s understandable. But if there was ever a comic that looked like it took frames from an animated cartoon, this (and Caselli’s work on Avengers: The Initivative) would be it. Daniele Rudoni deserves as much praise as well. Her use of vibrant colors and shading brings the art to life. Stuff as mundane as barren walls are suddenly given more depth and character thanks to the roughed textures and brushes she employs. She does, however, make a few mistakes like having Quake wear black lipstick in one panel and then no lipstick on the next, but it’s easily forgiven when compared to the overall body of work.
The story is something we’ve all be clamoring: Nick Fury and his new commandos. Last time we saw these guys in an Avengers book, Fury was recruiting them. Now, they’re ready for their first operation. Fury feels he’s trained them enough and he he’s lets them loose. The problem is they’re lacking severely in confidence. This leads to a lot of bickering and some backstory on how far they’ve all come. As annoying as this bickering is, it’s understandable given the difficulty of the mission. The story here is light and mildly entertaining, playing off like a Hollywood heist or caper, but in a rushed manner. Personally, I was hoping for something more exciting, but with the constant pissing and moaning I almost teetered on the edge of hating these commandos.
As you can imagine, the end of the issue brings us up to current events in Secret Invasion – which is good. After this issue, I’d rather pass on the team’s growing pains and just see them kick some butt. Great art, average story. (Grade: C)
- J. Montes
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Brian Bendis, Daniele Rudoni, Howling Commandos, Mighty Avengers #18, Nicky Fury, Secret Invasion, Secret Warriors, Stefano Caselli
I didn’t realize that Caselli and Rudoni were doing art for this one until I picked it up…they are easily one of my favorite art teams…great stuff art wise…fairly average from a story standpoint…really couldn’t agree with the review any more.