Some Thoughts Before The Review: After reading very mixed reviews about Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1, I figured it might be worthwhile to see which side of the debate about the book I fall on. Is it a comic weighed down by it’s cast of unknowns? Is it a comic that’s full of interesting “meta” commentary? Or is it a comic that just feels completely unnecessary? Time to find out…
The Story: Melter, Executioner, Big Zero, Enchantress, Coat of Arms, and Egghead are the Young Avengers for a Dark Reign world. Are they heroes, or are they villains? Who are they and where do they fit? If the way they break up a store robbery is any indication, they definitely are a product of the current Marvel Universe…
What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Interestingly enough, Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 is everything mentioned above, for both good and bad. It provides some interesting commentary on comics in general as well as the Marvel U. It also winds up being a bit weighed down by a cast of unknowns that aren’t given much time to flex or shine. Most damning, however, is the fact that the book feels somewhat unnecessary because, well, no information has been given regarding whether or not the team actually has a future. The team of unknowns seems compelling and unique, but their debut raises lots of questions and gives very few answers. I’m interested in finding out more, so I will definitely stick around for at least another issue, but it’s hard to tell if the team has any staying power beyond Dark Reign.
On a technical level, D.R. Young Avengers #1 is pretty solid. The anime influenced artwork for Mark Brooks is well done, the color work by Christina Strain is rather impressive, and the writing by Paul Cornell most definitely makes an impact. However, there are some flaws worth pointing out.
One problem worth mentioning is that Brooks’ style makes it a bit difficult to keep names and faces straight because some characters look very similar. It’s a problem amplified by the nature of the book because it is about a brand new cast of characters (Enchantress may not be new…hard to tell) and it’s very noticeable when trying to sort out Executioner and Egghead in costume and Melter and Executioner out of costume.
Another flaw I want to point out is that Cornell spends very little time introducing his cast. Sure the personalities are distinct, but as a whole the introduction of the team is something of a mess. I’m sure more will be explained sooner than later, but it makes reading the first issue a bit frustrating.
Conclusion: Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 is definitely smarter than your average Marvel book. It tosses around some pretty intriguing ideas and introduces a team full of wild-cards. However, the comic is also pretty vague and, at times, quite frustrating because the cast really isn’t properly introduced. Is it worth a read? Most definitely. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. As for me, I like it more than my review probably makes it sound. It’s got problems, but I really like what Cornell is doing with the book. It’s unique, it’s different, and it has me looking forward to more.
Grade: C+
-Kyle Posluszny
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Big Zero, Christina Strain, Coat of Arms, Dark Reign, Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 Review, Egghead, Enchantress, Executioner, Hawkeye, Hulkling, Kyle Posluszny, Mark Brooks, Melter, Norman Osborn, Paul Cornell, Speed, WCBR, Weekly Comic Book Review, weeklycomicbookreview.com, Wiccan, Young Avengers #1
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