by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Laura Martin, Matt Milla, & Rain Beredo (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)
The Story: The New Avengers fight their unknown demonic adversaries in an effort to keep the Eye of Agamotto away from them.
What Good: Despite all the demonic possession and punching, it’s the light-heartedness and comedy that truly make this issue of New Avengers something special.
There are so many little remarks, and not just by Spider-Man, that are guaranteed to make you smile. All these little jokes and ribs lend warmth to the book while also making it clear just how well these characters know each other. The back-and-forth between Spider-Man and Wolverine in particular was a definite high point for the issue as the characters naturally work well together. I also don’t know if I’ll ever quite get over the image of Spider-Man running about with a baby monitor.
Further aiding this light-hearted feel is the plot itself, which is basically a mad dash for the Eye of Agamotto, with the Eye continually changing hands throughout the issue. This gives the book a really brisk, fast pace that brims with life and energy while also providing even more opportunities for comedy. The whole sequence gives off a feel of wild, superhero slapstick that makes for a feel-good experience.
I also liked Bendis’ use of the Marvel mystic universe, a grossly underused arena. It further sets New Avengers apart and there’s also a very unique kind of awesome to seeing Dr. Strange, Dr. Voodoo, and Daimon Hellstrom conjuring spells alongside one another.
Another little point, but it’s also rather nice how Bendis makes special effort to integrate with its surrounding community of ordinary folks. Two regular picnickers get caught up in the chase for the Eye, while Mockingbird borrows a kid’s phone, saying that she lives “right over there.” Both make for wonderful moments that comfortably meld the superheroic with the mundane.
Immonen’s art remains the perfect choice for this book in tone and look. Much as Bendis’ script is warm and cheerful, so too is Immonen’s artwork, which immediately looks like an inviting, happy, Saturday morning cartoon. Despite this, the level of detail is very solid and the facial expressions are bang-on. Immonen’s art alone makes it very hard to dislike this book, as his style is one that lends a natural air of likability.
What’s Not So Good: While it’s fun, there’s a limit to how high I can realistically score an issue that is, more or less, just one extended game of hot potato. It’s an extremely action heavy issue featuring bad guys that we still know nothing about. There’s only so much I can be truly invested in an issue like this and, unfortunately, we’re not exactly getting any substantial character moments either aside from those momentary bits of comedy. The issue is mostly one long action sequence with some magical hoodoo in between. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it keeps the issue from reaching the heights of an A-grade.
Something about Jessica Jones also rubbed me the wrong way this month. In such a light-hearted, fun issue her crying over the possessed Luke Cage, while it made sense, felt a little jarring and off-colour to the book’s overall tone. It almost made Jess feel whiny and overly emotional, especially given that she was the only character to have a truly serious, emotional, dramatic reaction and as a result, it seemed out of place.
Conclusion: It doesn’t shoot for the stars, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Grade: B
-Alex Evans
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