Posts tagged avengers academy
Cover by Arthur Adams, Gabriel Hardman
Seems like ol’ Hawkeye is getting around these days. Teacher at the Avengers Academy and leader of the Secret Avengers? Not doubting Cliff’s experience, here, but I think they just needed a buzz-cut marine to replace Steve Rogers after his return to the Captain America cowl. Perhaps this was also a move to drum up some excitement for the Avengers movie.
Good cover, good colors, few complaints. I don’t like Beast’s appearance, because the goggles look hokey and I thought it was clear that Hank was brought in for his brains, not his brawn. Now that Warren Ellis is off the book, it’ll be interesting to see how Rick Remender (Punisher) uses him.
Black Widow’s hair looks like a Chia Pet, and Valkyrie seems to be stepped down a little from the beefed-up warrior maiden we’ve seen in this title and Thunderbolts.
Captain Britain will be an interesting addition to the team: his face in the first panel of the last page is priceless.
Secret Avengers #21 is out tomorrow from Marvel. If you liked this post, follow me on Tumblr or Twitter; I’m about 5 followers away from 1000 on the latter!
This week’s haul: 10/26/2011!
Haven’t done this in awhile, but here’s my comic reviews for this week!
David Aja’s art is gorgeous, and thankfully he got to play to his strength here: kung fu. Having Shang-Chi as a “guest star” definitely makes me smile, and Aja’s art style fromImmortal Iron Fist contributes wonderfully to the fight sequences. Aja’s faces have also become less gritty - this isn’t a complaint, but I think it fits better with the mood of the book. It’s very light-hearted - almost like Chris Samnee drew Thor: The Mighty Avenger - but still allows for some dark-ish moments.
The art in this issue is lovely, and it does a good job of showing what pre-Asgard architecture and aesthetic looked like. I’ve always enjoyed the quasi-futuristic tone that comes with the Norse gods, and this issue capitalizes on it.
Seeing an older Odin holding an infant Thor just made my heart melt.
One of the first comics I ever read was a West Coast Avengers issue, and I couldn’t help but think about how hokey it sounded; it took a good concept like the Avengers and just said “Yeah, we’re in a new setting! That’s cool, right?”
That’s what this issue felt like: a bunch of “shocking” events that ultimately didn’t mean jack in the long run. Will we ever see Vance Astro and Speedball’s road trip? Unlikely. Will we really care about the new recruits to the Avengers Academy (apart from Butterball, of course)? Not really. Do we want to see characters written like they were in the past, with actual emotions and feelings? I’d like to think so.
Annihilators: Earthfall #2 (of 3)
There’s often a problem with guest stars, as some writers don’t know how to handle them. The Avengers in this issue seemed a little bit off in dialog, but I guess that can be forgiven. The rest of the issue, dialog aside, seemed was definitely on the food side, but not amazing by any means.
It will be interesting to see how the team manages the new threat of what look like brainwashed/alien children, as they certainly can handle them, but the PR disaster they’re currently facing could make it interesting.
Today’s Comic Purchases: 6/1/2011
Hello ladies and gents! Here’s my picks for this week’s comics. I picked up:
- Sweet Tooth #22 (Vertigo, Jeff Lemire)
- Superboy #8 (DC, Jeff Lemire)
- Secret Six #34 (DC, Gail Simone)
- Avengers Academy #14.1 (Marvel, Christos Gage)
- Fear Itself #3 (Marvel, Matt Fraction)
- Amazing Spider-Man #663 (Marvel, Dan Slott)
Good haul this week; I don’t really like Marvel’s “.1” series of issues, but I picked up Avengers Academy for completion’s sake, and because I’m really liking this series. Fear Itself surprised me with some twists, but Secret Six was definitely this week’s pick. Check it out!
Here’s the reviews I did for ComicVine for four of the above issues. Spoilers abound, people!
