Posts tagged warren ellis

Haven’t done this in awhile, but here’s my comic reviews for this week!

Secret Avengers #18

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 Mighty Thor #7

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.

Avengers Academy #20

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.

Last week I published an excerpt of a column I was working on for Comic Vine in which I discussed cities in comics, and how they can be done right. The post finally went online the other day, and you can read it here!

Quote after the break!

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