Hello, I’m an Avengers comic and I seem to have lost my plot.
Story
Something is missing from this story. At first I thought I was the only one, but after reading other reactions online I felt better. The two stories are not very connected. At least, at this stage its not connected. Bendis has shown that he can do big things, epic stories that span years. However, I can’t see the lines that go from point A to point B here. Retcons are commonplace in the comic book world. Re-writing the Avengers history though, feels wrong. So the President had a program back in the day, shockingly called the Avengers Initiative. So Fury is going around recruiting all sorts of people for the “first” Avengers, most of which are criminals. Right. I’m totally okay with a well-written, thought-out retcon (such as Bucky being the Winter Soldier), but Wasp coined the term Avengers. That line from A to B is pretty opaque right now.
Art
Chaykin has never been a favorite of mine. His writing is okay, nothing spectacular, but his art is pretty bad. Most of the men look the same, except for certain characteristics like an eye patch, mustache or bowler hat. That’s about it. Every guy has a square jaw, barrel chest, tiny feet. Deodato isn’t much better, with his women like well endowed supermodels and men with massive, bulging arms. I was a fan of his early Dark Avengers work, his covers were great. Other than Sabertooth’s oddly bulging chest, the same can be said for this cover. The interior though, his characters suffer the same as Chaykin’s, most of the background grunts are faceless, interchangeable muscled bodybuilders. Main characters look stiff in their poses, and repetitive. Although, Spider-Man doing that headstand double kick looked pretty cool. The tech that he draws is nondescript as well. Pistols and rifles are lumps of machinery that vaguely look like weapons, but only after the accompanying onomatopoeia do you realize it’s a gun.
Final Thoughts
I still love the witty dialogue that Bendis does with the Avengers. Cage, Jessica, Spider-Man, Bendis knows how to write them. Thing and Iron Fist feel off though. IMHO, so far Jason Aaron is the only person that writes Wolverine that does the character justice. Ms. Marvel is such an underused character that there is no clear voice for her, even though Brian Reed did a good job. Doc Strange, meh. If he’s not saying “by the Eye of Ashanti” or whatever, than what else has he said that’s memorable? Another blank slate. If you want to read Mockingbird, then read her series.
I’m not done with Avengers, just wish that Bendis would give me more information. The only intrigue at the moment is “why is this group together?” but that’s such a meta reason. I’m not intrigued because the story is amazing, only that it makes no sense at the moment and that makes me want to get the next issue.
