Diplomatic Arguing
Hickman's finally brought us a story arch that firmly captures my attention. With the two factions finally coming toe-to-toe, they do what they do best; talk, debate, argue, and generally piss each other off. It's pretty great.
Our time is generally split between before the meeting and during the meeting, picking up on some of the conversations from the last issue while displaying the difficult decision-making process. A big theme here is what being a monster is, as is suggested by the title, but it's well displayed via Beast and Hulk, Beast having the most prominent role in these last two issues that he's ever had in the series prior. We also see some escalation to things thanks to the Original Sin event going on, and it works so well with the series I have to wonder how long in advance Hickman's been planning some of this. We are still regaled with the same art, which is rather good sometimes, especially when capturing the expressions of some characters, like the scornful looks of Namor and the contemplation of Beast. Reed and the Swan, however, look a little off, at least to me.
Ultimately, this is another fantastic issue that both pushes things forward and remains moderately stagnant, a motif of the series these days. However, it's well written, a lot of fun, and I don't think Hickman can push off this conflict any longer than he has. Here's to the New Avengers being at the top of my pull list once again.