My favorite Avengers are back!
I'm sorry, with all respect to the team of characters published by Marvel comics, there will always be only one Avengers team for me and they are John Steed and Emma Peel!
My Favorite Avengers
This duo is witty, clever and spies: what more could you ask for? Emma Peel is stylish, pretty and can kick butt (though Diana Rigg, who played the character on the 60s tv show, did not actually do any of her own fighting). John Steed (played by the great Patrick Macnee) is funny, clever and a gentlemen. Again with all respect to the Marvel Avengers, these two characters (along with the other characters who also stared on this show) are my favorite Avengers.
Grant Morrison (& the writing)
I'm going to make a statement which will most likely make several people argumentative. I am not a a big fan of Grant Morrison. There, I said it. Don't get me wrong, I have read some of his work (such as the One Million arc, All Star Superman, Batman Inc and most recently Action Comics), so I can say he is a pretty good writer and very clever man. I just feel that some of his stories are TOO clever and thus alienates some readers who haven't read the stuff he references. Its like he is pulling a rabbit out a hat and not many people have seen the hat. I mean, you have to go to very beginning of when he started writing a particular story to sort of understand what is happening, so if you start at say the middle, you don't know what he is talking about some times... Therefore, I'm was not really a fan of Grant Morrison and his writing style.
However, upon reading this first issue of this reprint series, I am reconsidering my conclusions about Mr. Morrison. This comic duplicates the charms of the Television series very well if I do say so myself. It portrays the characters (from what I see) in such a way as to honor what had come before. It has the same sly humor which I enjoyed on the TV show and the same quirkiness which made the show unique.
Ian Gibson (& the art)
I must admit I have not had the pleasure (to my knowledge) of reading art done by Ian Gibson up to this point. However, I must say he did a wonderful job with this issue. He really captured the characters and they do look like the actors who played those characters. I am the most impressed by his illustrations of John Steed. He really does look like Patrick Macnee, which makes me extra happy. There are some points in this issue that aren't as appealing as others, but all and all this is wonderful colorful art.
Conclusion
It is my fear that comics based on TV shows will not live up to their previous incarnations. Some times, the art isn't as good or the writing is...lets face it...terrible! Or it is directed toward a different audence than it originally was intended (such as the original comic appearences of Batman Beyond). However, this series (at least the first issue) is amazing. I rarely get to laugh when reading comics (maybe smile at the funny jokes), but this issue actully got me laughing out loud (I don't want to say lol, but it is the same...). This issue is a wondeful trip down memory lane and I really thank Boom! for reprinting and reformating this series (first published by Eclipse), so I could get to read this! It is a wonderful read and I highly recomend it to people who liked the original series. If you have not seen the show, you are missing out.
