Review: All-New All-Different Avengers #1
Well we’ve been given The New Avengers and the Uncanny Avengers, both titles falling far short of my expectations. And no relaunch would be complete without a main Avengers team book being introduced. When this title was announced, I was most excited to see Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, the big 3, together on this team…but the exciting part was that this is a new Thor and Captain America, both new to their mantles. I was also interested in this line up, a team composed mostly of heroes picking up well established mantles; a bold move for being THE Avengers book…and for the most part, it pays off.
We open to a fairly typical super hero moment with Captain America saving a family from a traffic accident on a bridge. What wasn’t typical about this moment, was us getting a glimpse at this new Marvel Universe we’re seeing post Secret Wars (even though Secret Wars is still going on…yeah I know..) in that the public aren’t just cheering for the heroes, but now taking a step back and looking at them…deciding whether or not to accept these heroes; as one bystander states “that’s not my Captain America”. It really sets the tone for this team and how different is from past assemblages.
What follows is pretty standard stuff…big bad guy appears, swearing vengeance against the planet and its heroes (*yawn* Marvel really needs to lay off the Chitauri for a while) , though this baddie seems to have found an ally who we don’t get much information on. Big bangs follow, and a few members of what will make up the team arrive on the scene to face the threat, but of course, this shows to be a threat that will require more assistance.
I really did like the characters and the interactions that Mark Waid has given us for this first issue. He clearly gives me the characters I remember, shows that he knows them; but also shows us that things are not all status quo in this ‘new’ world. The only downside is that there isn’t much for them to do, just a slow-moving set up. Adam Kubert’s art was very good in this book; it was engaging and gave us some very nice spreads, but my favourite parts were the details and expressions on the characters; you really felt in the moment with these guys.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. True, it follows a familiar formula for a team book, but after some of the other books I’ve reviewed, this was very welcome. Not exactly All-New, All-Different, but I really enjoyed the characters and how they interacted, and I am very excited to see how the rest of this team comes together. I definitely feel that this is the Avengers book to keep an eye on.
Story: Mark Waid Art: Adam Kubert
Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
I miss James Logan Howlett.
George Orwell’s 1984, often warned readers of all-pervading regime surveillance and how the issue of privacy is really an illusion. What many people who have not read the novel do not know, is where we get the often used “Big Brother” reference from, and it is from this epic novel, which refers to the government as such. The novel also talked about the very idea of free speech, how institutions persecute individuality by arresting those who thought outside of the box of “thought crimes”, something which has been seen in V for Vendetta and Minority Report. It is truly terrifying to think that such a novel would not only leave an impression on readers about a dystopian future but in how many ways, most of it became true.
Rebels #8 – Two standalone stories in this issue. One focuses on a woman who runs a print shop in occupied Boston and the other is about a freed slave who fights on the British side. While touching upon history, the comic isn’t actual history. But, each issue makes me want to find out more. And the art is solid as usual. Overall Rating: 8 Recommendation: Read
All-New Wolverine #1* is the best Wolverine comic in a generation. It’s version of Laura is one of the most richly written female heroes around. But it also serves as a Wolverine comic in the classic sense. She IS Wolverine. She is wrestling with a lot of the same issues Logan always has yet she is handling them from the perspective of a young woman. I truly appreciate her wearing the classic Wolverine costume and realistic street clothes which suit her personality rather then being out of character cheesecake as is often the case. I think its a must for both fans of Wolverine and fans of complex female leads. Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy!
Continuing the best work of his career, Scott Kolins (Flash, Avengers, Solomon Grundy) shows the terrifying cost of evil as Adam battles monsters who were once his closest friends in Adam.3 #3! How many will suffer as S.E.E.D.S. Part 3: Epidemic threatens to destroy all life on the island paradise?
Airboy is a strange beast. It’s a comic about the creators writing the comic you’re reading, in what is, at times, some truly inspired comic book writing. The use of colour in the comic is also fantastic, and the series was on the verge of being one of the most recommended comics at Graphic Policy, until about midway through the second issue.
The Old West, but not as we know it. Giant steam-powered robots are created to take down invading Martians and armies of killer albino apes in an all-out brawl. The Steam Man, a giant metal man operated by a team of monster hunters, seems to have the town protected and the West under control, until a crazed and powerful vampire comes to town to bring forth the apocalypse!
Hel is trying to gain the power to bring Ragnarok, but will our heroes be able to stop her? Follow us as we take you to a world that is unlike our own, a place where there is no return, and you have to fight to survive!
Another day, another hot date. Firefighter Rosheen Hayes takes her relationships with conflagration seriously, whether it’s the trigger-happy burn victim with his sights on her partner or a chance encounter igniting memories of arson at the orphanage. But is she the super-sleuth fire-whisperer or twisted firestarter?