I have known that Al Ewing was a good writer before this comic. I have loved his work on The Ultimates and many other titles. What I wasn’t prepared for, and shame on me, was loving this book as much as I did. This book follows Roberto Da Costa who now takes on the classic codename Citizen V, and A.I.M. (which is now renamed from Avengers Idea Mechanics to American Intelligence Mechanics). A new team is formed following his time with the New Avengers. What you get with U.S.Avengers #1 is a fun and silly book that is a great set up for what should be a great series. This kind of fun is exactly what I needed after the disappointing Civil War II, and I am glad it exists.

First of all the team is filled with a few members of the former team, mixed with some new entries. You’ve got classic characters like Squirrel Girl, and Cannonball, adding in a new and alternate versions of Iron Patriot, Captain America, Red Hulk, and Enigma. The team is varied enough to be fun, and has enough different personalities that you know there will be some drama. Some of the highlights of this issue for me were Red Hulk, who is also General Robert L. Maverick. He has a “Hulk Plug-in” that can allow him to be the big red monster for an hour every day and a half. There’s a great scene where he goes in and does damage to a massive ship, where Squirrel Girl comments “What’s he gonna do for the other fifty-nine minutes?”. The humor is good, the action is over the top, and the whole premise is such ridiculous fun.

I also appreciated the touching moment between old friends Sam aka Cannonball and Roberto aka Sunspot and now aka Citizen V. With all of our heroes recording propaganda videos selling U.S.Avengers to the public, Sam asks Roberto if he thinks this will work, and if people will buy it. Roberto explains that right now, even though many of the team are from different countries, they are American, and they represent what this great country is about. That now more than ever, the country needs people like them to fight for it, even if they are hated. This was a nice bookend to what was mostly a funny book. Again, Ewing is a good writer, and moments like this show why.

The art by Paco Medina is really good. Inks by Juan Vlasco and colors by Jesus Aburtov also shine and the three of them together make the big set piece moments in this book shine and pop. From Squirrel Girl being carried by Cannonball surrounded by her flying Squirrel army, to Red Hulk jumping through the air with his ridiculous stars and stripes shorts and then smashing into a large ship are just awesome to see. Each character has real personality, and you are getting a funny action blockbuster in a comic book. I cannot ask for anything more in a book like this.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes the sillier side of comic books (and obviously fans of New Avengers as it has a similar tone), but also wants a team that can actually hang with the big boys. They have some real firepower here, and I can’t wait to see what kind of mission our red, white, and blue heroes go on. I think this is an important comic for an important time in our country, especially with how Marvel is choosing to take Captain America at the moment. It shows that you can be patriotic to your nation, no matter what side your views, background, or ethnicity is.

Story: Al Ewing Art: Paco Medina Ink: Juan Vlasco Color: Jesus Aburtov
Story: 8.5 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review