Jason Aaron has done an excellent job rejiggering the Avengers and making it all feel new, from changing the lineup to making their new home base a Celestial corpse. In this latest arc the team becomes global, but if they don’t represent one country, how will the superheroes tied to specific countries feel about that?
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
Read the preview.
Why does this matter?
Ed McGuinness is back as the main artist which means we’ll be getting big and blockbuster style imagery. This issue also begins to play out some interesting subplots like the love affair between Hulk and Thor. Whaaaaaat!?
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
This is a great example of superb pacing with four storylines cutting back and forth throughout the 20 pages in this story. You never get confused, the back and forth makes sense, and there’s nice progress in each story thread. There is of course the date between Thor and Hulk, but also big ramifications with Black Panther, some Agent Coulson surprises, and an interesting team building moment between Captain Marvel and Ghost Rider. It’s like Aaron had a checklist when plotting this issue to ensure readers would come away with enough entertainment.
Cory Smith joins McGuinness drawing two out of the four scenes. The balance between the two makes sense since McGuinness gets the Hulk/Thor scenes (their bulbous muscles look great under his pen) and the very dramatic Coulson scenes while Smith covers the diplomatic scenes with Black Panther and the quieter Captain Marvel and Ghost Rider scene. Together they balance out the book well, keeping you invested in the character storylines.
It can’t be perfect, can it?
The book lacks action with every scene either fitting into a tense thriller vibe, or simply working on character work. There’s tension throughout, which helps keep your interest up, but some kind of action would have been a great help in amping up the excitement. Unfortunately the Coulson scenes aren’t that interesting either. After the first scene you understand his point of view and yet it goes on. The cliffhanger leaves you wanting too since we aren’t sure who was in the scene.
Is it good?
An enjoyable issue thanks to excellent pacing. Aaron balances a lot of plates here and, overall, it’s an enjoyable, tension-filled read.
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