The Avengers is the pinnacle of super heroics in the Marvel Universe, with its assortment of inspirational heroes, virtuoso minds, and genuine gods. Even casual observers who have never read a comic or seen the movies likely has a specific vision (pun intended) of what the Avengers looks like as a superhero team. So, when we get a curveball like the Savage Avengers, with its team of murderous anti-heroes, it’s a fun way to subvert expectations. While this trade does throw some interesting twists at the reader and some sincerely great character interactions, its occasionally convoluted pacing and inconsistency in art brings down what could have been a stellar title.
Collecting Savage Avengers #0-12 and Annual #1, the book starts with Conan the Barbarian being transported to the 616 Marvel universe. This has got to be one of the wildest rosters of all time, consisting of Wolverine, Venom, Elektra, Punisher, Doctor Voodoo, and the aforementioned Robert Howard character. In this first arc, they face threats from the ninja army known as the Hand who has team up with ancient evil wizards to summon a death god, taking the team the team from the Savage Land to Latveria. Along their journey, they unite with savage warriors like Black Widow, Daimon Hellstrom, and even Doctor Doom, as they confront the perplexing secrets of the sorcerer Kulan Gath’s power.
Marvel Comics
This book earns its “Savage” moniker by being exceedingly violent for an Avengers title. I quite like the assortment of characters they have thrown together and the locales they travel to, even though I often shy away from books made up of “edgy” characters. This is largely thanks to Gerry Duggan, who has a real strength in developing fun character interactions between his cast. The chatter between Wolverine and Conan were highlights, but Dr. Strange and Doctor Doom’s convivial escapade was extremely amusing. It’s these elements that make a book like this so fun and appealing.
There are many artists within these pages, with Mike Deodato Jr. adding his dark, brooding style to the first five issues, and Patch Zircher giving his more superheroic approach to the final core issues. Zircher is really the ideal artist for a story of this nature, as his brutal fight visuals are something I found my eye returning to. However, with the differences in tone between the two visual styles did bring the coherence of this book down. Duggan is a good comic writer, but there can be times in this title where things simply happen because the plot requires it, leaving some head scratching moments as I moved between pages.
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Supplementals were in keeping with other trades of this nature, with a few inked design pages and a slew of full-page variant covers. Nothing that stands out, but all welcome additions, especially Bianchi/Peruzzi painted covers.
Savage Avengers Vol. 1 is a competent collection of comics that will satisfy the desire to see some of the more violent characters in the Marvel Universe go on a journey with Conan the Barbarian. While inconsistences in pacing and art styles are noticeable, it’s an enjoyable read that gives Avengers fans something unexpected from this iconic superhero team.
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