Post by goldenfist on Jun 26, 2008 8:13:40 GMT -5
Ign.com review's New Avengers #42.
The single best bit of praise I can give the latest issue of Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers is that it reminded me why I spend so much time, energy and money following superhero comics in serialized form. If you've been following Marvel comics – specifically the Avengers books – for any significant amount of time in recent years, then this issue will read like a series of very rewarding and revealing pay-offs. For that reason above all others, it's a supremely entertaining issue, one that's worth every penny of its cover price. Of course, it also happens to be extremely well written and drawn, which, you know, is also nice.
The story revolves around Spider-Woman and at last answers most of our questions about the true nature of the character and her role in the skrull's invasion of Earth. In a lot of ways, the issue feels like going back and watching a mystery or thriller after you already know how it ends. Bendis starts the issue back when Jessica Drew first approached Nick Fury with the news that her Hydra handlers offered to restore her powers, and from there, we learn just how and where the Skrulls initiated their plan. By leading us through various story touchstones from the earliest issues of New Avengers, Bendis provides a ton of "ah ha!" moments where, for the first time, we fully understand just how this whole conspiracy kicked off.
As you can tell, it's tough to talk much about the plot without diving into some serious spoilers. What I will say, however, is that those fans worried that certain Skrull reveals might erase important stories or large chunks of a character's development can probably let out a sigh of relief. Bendis seems to have figured the perfect time to take a character off the board without negating too much of their growth into a compelling character. On a similar note, by making the Skrull Queen impersonating Jessica such a significant figure in and of herself, it's a lot easier to swallow the knowledge that much of the Avengers' recent adventures did not star the Spider Woman character we all know. The important thing is that Bendis has went through great pains to make sure that this issue's revelations strengthen past stories as opposed to negate them in any way.
Much has been said about the way Secret Invasion has been structured, and I think most comic fans by now know they should – no; they have to – read both Avengers books in conjunction with the main series. Seeing that this isn't going to change anytime soon, I guess it's time to just accept that the interesting moments of this ongoing story will play out outside of the main mini-series. And as much as I can't understand Bendis and Marvel's rationale in structuring the event in this way, I will say that I've loved nearly every one of these Avengers tie-ins. The problem is, I've loved them far more than the actual series itself. As long as they are this good, though, I guess I'll keep the complaining to a minimum.
Review Score: 9.2 Outsatnding
(It was a great issue it finally showed how the princess Skrull
became Spider-Woman)
The single best bit of praise I can give the latest issue of Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers is that it reminded me why I spend so much time, energy and money following superhero comics in serialized form. If you've been following Marvel comics – specifically the Avengers books – for any significant amount of time in recent years, then this issue will read like a series of very rewarding and revealing pay-offs. For that reason above all others, it's a supremely entertaining issue, one that's worth every penny of its cover price. Of course, it also happens to be extremely well written and drawn, which, you know, is also nice.
The story revolves around Spider-Woman and at last answers most of our questions about the true nature of the character and her role in the skrull's invasion of Earth. In a lot of ways, the issue feels like going back and watching a mystery or thriller after you already know how it ends. Bendis starts the issue back when Jessica Drew first approached Nick Fury with the news that her Hydra handlers offered to restore her powers, and from there, we learn just how and where the Skrulls initiated their plan. By leading us through various story touchstones from the earliest issues of New Avengers, Bendis provides a ton of "ah ha!" moments where, for the first time, we fully understand just how this whole conspiracy kicked off.
As you can tell, it's tough to talk much about the plot without diving into some serious spoilers. What I will say, however, is that those fans worried that certain Skrull reveals might erase important stories or large chunks of a character's development can probably let out a sigh of relief. Bendis seems to have figured the perfect time to take a character off the board without negating too much of their growth into a compelling character. On a similar note, by making the Skrull Queen impersonating Jessica such a significant figure in and of herself, it's a lot easier to swallow the knowledge that much of the Avengers' recent adventures did not star the Spider Woman character we all know. The important thing is that Bendis has went through great pains to make sure that this issue's revelations strengthen past stories as opposed to negate them in any way.
Much has been said about the way Secret Invasion has been structured, and I think most comic fans by now know they should – no; they have to – read both Avengers books in conjunction with the main series. Seeing that this isn't going to change anytime soon, I guess it's time to just accept that the interesting moments of this ongoing story will play out outside of the main mini-series. And as much as I can't understand Bendis and Marvel's rationale in structuring the event in this way, I will say that I've loved nearly every one of these Avengers tie-ins. The problem is, I've loved them far more than the actual series itself. As long as they are this good, though, I guess I'll keep the complaining to a minimum.
Review Score: 9.2 Outsatnding
(It was a great issue it finally showed how the princess Skrull
became Spider-Woman)
!!!