Post by goldenfist on Sept 26, 2008 15:34:41 GMT -5
Here's Ign's review of Avengers The Initiative #17.
Rarely have I experienced as eclectic a story arc as the current arc of Avengers: The Initiative. Since Dan Slott and Christos Gage began the Secret Invasion tie-in several months ago, the book has jumped all over the map. First it focuses on 3-D Man, then the return of the diminished Skrull Kill Krew. For a while it detours to follow War Machine, until he's sent off to the pages of Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. This month, the focus shifts yet again to cover the deployment of the Shadow Initiative. Separately, all of these elements are entertaining on one level or another. Collectively, they fail to coalesce and just generate one huge mess of a storyline.
Marvel has been hyping this issue as the place where readers can learn new clues to the identity of Mutant Zero. I'm always extremely wary of attempts to needlessly perpetuate mysteries like that. See my Hulk review for more on that subject. The writers all but tell you who she is in the first few pages, and yet I'm almost positive they've got a rug ready and waiting to be pulled. Marvel's strange desire to make me obsess over the Mutant Zero mystery is only making me me dislike her instead.
Still, I do get a kick out the Shadow Initiative. One potential pitfall of this storyline is that the black ops groups is charged with assassinating the Skrull empress, despite the fact that we know she's alive and well for the upcoming showdown in the main book. You'd think that would essentially prevent the team from accomplishing anything at all, but the writers manage to craft events in such a way that the team gets their moment to shine and precious continuity isn't shattered to pieces.
Also amusing is Ant-Man, who continues to prove he's a perfect fit for the book even as he makes every attempt to run away and hide. I get the feeling Slott and Gage have the defining moment of Ant-Man's career coming up before the end of this story, and I can only imagine what that will prove to be.
I wasn't surprised to see that artist Stefano Caselli had once again been replaced, but still very miffed. In any case, Marvel was quick to deploy their go-to guy for situations like this - Harvey Tolibao. The most I can say is that Tolibao proves himself a better fit for The Initiative than he does for the likes of Ultimate X-Men. Still, his style is far too exaggerated even for a bombastic series like this. Tolibao never seems content unless he can stretch his characters into the most extreme poses possible. At times, reading this book is like an assault on the eyes.
The Initiative had the chance to stand as one of the better Secret Invasion tie-ins. Instead, a glaring lack of focus and an unfortunate rotating casts of artists have bumped it to the other side of the spectrum. There's still room for a bit of redemption, but I'm not holding out hope this series will ever again be as entertaining as it was in its first year.
Review Score: 6.7 Passable
Rarely have I experienced as eclectic a story arc as the current arc of Avengers: The Initiative. Since Dan Slott and Christos Gage began the Secret Invasion tie-in several months ago, the book has jumped all over the map. First it focuses on 3-D Man, then the return of the diminished Skrull Kill Krew. For a while it detours to follow War Machine, until he's sent off to the pages of Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. This month, the focus shifts yet again to cover the deployment of the Shadow Initiative. Separately, all of these elements are entertaining on one level or another. Collectively, they fail to coalesce and just generate one huge mess of a storyline.
Marvel has been hyping this issue as the place where readers can learn new clues to the identity of Mutant Zero. I'm always extremely wary of attempts to needlessly perpetuate mysteries like that. See my Hulk review for more on that subject. The writers all but tell you who she is in the first few pages, and yet I'm almost positive they've got a rug ready and waiting to be pulled. Marvel's strange desire to make me obsess over the Mutant Zero mystery is only making me me dislike her instead.
Still, I do get a kick out the Shadow Initiative. One potential pitfall of this storyline is that the black ops groups is charged with assassinating the Skrull empress, despite the fact that we know she's alive and well for the upcoming showdown in the main book. You'd think that would essentially prevent the team from accomplishing anything at all, but the writers manage to craft events in such a way that the team gets their moment to shine and precious continuity isn't shattered to pieces.
Also amusing is Ant-Man, who continues to prove he's a perfect fit for the book even as he makes every attempt to run away and hide. I get the feeling Slott and Gage have the defining moment of Ant-Man's career coming up before the end of this story, and I can only imagine what that will prove to be.
I wasn't surprised to see that artist Stefano Caselli had once again been replaced, but still very miffed. In any case, Marvel was quick to deploy their go-to guy for situations like this - Harvey Tolibao. The most I can say is that Tolibao proves himself a better fit for The Initiative than he does for the likes of Ultimate X-Men. Still, his style is far too exaggerated even for a bombastic series like this. Tolibao never seems content unless he can stretch his characters into the most extreme poses possible. At times, reading this book is like an assault on the eyes.
The Initiative had the chance to stand as one of the better Secret Invasion tie-ins. Instead, a glaring lack of focus and an unfortunate rotating casts of artists have bumped it to the other side of the spectrum. There's still room for a bit of redemption, but I'm not holding out hope this series will ever again be as entertaining as it was in its first year.
Review Score: 6.7 Passable
