Post by goldenfist on Nov 15, 2007 13:50:06 GMT -5
I've learned to be cautious of any comic that revisits a popular event from years past. If you've read the recent Age of Apocalypse sequel you'll know exactly why. If these events really had major, relevant stories left to tell, wouldn't those stories have been touched upon during the original run? That tends to be the central flaw behind mini-series like the Age of Apocalypse redux. While House of M is a mere 2 years old at this point, it's not hard to imagine how more good stories could come out of this alternate reality. Several decades worth of potentially interesting lie before the two or three days covered in Brian Michael Bendis' original mini-series. Does House of M: Avengers capitalize on this potential or fall victim to the same pitfalls as so many other similar projects?
Well, HoM: Avengers doesn't fall as flat as, say, Onslaught Reborn, but it failed to leave much of a lasting impression on me either. Essentially, this mini-series follows the creation of Luke Cage's underground Avengers group in the wake of Magneto's 1979 power-grab. Yes, I'm sure having a fully-powered Luke Cage strutting around the late '70s violates all sorts of continuity. Blame Scarlet Witch. Besides, it gives Mike Perkins the chance to draw Cage in his classic yellow shirt and tiara. He does so quite well, in case you were wondering. Unlike his writing partner, Perkins is able to weave the sillier aspects of this story along with the darker, more modern sensibilities we expect from a story of this type.
As for Christos Gage, I can't say I'm particularly impressed with his first issue. Gage tends to run circles all over the Marvel Universe, writing an X-Men comic here, a Captain America spinoff there. As such, the quality of his storytelling varies with every effort. Gage seems a bit too wrapped up in telling a goofy riff on 70's crime dramas and blaxploitation movies. Case in point - Luke Cage gets in a fistfight with a mutant hustler in a full pimp outfit. I'm also disappointed that Gage glosses over each new member's introduction. By issue's end, the Avengers have mostly assembled with little to no fuss. I'm still hopeful that the series will pick up once characters like Misty Knight and Franck Castle join the fray. But for now, this is one House I'm not excited about revisiting.
Review score 6.8 Passable
Well, HoM: Avengers doesn't fall as flat as, say, Onslaught Reborn, but it failed to leave much of a lasting impression on me either. Essentially, this mini-series follows the creation of Luke Cage's underground Avengers group in the wake of Magneto's 1979 power-grab. Yes, I'm sure having a fully-powered Luke Cage strutting around the late '70s violates all sorts of continuity. Blame Scarlet Witch. Besides, it gives Mike Perkins the chance to draw Cage in his classic yellow shirt and tiara. He does so quite well, in case you were wondering. Unlike his writing partner, Perkins is able to weave the sillier aspects of this story along with the darker, more modern sensibilities we expect from a story of this type.
As for Christos Gage, I can't say I'm particularly impressed with his first issue. Gage tends to run circles all over the Marvel Universe, writing an X-Men comic here, a Captain America spinoff there. As such, the quality of his storytelling varies with every effort. Gage seems a bit too wrapped up in telling a goofy riff on 70's crime dramas and blaxploitation movies. Case in point - Luke Cage gets in a fistfight with a mutant hustler in a full pimp outfit. I'm also disappointed that Gage glosses over each new member's introduction. By issue's end, the Avengers have mostly assembled with little to no fuss. I'm still hopeful that the series will pick up once characters like Misty Knight and Franck Castle join the fray. But for now, this is one House I'm not excited about revisiting.
Review score 6.8 Passable
