Post by goldenfist on Jul 3, 2008 7:47:07 GMT -5
Here's a review of Avengers/Invaders #3 from ign.com
This book should not be on the stands right now. I say that not necessarily because I hate Avengers/Invaders. Hate is too strong a word. It's just that, with everything else going on in the Marvel Universe at the moment, squeezing in a story like this seems unnecessary. The return of Steve Rogers, even if it's a temporary one, should be handled with a little more fanfare and class. Instead, we're being fed some inane story about mystical time travel gas so we all have the dubious pleasure of watching two Namors punching each other.
I'm none too happy with the poorly defined circumstances that have brought the WWII-era Invaders to the present day. I could live with lousy premise as long as the creative team had something interesting to say with their story, but they obviously don't. I don't really care how Steve Rogers views this crazy, modern world of ours, because the character has been a fish out of water in every incarnation. It's slightly interesting to see a younger, more arrogant Namor confront his world weary sibling, but the writers choose the least interesting possible scenario and have them fight each other. That's all this book really is - a few panels of an Invader gawking at a world run by "Nazis," followed by several pages of modern Marvel heroes inexplicably getting their butts handed to them. I think the Thunderbolts' stock fell by about 40 points in issue #1, and another character takes a plunge this month.
Not to belabor the complaints about relevance, but the frequent attempts to place this story within a specific continuity only hurt it further. Between an encounter with Spider-Woman and a visit to Namor's ruined underwater kingdom, it's very clear when this book is taking place. That clearly limits any potential ramifications the book might have, not that I necessarily expected any.
Given Alex Ross' involvement, I was hoping this series could at least impress on a visual level. Sadly, Ross doesn't appear to contribute much beyond cover images. Steve Sadowski's work is decent enough, even if he shows a far better handle on human characters than superhuman ones. Mostly, I just can't help but hold this book up to The Twelve, which aims for a similar look and tone. Unfortunately for Avengers/Invaders, it fails to measure up in any area. I'd tell potential readers to just hold out and trade-wait this series, but it's actually going to be more expensive to go that route. Instead, I'd recommend ignoring Avengers/Invaders altogether. Several current ongoing books are telling the same basic story, and they all seem to be doing it better.
Review Score: 5.8 Medicore
(I really disagree with what this reviewer said)
This book should not be on the stands right now. I say that not necessarily because I hate Avengers/Invaders. Hate is too strong a word. It's just that, with everything else going on in the Marvel Universe at the moment, squeezing in a story like this seems unnecessary. The return of Steve Rogers, even if it's a temporary one, should be handled with a little more fanfare and class. Instead, we're being fed some inane story about mystical time travel gas so we all have the dubious pleasure of watching two Namors punching each other.
I'm none too happy with the poorly defined circumstances that have brought the WWII-era Invaders to the present day. I could live with lousy premise as long as the creative team had something interesting to say with their story, but they obviously don't. I don't really care how Steve Rogers views this crazy, modern world of ours, because the character has been a fish out of water in every incarnation. It's slightly interesting to see a younger, more arrogant Namor confront his world weary sibling, but the writers choose the least interesting possible scenario and have them fight each other. That's all this book really is - a few panels of an Invader gawking at a world run by "Nazis," followed by several pages of modern Marvel heroes inexplicably getting their butts handed to them. I think the Thunderbolts' stock fell by about 40 points in issue #1, and another character takes a plunge this month.
Not to belabor the complaints about relevance, but the frequent attempts to place this story within a specific continuity only hurt it further. Between an encounter with Spider-Woman and a visit to Namor's ruined underwater kingdom, it's very clear when this book is taking place. That clearly limits any potential ramifications the book might have, not that I necessarily expected any.
Given Alex Ross' involvement, I was hoping this series could at least impress on a visual level. Sadly, Ross doesn't appear to contribute much beyond cover images. Steve Sadowski's work is decent enough, even if he shows a far better handle on human characters than superhuman ones. Mostly, I just can't help but hold this book up to The Twelve, which aims for a similar look and tone. Unfortunately for Avengers/Invaders, it fails to measure up in any area. I'd tell potential readers to just hold out and trade-wait this series, but it's actually going to be more expensive to go that route. Instead, I'd recommend ignoring Avengers/Invaders altogether. Several current ongoing books are telling the same basic story, and they all seem to be doing it better.
Review Score: 5.8 Medicore
(I really disagree with what this reviewer said)
