Post by goldenfist on Nov 14, 2007 9:08:16 GMT -5
Here's the review for New Avengers #36.
I was more than a little relieved to flip through the pages of New Avengers #35 and discover that the issue wasn't nearly as symbiote-heavy as the cover indicated. Instead, Brian Michael Bendis made excellent use of the Avengers' downtime by focusing on The Hood's recent rise to power. Issue 35 wound up being my favorite post-Civil War entry in the series. If only I knew Bendis was saving the worst for later.
You see, this issue is everything I feared the last one would be. Symbiotes invariably make for lousy storytelling, whether the story takes place in a Spider-Man comic or anywhere else. Essentially Bends runs with two different plotlines this month. The bulk of the issue is taken up by Luke Cage literally summarizing the events of the symbiote invasion to his wife. That's right, this issue more or less spoils everything that takes place in a Mighty Avengers storyline that hasn't even started shipping yet. I almost wondered if anything could make me less interested in Mighty, and apparently there was something.
The other half of the issue shows a little more potential. As you probably gathered from the cover, Wolverine is none too happy regarding Spider-Woman's latest betrayal. In an all-too rare fit of competence, Wolverine sneaks into Stark Tower and proceeds to interrogate his former teammate. In the shower. Now, sexual overtones aside, there's nothing terribly wrong with how this scene plays out. I couldn't help thinking, though, that this is the exact type of scene Bendis should have reserved for Frank Cho in Mighty Avengers. Even Mark Bagley could have handled it well enough. Leinil Yu just doesn't draw sexy characters. He's a master of dirty, grungy, evil-looking characters, but not sexy ones. In the end, the shower scene would feel right at home in an episode of Oz, and I somehow doubt that's the effect Bendis was going for.
The one true highlight of this issue comes near the end, as Bendis seems poised to do something truly cool with both Avengers teams. Unfortunately, the heroes are immediately sidetracked into doing something not quite as cool. Once you see the final page you'll know exactly why the word "overkill" immediately sprung in my mind. I'm anticipating a rousing finish to what has so far been a wildly uneven arc, but I can't help feeling the climax could have been handled better.
Review score 5.4
Guess the reviewer felt that the story could've been done better.
I was more than a little relieved to flip through the pages of New Avengers #35 and discover that the issue wasn't nearly as symbiote-heavy as the cover indicated. Instead, Brian Michael Bendis made excellent use of the Avengers' downtime by focusing on The Hood's recent rise to power. Issue 35 wound up being my favorite post-Civil War entry in the series. If only I knew Bendis was saving the worst for later.
You see, this issue is everything I feared the last one would be. Symbiotes invariably make for lousy storytelling, whether the story takes place in a Spider-Man comic or anywhere else. Essentially Bends runs with two different plotlines this month. The bulk of the issue is taken up by Luke Cage literally summarizing the events of the symbiote invasion to his wife. That's right, this issue more or less spoils everything that takes place in a Mighty Avengers storyline that hasn't even started shipping yet. I almost wondered if anything could make me less interested in Mighty, and apparently there was something.
The other half of the issue shows a little more potential. As you probably gathered from the cover, Wolverine is none too happy regarding Spider-Woman's latest betrayal. In an all-too rare fit of competence, Wolverine sneaks into Stark Tower and proceeds to interrogate his former teammate. In the shower. Now, sexual overtones aside, there's nothing terribly wrong with how this scene plays out. I couldn't help thinking, though, that this is the exact type of scene Bendis should have reserved for Frank Cho in Mighty Avengers. Even Mark Bagley could have handled it well enough. Leinil Yu just doesn't draw sexy characters. He's a master of dirty, grungy, evil-looking characters, but not sexy ones. In the end, the shower scene would feel right at home in an episode of Oz, and I somehow doubt that's the effect Bendis was going for.
The one true highlight of this issue comes near the end, as Bendis seems poised to do something truly cool with both Avengers teams. Unfortunately, the heroes are immediately sidetracked into doing something not quite as cool. Once you see the final page you'll know exactly why the word "overkill" immediately sprung in my mind. I'm anticipating a rousing finish to what has so far been a wildly uneven arc, but I can't help feeling the climax could have been handled better.
Review score 5.4
Guess the reviewer felt that the story could've been done better.