Post by goldenfist on Dec 13, 2007 10:01:05 GMT -5
Here's a review about New Avengers #37 from ign.com
For several issues now, many IGN reviewers have been telling you about the Hood, a no-name aspiring criminal overlord who has assembled an army of C-list villains. We loved him. We loved his dark, secretive schemes and his relentless, merciless attitude. Despite some people crying foul over the Tigra attack, we felt it really demonstrated how dispicable this character really was. We wanted to see the Hood finally clash with his enemies.
This issue Marvel fans will finally get their wish. Was it as incredible as advertised? Not so much. After last issue's symbiote tangent, and after a fantastic escalation of the character... I just don't care anymore. It turns out the Hood is all talk and not much substance - certainly not enough to justify this amount of lead time.
There are a number of reasons why I found this fight to be pretty underwhelming. To start, it's already known that New Avengers Annual #2 contains the true battle between the Hood, his Masters of Evil and the Avengers. So what's this? A warm up match, apparently. Given the amount of restraint shown here, it's pretty clear we're not seeing the main event. It's hard to care about something when you know with absolute certainty that it will ultimately break off for a double-sized annual.
Another reason has to do with the Hood himself. I love seeing Parker Robbins plan the destruction of the Avengers. I love seeing him gather his forces. I love seeing his ridiculous ambush tactics. But in a massive battle... he either shoots his guns or turns into a monster. Yawn. A battle of half-wits against the powerful Avengers also once again brings up the problems surrounding the Sentry and Dr. Strange. These guys have limitless power. What the hell are they doing the entire time? I hate having characters like these on a team. It's impossible to pull off an arc like this, featuring borderline street-level characters, with Sentry and Strange on one side. I realize Wrecker went toe-to-toe with Thor but... he's hardly a villain who has been portrayed consistently. It's hard to take him seriously.
My final problem is the biggest. Leinil Yu's art is... bad. In fact I'd go so far as to say that it drags the rest of the book down. Expressions are almost non-existent. Battle scenes are either terribly simplistic or ridiculously chaotic. And don't get me started on the coloring (not Yu, but still). I swear someone took a box of crayons and mashed them all over the pencil work. It's incredibly frustrating to see art like this when I know that Yu can produce stellar stuff. I have to pull out issues of Wolverine from the '90s to remind myself that, yes, this man can draw. My biggest worry about Secret Invasion should seem clear at this point.
New Avengers is turning out decent issues these days, but doesn't seem to deliver on its promises. A noir-esque concept like the Hood shines in the hands of Bendis, and should have been a slam dunk. Mix in plausibility problems and clunky art and it's easy to see why this issue just doesn't hold up. I'm really hoping the Skrull concept can come back and really focus this series into something powerful again... so long as our heroes aren't standing around bantering about who is a Skrull. I've had enough of that, thanks.
Review Score 6.8 Passable
So who agrees or disagrees with the review.
For several issues now, many IGN reviewers have been telling you about the Hood, a no-name aspiring criminal overlord who has assembled an army of C-list villains. We loved him. We loved his dark, secretive schemes and his relentless, merciless attitude. Despite some people crying foul over the Tigra attack, we felt it really demonstrated how dispicable this character really was. We wanted to see the Hood finally clash with his enemies.
This issue Marvel fans will finally get their wish. Was it as incredible as advertised? Not so much. After last issue's symbiote tangent, and after a fantastic escalation of the character... I just don't care anymore. It turns out the Hood is all talk and not much substance - certainly not enough to justify this amount of lead time.
There are a number of reasons why I found this fight to be pretty underwhelming. To start, it's already known that New Avengers Annual #2 contains the true battle between the Hood, his Masters of Evil and the Avengers. So what's this? A warm up match, apparently. Given the amount of restraint shown here, it's pretty clear we're not seeing the main event. It's hard to care about something when you know with absolute certainty that it will ultimately break off for a double-sized annual.
Another reason has to do with the Hood himself. I love seeing Parker Robbins plan the destruction of the Avengers. I love seeing him gather his forces. I love seeing his ridiculous ambush tactics. But in a massive battle... he either shoots his guns or turns into a monster. Yawn. A battle of half-wits against the powerful Avengers also once again brings up the problems surrounding the Sentry and Dr. Strange. These guys have limitless power. What the hell are they doing the entire time? I hate having characters like these on a team. It's impossible to pull off an arc like this, featuring borderline street-level characters, with Sentry and Strange on one side. I realize Wrecker went toe-to-toe with Thor but... he's hardly a villain who has been portrayed consistently. It's hard to take him seriously.
My final problem is the biggest. Leinil Yu's art is... bad. In fact I'd go so far as to say that it drags the rest of the book down. Expressions are almost non-existent. Battle scenes are either terribly simplistic or ridiculously chaotic. And don't get me started on the coloring (not Yu, but still). I swear someone took a box of crayons and mashed them all over the pencil work. It's incredibly frustrating to see art like this when I know that Yu can produce stellar stuff. I have to pull out issues of Wolverine from the '90s to remind myself that, yes, this man can draw. My biggest worry about Secret Invasion should seem clear at this point.
New Avengers is turning out decent issues these days, but doesn't seem to deliver on its promises. A noir-esque concept like the Hood shines in the hands of Bendis, and should have been a slam dunk. Mix in plausibility problems and clunky art and it's easy to see why this issue just doesn't hold up. I'm really hoping the Skrull concept can come back and really focus this series into something powerful again... so long as our heroes aren't standing around bantering about who is a Skrull. I've had enough of that, thanks.
Review Score 6.8 Passable
So who agrees or disagrees with the review.