Jonathan Hickman finally stops teasing audiences like a teenage girl after prom and let's the bomb drop in the latest issue of New Avengers. Yes, the epic showdown between the Illuminati and the Great Society has finally arrived, and it is everything a comic book fan dreams of having in one singular issue.
The story is centered around the inter-dimensional battle of the century, with Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and the rest of the gang throwing bows with Sun God, Boundless, and the Great Society, an epic fight that will decide the fate of two worlds. If you're a big fan of enormous green rage monsters smashing and bashing, skull cracking, and tons of punching, this issue was written as a love letter from Hickman's pen directly to your ink-starved eyes.
Hickman seems to be a master at combining superheroes with science fiction, which granted, are two similar genres anyway, but the way this guy does it in this issue is pretty close to genius. With gadgets and multi-verse theory thick within the narrative that weaves its way through the bone-crunching mayhem, there is something for the science geek and the comic geek on every page.
Most action heavy comics tend to neglect any type of character development or plot movement, a mistake that Hickman avoids with good dialogue sprinkled in moderation throughout the issue. It seems this heavyweight comic writer has achieved a zen-like balance between action and story that so many strive to achieve, but fail more miserably than a World of Warcraft nerd asking the prom queen on a date.
While it seems I’m heaping the praise on this issue in large, voluminous piles, there were a few things that I didn’t care for.
For example, Namor (you may know him as the Sub-Mariner).
I hate Namor. No, truly, I do. I don’t think you’re hearing me, man! I HATE NAMOR!
This issue contains a fair bit of the Atlantean douchebag, which did detract from my enjoyment of the story ever-so-slightly. Not enough to really lower the score, but it did irk me some. I just don’t like this character at all, so whenever he appears I have a nuclear meltdown, a full on toddler-like temper tantrum of epic proportions. Once I vented and stomped on a few cockroaches I was good.
As outstanding as the pencils and inks were in this book, I wasn’t real wild about the coloring. The colors seemed drab and a bit bland, which compared to the stellar action and story is a pretty minor gripe.
Overall, the issue was extremely good, which is why I score it a 9 out of 10.
If you haven’t read this yet, go pick it up now!