More comic ranting
At least this rant has a positive spin to it. This clears up the backlog of comic ranting that I had been working on. I'm sure that there's more to come, but I haven't finished reading this week's books yet... and I'll probably have more to say about Wanda (Maximoff, not Gershwitz). I am real thankful for the comments that you guys have been posting regarding these posts. While I haven't responded to many of them, they really are inspiring me to keep going with this. Thanks!!
Who the #*&% are the Young Avengers?
From J. Jonah Jamison’s lips, comes the question of the day. And so aptly put too. I love the way this story starts. It’s a classic Marvel splash page of a headline in the Daily Bugle, with JJJ off camera swearing at it. The title characters actually don’t appear until the mid-point in the issue.
The cast is four young super heroes who bear a resemblance to members of the now defunct Avengers, Patriot, Iron Lad, Hulkling and Asgardian. I don’t care for um.. ANY of the code names, but the costumes are hot, and there’s always time to change your code name. They don’t call themselves Young Avengers, others choose that label for them. And yet, everywhere I look in this book, there are ties to the legendary first team of superheroes. The story unfolds well throughout the issue, with Cap, Iron Man, Jessica Jones, J.Jonah and the rest of the Marvel Universe all walking on and off camera with the wreckage of the venerable Park Avenue Avengers Mansion and the city desk of the Daily Bugle for backdrops in each scene.
When the team does make it’s appearance, there’s something going on, the team already exists, they are fighting the good fight with references to a greater evil that this team joined together to combat, and hints that there are other characters waiting in the wings, both fresh, and from the Avengers legacy to round out the cast. This isn’t a coy, “hey we’re in one place at one time, let’s form a team” story. Top it off with a big twist ending cliffhanger, and I’m hooked.
I have to admit, that I took a hiatus about ten years ago when I was crunching, trying to finish my degree, and so there are a few issues at the tail end of Volume One of the Avengers that I never caught, and so I really don’t know who Jewel was. She’s not a member of the team, but she makes a great addition to the cast, and I know that she’s pregnant with Luke Cage’s baby now though, so she’s ok in my book. Yes, I would SO take it hard and fast from the Hero for Hire, so I’m a little jealous, but I’ll live with it. My point, she can stay, and her being here adds validity to the word Avengers in the title.
I think that this book succeeded where the New Avengers fell short in it’s opening issue. Others have said that this title reminded them of the Teen Titans, or the Legion of Superheroes. I disagree, what I’m seeing here is a taste of the Heroes Reborn tales that followed the whole Onslaught saga about 7 or 8 years ago. It’s deeper than the Titans, unless you go to the Len Wein/George Perez New Teen Titans from the early 80’s. Even comparing it to that, this is more innovative. That effort (one of my favorites in comics) breathed new life into a dead franchise, and revived lots of withering characters while adding new. This is closer in my book to the All New All Different Uncanny X-Men that burst on the scene in Giant Sized X-Men #1 30 years ago. It’s all new, all different, but with a familiar name, and some familiar supporting cast.
If you can find a copy, check it out. If you want to borrow mine, you’ll have to read it at the house. I’ll be saying more about this title as time goes on, I’m sure.
Who the #*&% are the Young Avengers?
From J. Jonah Jamison’s lips, comes the question of the day. And so aptly put too. I love the way this story starts. It’s a classic Marvel splash page of a headline in the Daily Bugle, with JJJ off camera swearing at it. The title characters actually don’t appear until the mid-point in the issue.
The cast is four young super heroes who bear a resemblance to members of the now defunct Avengers, Patriot, Iron Lad, Hulkling and Asgardian. I don’t care for um.. ANY of the code names, but the costumes are hot, and there’s always time to change your code name. They don’t call themselves Young Avengers, others choose that label for them. And yet, everywhere I look in this book, there are ties to the legendary first team of superheroes. The story unfolds well throughout the issue, with Cap, Iron Man, Jessica Jones, J.Jonah and the rest of the Marvel Universe all walking on and off camera with the wreckage of the venerable Park Avenue Avengers Mansion and the city desk of the Daily Bugle for backdrops in each scene.
When the team does make it’s appearance, there’s something going on, the team already exists, they are fighting the good fight with references to a greater evil that this team joined together to combat, and hints that there are other characters waiting in the wings, both fresh, and from the Avengers legacy to round out the cast. This isn’t a coy, “hey we’re in one place at one time, let’s form a team” story. Top it off with a big twist ending cliffhanger, and I’m hooked.
I have to admit, that I took a hiatus about ten years ago when I was crunching, trying to finish my degree, and so there are a few issues at the tail end of Volume One of the Avengers that I never caught, and so I really don’t know who Jewel was. She’s not a member of the team, but she makes a great addition to the cast, and I know that she’s pregnant with Luke Cage’s baby now though, so she’s ok in my book. Yes, I would SO take it hard and fast from the Hero for Hire, so I’m a little jealous, but I’ll live with it. My point, she can stay, and her being here adds validity to the word Avengers in the title.
I think that this book succeeded where the New Avengers fell short in it’s opening issue. Others have said that this title reminded them of the Teen Titans, or the Legion of Superheroes. I disagree, what I’m seeing here is a taste of the Heroes Reborn tales that followed the whole Onslaught saga about 7 or 8 years ago. It’s deeper than the Titans, unless you go to the Len Wein/George Perez New Teen Titans from the early 80’s. Even comparing it to that, this is more innovative. That effort (one of my favorites in comics) breathed new life into a dead franchise, and revived lots of withering characters while adding new. This is closer in my book to the All New All Different Uncanny X-Men that burst on the scene in Giant Sized X-Men #1 30 years ago. It’s all new, all different, but with a familiar name, and some familiar supporting cast.
If you can find a copy, check it out. If you want to borrow mine, you’ll have to read it at the house. I’ll be saying more about this title as time goes on, I’m sure.