Filed under: Comic Reviews, Marvel Comics | Tags: avengers, Captain America, Ex Nihilo, Jerome Opena, Jonathan Hickman, Marvel Now
This is it, the much-hyped, must-have title from Marvel Now and having already enjoyed my fair share of the releases so far – I was keen to see if this could match the hype it’s been adorned with.
As Jonathan Hickman makes his stamp on the Marvel Now titles we’re gifted probably one of the best takes on The Avengers since The Ultimates in my opinion and while I may have thought his run on FF was good (not great) and I wasn’t exactly blown away by his run on Ultimate Comics Ultimates – I was still ready to give this a fair chance. Bearing in mind that Jerome Opena has already been wowing with some early designs and artwork from the series the hype just kept building.
The basic plot surrounds Ex Nihilo’s attempts to terra-form Mars into a successor to the Earth and if that didn’t catch the attention of The Avengers then I don’t know what would. A quick Assemble and we’re soon face to face with the new residents on Mars and the first battle we see in this title results in The Avengers being outsmarted with ease and captured quite easily. A warning sign is sent to the Earth when the Avengers ship containing Captain America is sent back as a message.
Cap recovers and he doesn’t take too kindly to the proposed “message” and before you can say “We’re putting the band back together” – Cap is suited and booted and a new band is assembled. A fairly straight-forward take on the Avengers with them facing defeat and a new band of heroes coming together to take on the threat but the hype is still seeped into the pages.
The writing from Hickman is hitting all the right notes as he weaves a tale of depth and intrigue but pairing him with Opena has been a significant move from Marvel. The art lives and breathes the well-earned hype as the sublime layout and detail team-up to paint a rich, vivid world that will grab your attention and surely get that wow-factor instilled in the space of one issue. A new era firmly starts with style and it’s been quite a while since the hype was matched let alone succeeded.
9/10
G-Man
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
Comics Anonymous 