Friday, March 22, 2013

Avengers #8

OK, among the list of "things I never thought I'd see," bringing the StarBrand into the mainstream Marvel Universe has to be way up there.

Yet, as the cover shows, here it is.

It takes a heck of a writer to manage something that audacious, and - luckily - Jonathan Hickman is just that.

He's managed to take at least two of the New Universe characters out of the '80s, reinvented them, developed a new backstory to explain it all (including the devastating "White Event"), and folded it all into the latest issue of The Avengers.

The only problem is that the Avengers... don't really act much like heroes.

They investigate a devastating blast that kills thousands and leaves a mile-wide crater, but (aside from an initial attempt at sympathy by Captain America) the team decides to take the "Hulk smash" approach to subduing the young man who may be the world's most powerful being.

I know it's a Marvel tradition for heroes to meet and fight right away, but it seems like a bad approach this time around.

Still, with exemplary art by Dustin Weaver and a riveting, growing and unpredictable storyline, this is a compelling series - if you're not already, you really should be reading it.

Grade: A-

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