New Avengers Annual #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Gabriele Dell’Otto
Cover: Gabriele Dell’Otto
Simon Williams is pissed, powerful, and crazy enough to get a team together to take out the New Avengers. He warned his friends way back in Avengers #2 that what they were doing was wrong, and now we get to see him make good on his threats. The opening focuses on Simon revealing to his team the top five worst things that happened to the world because of the Avengers: Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Hulk, Civil War, and The Dark Avengers. In the beginning it sounds like the ramblings of a crazy man, but he hits on several valid points that reinforce his actions. After the speech is over the team is ready and it’s time for some action!
From the moment you open the issue, Bendis is setting you up for something fun, and things pretty much stay at full speed until the last page. With each point that Simon brings up for his reason for wanting to stop the Avengers, Bendis makes his argument seem that much more credible. The best was Simon’s explanation regarding the Superhero Civil War, as it seems like Bendis wrote that from a fan’s perspective. Then he moves the story to the fight and we get to see a HUGE battle that again decimates the mansion. Bendis makes that long scene work with the right amount of expo and humor that have come to make this the most relatable and fun Avengers team to date. Another nice touch were the interactions between Simon and Ms. Marvel, since the two have a very long history together.
When you have a battle this big that’s backed by this much emotion, then it’s always good to have an artist that can convey that. Dell’Otto’s pages are nothing but jaw dropping from beginning to end. The double splash pages where Simon is recapping the big failures of the Avengers are only some of the high points of the issue. He moves the story hard and fast, but the fight doesn’t become confusing as things are clearly laid out for your viewing pleasure. Plus, the look on Cage’s face was priceless when he’s about to have an intimate moment with his wife, and Atlas body checks the mansion sending them flying all over the place.
This was classic super hero action from beginning to end, and seeing Wonder Man as less of a joke was quite refreshing this issue. We can only hope that Bendis brings more of the same when the Avengers hear about the attack on their friends and plan for some payback. Those who think that Bendis is just panels of talking heads, you’ve obviously forgotten how well he can pull off huge action sequences. If you’ve been looking for the kind of fight where giants get tossed, there’s a lot of collateral damage, and sex is put on hold, then grab this issue quick. Then get ready to read it quite a few times after that!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
I’m loving this! Can’t wait for the next part of this story. This is a pretty cool version of Simon Williams here, and its about time.
I’ve had to eat a bit of humble pie after reading this issue because I’ve been giving Simon a lot of crap recently. This was one of the few moments that I’ve been able to tolerate him AND think he was pretty cool at the same time.
Pingback: Marvel Reviews: Avengers Annual #1