Saturday, January 26, 2013

Young Avengers #1

One of these weeks I'll be able to do every review about an Avengers-based comic. I picked up three of them this week (though I'm only reviewing two).

Today's topic is the returning Young Avengers.

The short-lived original series was creative and clever, but never really found its audience.

This time around, the team is fractured and there are new characters involved - happily, that includes (teen) Loki, whose series recently wrapped up in Journey Into Mystery, and Marvel Boy / the Protector / Noh-Varr, whose Avengers career imploded during the Avengers vs. X-Men event.

Most super-team first issues are all about assembling the team, but there's not much assembling going on here - this issue is all about introducing the characters. Some have straightforward intentions, and others are more mysterious.

Kieron Gillen is the writer on this series, and it's off to a solid (if somewhat disjointed) start. The art is by Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton, and it's very good, with a nice, polished look to it. I especially like the double page splash that kicks off a battle in space.

The issue leaves us with more questions than answers (what happened to the woman Noh-Varr was in love with?), but there are several good stories bubbling here.

I wasn't floored by this issue - the characters are mighty thin so far - but it's enough of a hook that I'll be back for the next issue.


Grade: A-

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