| Comic Review | Paul Milligan |
Marvel Adventures The Avengers #1
Writer: Jeff Parker
Penciller: Manuel Garcia
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Val Staples
The
U.S. military calls a meeting with The Avengers – to tell
them they’re fired! The military has a brand new defense
force, one that will never age or get hurt, the ULTRON
system. Of course things go horribly wrong.
It’s no secret that, for the most part, I’m not a fan of the
Marvel Adventures line of kids’ comics. I’ve read a few of
them and they’re basically dumbed down versions of Marvel’s
regular line of books. And this is a dumbed down version of
The Avengers. Yay! Not only is it over simplified “for the
kids” but also it apparently follows a completely different
continuity than the regular Marvel Universe. But is there a
recap or a short explanation of how these Avengers came to
be or who they are? Of course not. Why would anyone need to
know anything about these characters that they may or may
not have ever seen before? It’s not like you’re trying to
bring in new readers or… oh, wait, isn’t this specifically
what this book is for? Or is it just that Marvel’s regular
comics are so adult that they almost need mature reader’s
labels on them?
Ugh… sorry to rant. This book just combines so many of my
dislikes about comics today, like the lack of explanation
for possible new readers. Why do so many number one issues
these days assume that readers know what the heck is going
on? No wonder we can’t bring new readers into the market…
even the kids’ comics are impenetrable. Another pet peeve is
that I don’t believe that just because it’s meant for kids’
it has to be half-retarded. I used to read “regular” Marvel
and DC comics when I was a kid and I did just fine. And
what’s with this roster? If you thought the New Avengers
line-up was random, hoo-boy. Iron Man, Captain America and
Hulk I get. Spidey and Wolverine? Okay, they’re Avengers now
I suppose. But Storm? What? And Giant-Girl? Who the heck is
Giant-Girl? I don’t know cause this book didn’t tell me!!
And what about the artwork? Hey, it’s Manuel Garcia! I like
that guy, he did a great job on
Mystique.
Oop…
no, that’s not good either. Seriously, what could have been
the one saving grace of this book ended up being sloppy and,
like the rest of the book, just plain bad. I remember seeing
some pencils from the book and thinking that it looked good.
Did the inker screw it up? Who knows? I’m tired of talking
about this book. It’s bad… don’t buy it. Not even for your
kids.
Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of
Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance
preview books for review purposes.
