Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Gerardo Sandoval

Something that has been an interesting question in the post-Secret Wars stories was how much would carry over from the old Marvel universe. While people have been concerned over the hoopla of reboots, relaunches, re-anything, the idea of just what the new books would look like has been missed. While so far the new books have been more about expansion than reduction compared to the New 52, there was a bit of easy to understand concern over the ballooning of the Avengers line, while the X-Men suffered a reduction of titles (even if that’s still a considerable amount of titles). However, though New Avengers has made the case for just how you can continue expansion of the Avengers, even after Hickman hit that peak with a huge roster.

Ostensibly focusing on Sunspot’s Avengers team that has hijacked A.I.M. and dedicated itself into making the world a better place, Al Ewing (late of The Mighty Avengers) and Gerardo Sandoval (also late of Guardians 3000) focus upon the aftermath of Hickman’s recent Avengers stories, as well as that of Mighty Avengers. Though that being said, the concept is simple, and unlike a lot of new comics, there’s no time wasted in building the team, they’re already formed early on. That being said, as is typical for a Ewing comic, the proceedings are a lot of fun and the tone is only helped by emphasizing the roles of the younger characters like Wiccan, Squirrel Girl, and Power Man. And in comparison to the darker tone of Guardians 3000, Sandoval’s artwork helps give a manic energy that helps keep the book lighter, even with all the crazy happenings.

The choice of characters also takes advantage of the more open nature of the Marvel Universe as it stands, including a recently returned character from the Ultimate Universe. While crossover has been eschewed in the past, the anything can happen nature with characters from different settings appearing is only a boon for a comic like this. For $3.99, you’re getting a great bang for your buck here, even among the other choices in the Marvel line itself.

 

4 out of 5 Cafeterias

Review by Slewo