Avengers #2
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Jay Leisten, David Curiel
Publisher: Marvel Comics $3.99

The first issue of Avengers by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness threw the gauntlet down with some heavy stakes: a new Avengers team forming in the midst of an invasion of malevolent Celestials engineered by Loki. The second issue continues to unite those disparate threads with different sub-teams of Avengers getting to do different things: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain Marvel confronting a Celestial; She-Hulk and Ghost Rider fighting monsters; and Doctor Strange paired with Black Panther trying to investigate what’s happening. What follows is an exciting visual onslaught.

The issue picks up immediately from last issue’s reveal of the Final Host of Celestials descending upon the planet while bug monsters rise from the planet to devour it. Jason Aaron does a good job of distinguishing the disparate personalities from familiar Avengers like Cap and Thor, changed characters like Hulk, and newer characters like Ghost Rider. While there isn’t enough time to cover everyone in the midst of all the chaos, there’s enough information communicated for the new reader, and Aaron finds a Grant Morrison-esque voice in giving everyone personality in the clash of colors.

The big star of the book though is the art team. To continue the JLA analogy, Ed McGuinness brings an explosive energy to the book ala Howard Porter. This is by no means a small scale book, even the on the ground action is energetic. Mark Morales and Jay Leisten’s inks bring a clean and sleek look to the book, while David Curiel’s colors bring a slick beauty to the book, as well as clarity to the environments in the story, and distinction to characters like the Celestials. If you’re looking for an Avengers book that can match and even surpass the cosmic scope of the recent Infinity War movie, you’re definitely in for a treat here.

4 Celestial Executioners out of 5