New Avengers: Revolution Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Alex Maleev

Over the last few months I've been going through as many series I can, reviewing them in the form of trade paperbacks. One of the series I've been reviewing is The New Avengers, with this being my seventh review on Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers run, and my sixth on the series itself.

Plot

Clint Barton goes looking for the Scarlet Witch, and the now fugitive New Avengers head to Japan to save Maya Lopez from Elektra, and The Hand.

Review

This was an amazing story, and a terrific follow-up to the Civil War event. Brian Michael Bendis did a fantastic job of showing the aftermath of Civil War, and although it wasn't a very conventional way of starting, it became a brilliant story, that was both interesting, and exciting. This story was however not perfect, as although I enjoyed that Bendis took a issue out to do a bit of development from House of M, I didn't like how it followed suddenly throwing you into this new team, not even showing how they formed. I did however love the tine of the story, and found it extremely interesting how Bendis decided to use a variety of different storytelling methods throughout, making it feel very unique. I also really enjoyed the dialogue, as Bendis always seems to know what the characters should be saying, with it being extremely suspenseful at times, as well as humours when needed.

The art on this book was simply outstanding, with both the main artist, Leinil Francis Yu, and Alex Maleev who only worked on one issue both doing phenomenal jobs. I'll quickly get Maleev out of the way by stating that this was some of the best art that I've ever seen from him, as although he's done brilliant work on the likes of Batman, Daredevil, and Moon Knight, this has to rank in amongst his best artwork ever. Yu also did amazing artwork, as although not quite as good as his one issue during Civil War, it was still very highly detailed, also being very exciting, and dynamic. I did however feel that there was a little too much happening at times, which caused slight imperfections, though not enough to ruin the artwork overall. I also really enjoyed both Yu's layout, as well as the way he handled the action sequences, with both being very exciting, and dynamic, and overall he's amongst the best Avengers artists I've ever seen.

The first story in this book would see Clint Barton visiting Doctor Strange, searching for the Scarlet Witch. Clint was presumed dead following the events of Avengers Disassembled, but was brought back to life during House of M, and is wanting answers from the Scarlet Witch who is responsible for all of this. I loved that Clint was back, as he's a brilliant character, and should be a part of the Avengers. The story itself was also very interesting, as without going into too much detail, it basically showed how much House of M changed.

Following the changes that Civil War would cause, this story would see a new set of heroes going under the New Avengers name. Now I already mentioned how I disliked the way the characters were suddenly added, but the characters themselves were a nice addition to the team, and much like some of the surprise choices from the original New Avengers line-up, this would have some very interesting characters joining, with Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, and a new Ronin joining the team. I also loved how this would change the dynamic of the series as well, as given the set of characters that now make up the New Avengers it would leave the door open for new and unique directions for them to go in.

The other big change that Civil War would cause is the first time in Bendis' run that there would be two Avengers teams, as with the New Avengers now technically being fugitives, a government group called the Mighty Avengers would also be active, and at one point in this story both teams clash. The fight was amazing, and I loved how it continued the fight of morales without being a complete continuation of the Civil War. I also felt that there was some brilliant dialogue during the interaction, as although there wasn't a proper fight there was still a lot of tension, and excitement during these sequences.

There would however be some action in this story, as the New Avengers would take on none other than the Hand, who at the time were being run by Elektra. Now the Hand always brings excitement to a story, especially when they've got such a great leader like Elektra. The fight itself however was simply phenomenal, and everything you'd hope it'd be, and more. It also had great dialogue as well, with some very witty comments by certain characters. I was however not a huge fan of the jumping back and forward between this, and the confrontation with the Mighty Avengers, as although it keeps suspense, it also is slightly frustrating, though not enough to spoil the story.

Final Verdict

A superb continuation from Civil War, introducing some new members to the team. The story itself had some amazing development points, also having tons of suspense, and drama throughout. It was however not quite perfect, with a few minor details letting it down slightly. Nonetheless I'd still highly recommend this story, and especially to anyone who enjoyed Civil War, as it's a fantastic continuation, showing that the war isn't quite over (even though it technically was).

Rating: 8/10

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be Mighty Avengers: The Ultron Initiative.

New Avengers: Civil War Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Howard Chaykin, Leinil Francis Yu, Olivier Coipel, Pasqual Ferry & Jim Cheung

I read the crossover story Civil War, and planned on reading, and reviewing the tie-in novels that I had, and although I read them I never got round to reviewing them. I am however hoping to do that now, and am starting with the New Avengers tie-in volume, with this being my sixth review on Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers run, and my fifth from The New Avengers series.

Plot

When an accident starts a superhero Civil War, Captain America, and Iron Man are now enemies, and the rest of the New Avengers have to decide whose side they're on.

Review

This was a very good book, and although in general I'm not a huge fan of event tie-in's, due to their quality usually being much poorer than usual, this was actually really good, and one of the best tie-in books I've ever read (though to be fair it helps when you have a brilliant event in the first place). Brian Michael Bendis did a great job of showing the effect that the superhero Civil War was having on certain character's, and although some of these one-shot stories were better than others, they were all brilliant. This style usually doesn't work in my opinion, as although they give unique stories, they're usually all over the place, but luckily that didn't harm this book too much. The stories also had plenty of action, and emotion, showing that although each character had a certain view on the war, that they all didn't want to fight each other, which was nicely shown by Bendis.

With this story featuring five one-shot stories, the book would feature five artists, with Howard Chaykin, Leinil Francis Yu, Olivier Coipel, Pasqual Ferry, and Jim Cheung working on one issue each. I usually hate multiple artists on the same book, but with this being a collection of one-shot stories, as well as the fact that they're all great artists allows me to make an exception. The only artist who's work I wasn't a fan of was Chaykin, as although it wasn't terrible, I didn't like the way he drew Cap, feeling that his art was a little too rough. The artists that stood out however were Yu, Coipel, and Cheung, which were expertly detailed, with brilliant emotion being shown. They're individual layouts also added drama, and dynamic to their respective issues, and they all did a phenomenal job. Now I've not forgot Ferry, as although I'm not his biggest fan (with some of his previous work being terrible), I enjoyed his art on the issue he worked on, but felt that it couldn't compete with Yu, Coipel, or Cheung.

With this book having five individual storied I'll talk a little on how I felt about each one, starting with the first one which saw Captain America have to escape from a group of Capekillers. This was one of the weaker stories in this book, as although it was good, it wasn't brilliant. What I did like about this story however was how Falcon was involved, and how Captain America was wishing that he was still frozen in the ice, and that he didn't like the position that he was in. His, and Falcon's confrontation with Hank Pym was also interesting, and very entertaining, and overall this was a decent story.

The second story would see Iron Man pleading with Luke Cage to sign the Super-Human Registration Act, with Cage not wanting to be forced to become as he put it a slave. This wasn't the best issue in this book, but it was one of them, having some very interesting subjects, showing the morales that certain character's hold. The issue also had some explosive action, with Cap, Falcon, and Daredevil, also making an appearance. I also enjoyed the emotional tone to the story, with both Cage, and Jessica Jones wanting to look after their baby.

The third story would see Spider-Woman outed by Iron Man as a triple agent, and would also involve HYDRA. This was also amongst one of the better stories in this book, probably holding second spot with the last story that featured Cage. Besides the amazing art it showed how Spider-Woman is as a character, showing that she's just trying to do what she feels is the correct thing, whilst at the same time trying to stay alive. I also found it interesting how quickly Iron Man would betray Spider-Woman, as although he's not always a trustworthy person, especially due to the events of Civil War, I wouldn't have expected this. The story also had plenty of action as well, being very interesting, and exciting.

The fourth story would feature Sentry, and show him trying to avoid the Civil War, by meditating in space, being confront by the Inhumans. Like the Cap story, this was one of the weaker stories in this book, as although it was interesting, it was a little too slow in my opinion. At the same time, I once again liked seeing the conflict, and Sentry's probably the best character to show this in, as he's a confused, and misunderstood character, wanting peace. I also enjoyed his interactions with the Inhuman's, which was also interesting, though still didn't take away from the slow pace.

The final story in this book would see a former Stark Industries employee, named Kenny infiltrate Avengers Tower, taking down the security, as well as de-powering Iron Man's Armour. Now in my opinion this was the best story in this book, as although there wasn't a great deal of action, it had plenty of excitement, as well as suspense, and drama. What I really liked about the story however was that it showed how the Civil War effected normal people, with Kenny being upset about his designs being used to go against Captain America. I also felt that this story also had lot's of emotion, as well as some conflictive motives, also feeling that it was a unique, and brilliant way of ending the New Avengers tie-in's to Civil War.

Final Verdict

This was an amazing book, with a collection of some of the best event tie-in's that I've ever read. Now the book itself wasn't perfect, as with the stories being different, and varied, it left room for inconsistency, as although all the stories were good to a certain level, not all of them were phenomenal. The phenomenal ones were however outstanding, and the action, emotion, and drama combined between them was awesome. I'd highly recommend this book, but would obviously also recommend getting the main Civil War story either first, or to go with it.

Rating: 4/5

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be New Avengers: Revolution.

New Avengers: The Collective Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Mike Deodato Jr. & Steve McNiven

I've recently decided to go through certain Marvel series, with my Avengers novels and comics since Brian Michael Bendis started his near decade run being the main ones, re-reading, and reviewing them. I also plan on re-reading, and reviewing the Marvel events that come between these novels (Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege,Fear Itself, and Avengers Vs X-Men) as well as certain other series. This is now my fifth review on Bendis' Avengers run, and fourth from The New Avengers series.

Plot

A strange being (The Collective) crashes into a village in Alaska destroying it, and killing innocents at the same time. When S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempt to contain the situation (which include using Alpha Flight) fail, Maria Hill reluctantly has to ask the New Avengers for help, but can they beat this mysterious being?

Review

This was a brilliant story, and although it wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous stories in this series, it was still very good. Brian Michael Bendis did an excellent job on this story, and although overall it wasn't as high a quality of work as the previous stories, it still had a lot of positives, and was very enjoyable. The only problem I had with this story was the pace of the development, as although there was ton's of action, and excitement, the story itself developed a bit slowly. The story itself also didn't feel quite as deep as the previous ones, as it really appeared to be one huge sequence, and although it did chance scenery from time to time, overall it felt like one big continuous fight, with breathing room in the middle. The action as I was however very good, and added a lot of excitement, but the main positive for me in this story was the mystery over who this being is, as well as the rift between the New Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. (Maria Hill in particular). I also liked how Bendis used the secrets that the New Avengers have been keeping from House of M in this story, as well as the reference to the possible Super-Human Registration Act, and overall although this story wasn't outstandingly brilliant, it was still amazing.

This story was mainly drawn by Mike Deodato, Jr., who drew four out of the five issues, with Steve McNiven drawing the remaining issue. McNiven's issue opened the story so I'll talk about that first. I really enjoyed McNiven's art on New Avengers: The Sentry, as well as anything he's worked on, with Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Old Man Logan being the ones that have appealed to me the most. Anyway, his art on the issue he worked on was very detailed, and the emotion throughout was brilliantly handled. I also loved how he made the sequences look very dramatic in the way he laid them out, and overall his art was simply stunning, and I was happy to see him feature in this story. Deodato Jr.'s art was however phenomenal, and with someone like McNiven working on the starter issue it takes someone special to top that, and Deodato Jr.'s the man for that. Although they are both brilliant artists, they also both have different styles, and the reason that I love Deodato Jr.'s art more is that it's much more realistic, and detailed, as although McNiven's art is very detailed, and realistic, it's just not quite as detailed and realistic as Deodato Jr.'s is. Deodato Jr.'s also does a marvellous job of drawing the character's facial expressions, as you can really feel the emotion throughout. The layout of Deodato Jr.'s art was also brilliant, and just like McNiven's it added much more drama to the story. The only minor thing that I wasn't happy, or upset on about Deodato Jr.'s art was the way he drew Iron Man, as I neither loved, nor hated his rendition of Iron Man in this story, but I do know that it's not one of my favourites.

The centre of this story was revolved around a being, named the Collective that seemed to be unstoppable. I won't go into too much details about this beings characteristics, but I will say a minor thing about him, which is he appears to have many different powers. This was a very interesting thing to add to a character, and it was the perfect thing to put against the New Avengers, as with it being something unknown, as well as something that has many powers, it makes as a very tough, and serious opponent for the New Avengers. Besides this the mysterious nature behind this character was very interesting, as although they originally think he's an alien, he appears to be very human in appearance. Although I won't go into details about the things that were revealed about this character apart from what I've already said, I will say that once more stuff was revealed it made the story more interesting, the only sad thing was that the mystery itself wasn't as exciting as it could have been.

WARNING: SMALL SPOILER!

Alpha Flight also made an appearance in this story, all be it very brief. Although I loved there appearance, all be it small, I wasn't happy that most of the team died during this, as whilst trying to stop the Collective, they are killed. Although for this type of story there needs to be sacrifice, I personally felt it was an unjust death for Alpha Flight, as they are barely in the fight, and then die, which to me felt like a waste. It did however add a lot of shock and drama to the story, showing that the New Avengers have something big to deal with, but I still see it as a death that wasn't really fitting for a team such as Alpha Flight.

This story also showed a rift in the relationship between the New Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., and although since there formation they've not necessarily been on good terms, the secrets that the New Avengers are keeping about the House of M seem to be making that rift much bigger. The overall continuation of House of M in this story was brilliant, and although it was mentioned in the previous story it wasn't on as big a scale. I also liked that you see the kind of person Maria Hill is over this, as at one point she's more concerned about finding out about House of M than stopping the Collective. The way that the New Avengers also tried to keep as much from Hill, and S.H.I.E.L.D. as they could also showed that they didn't trust them, which was interesting.

The fights between the New Avengers, and the Collective, whether with the New Avengers members working alone, or together was brilliant, and very exciting. The fights that I personally saw as the most interesting were when Ms. Marvel (who was helping the New Avengers out), Iron Man, and the Sentry took turns at fighting the Collective on there own. I won't go into details about the fights as to avoid spoilers, but I will say a little about the Sentry's attempt. I've always seen the Sentry as the most powerful person on the earth, so to see someone able to fight him like his equal was interesting, and surprising, as when Sentry got involved I thought the fight would be over in no time.

This story also saw appearances from the Vision, and Daisy Johnson. With the history Vision has with the Avengers I was ecstatic to see him make an appearance, and although it wasn't necessarily his best appearance, it was still nice. I also really enjoyed seeing Daisy Johnson make an appearance as I really enjoyed her in Secret War, and have also found the character interesting in other series'. I mainly found it interesting that during this story she thought that Captain America wanted her to become a member of the New Avengers, picking her superhero name as Quake, a name that she'd later use. Although I don't want to say too much more about these appearances as to avoid spoilers, it was very nice to see them appear, as with a story that needs a lot of characters to work, it would be stupid not to involve these two characters.

Final Verdict

Although technically the weakest story in the first four New Avengers stories, this was still an amazing story. The story itself also had a very good mysterious background, and the action was very exciting, but at the same time the story didn't quite hit the mark, as it was a bit slow, and didn't have as much depth as the previous stories. I would however still highly recommend this story as it was still very entertaining, and well worth the read.

Rating: 4/5

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be New Avengers: Civil War.

Before that however I'll be reviewing Civil War itself.

New Avengers: Secrets and Lies Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: David Finch, Frank Cho, Rick Mays

Recently I've decided to go through my Avengers graphic novels, and comics since Brian Michael Bendis started his long run in the various titles, reviewing them as well, and plan on reading and reviewing the events that happen in between (Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege, Fear Itself, and Avengers Vs X-Men). This is now my fourth review Bendis' Avengers run, and third from The New Avengers series.

Plot

Captain America tries to get Daredevil to join the team, and help them capture Silver Samurai, but still not wanting to put them in danger he puts Cap in touch with someone who has the same skill sets as him, and the question becomes, who is Ronin? Also Spider-Woman secrets come out.

Review

This was an amazing story and although the last volume was probably slightly better, this one wasn't far off. Brian Michael Bendis once again produced the goods, and like the previous two volumes in this series, this was an amazing story. Technically this was two stories in one book, but both stories kind of merged together, as the end of the first one set-up the second one. Either way they were both good, and I loved that the mystery that's been though the series has continued, as well as it getting revealed. Now Bendis run on Avengers in general gets a lot of criticism, and although I personally like his run as a whole, I can understand why people feel this way, as most of his work after the start of The Heroic Age was poor, and some even before that, but I still prefer to remember the good times, as there were plenty of them. Anyway, besides the mystery factor that hanged over this volume as a whole, it still contained plenty of action, and emotion, and although it wasn't quite as emotional as the previous volume, it still had plenty of it, and Bendis knew exactly when to put it in, which was brilliant. I also liked how Bendis showed the team spirit in this volume, both out in the field against The Hand, and in Avengers Tower prior to there press conference, and I really liked the way he also continued to show the different characteristics, and personalities of the team.

This volume saw three artists working on it, with David Finch returning to make his final contribution to the series in the first story, Frank Cho making his first contribution with the second story, and Rick Mays who's art from Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1 featured in between. I'll start from the start with Finch, who I was happy to see return, even though I preferred Steve McNiven's art on the last volume. I've really liked Finch's art throughout the stories he's featured on, an although he's not the best artist on things like facial features, he can't half draw an epic action sequence. The dramatic tone of his artwork is also brilliant, as it really makes the art feel more alive, and exciting. I also love the way he lays out his artwork, as it also make the story more dramatic, and exciting. Overall Finch's art is brilliant, and although he has his small problems, like facial expressions, he makes up in other areas, and his art as a whole is outstanding. I'll next talk about Mays, an artist who's work I don't really know much about. I won't go into detail on this as it didn't really take up much of the volume, but I will say that I wasn't a fan. Mays' art appears to suit the more fun style stories, and although you could say that this was fun in some ways, it was also serious at times, and Mays' art didn't suit that. I also didn't like how he drew the character's emotions, as it looked too unrealistic, and although I feel that's the aim of his artwork, it's just not for me. I finally get to my favourite artist working on this volume, Cho. I've really enjoyed Cho's art over the years, so seeing it in this book was amazing, and the art itself was nothing short of stunning. The detail was simply outstanding, as everything looked amazing, and perfect, even the small details. I also much preferred how he re-drew one of the sequences Mas' drew in the Spider-Woman story, as it looked much more realistic, and dramatic. I also loved how Cho drew all the characters as everyone looked amazing besides the Sentry, who just looked a little odd, and not the powerful godlike character that he is. Overall Cho's art was phenomenal, and easily the best in the volume.

The first story sees the New Avengers travel to Japan to capture the Silver Samurai, but get more than they bargained for. I've loved how Bendis has continued this story true to the way it started, and how he's been able to give some interesting stories along the way. Although the main story itself in this wasn't overly interesting, the action during, and the story that was getting developed in the background with HYDRA, the Hand, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was, and it made this one of the most intersting, and unique conspiracy stories that I've read in comics. Now it's not the best conspiracy story, not by a long shot, but the suspense throughout, and the curiousness I have whilst reading it makes it very dramatic. I also liked how we saw a confused, and slightly conflicted Silver Samari in this story, as it made a change from the serious, and deadly one that we usually see, and although I would have still liked to have seen him in action, it was nice how he was used in this story.

It was revealed in the first volume of this series that Spider-Woman was working for someone else, and this volume reveals who. I don't know if any other series had said who Spider-Woman was working for, and although I knew anyway, having read later issues this is the first time I think it's properly revealed in this series. I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't know, but I will say how I felt on the sequence where Spider-Woman talked to the person. It was very dramatic, and suspenseful, and you could really see the difference in characteristics, as well as the timidness, and conflict in Spider-Woman, which was very interesting. I also liked how this added to the mystery that I talked about in the previous paragraph, and it builds more tension up in the series, and when I first read it, it made me want to find out more, which was brilliant.

Who is Ronin? This new mysterious character featured in the first story, and when I first read through this is what I kept thinking, and that was the whole idea. I won't reveal who it is for anyone who knows nothing about this character, story, or anything related (people who've read the story, or know the character will know anyway), but I will say how I felt this time round, and how it compared to my original read. First time through this was a total mystery, and even when it was revealed I still didn't know who it was, as I hadn't seen them before. After reading it again it's more obvious, obviously, but it was still slightly suspenseful, and dramatic. I did however have more questions, as there were things about the character in this persona that I felt was questionable, as now that I know more about the character there were just things that felt odd. I wont mention specifics as I'm sure it will give it away, but anyone that wants to know more leave a comment and I'll PM you.

The middle story from Giant-Sized Spider-Woman although slightly interesting wasn't really needed, as it was retold throughout the second story, but it was nice to see it in more depth before hand, and it gave more impact to the second story, as it gave more background, enhancing the emotions within, although you could still skip it.

The second story featured heavily on Spider-Woman's secrets, and how the public would react to the New Avengers. I already talked a bit about Spider-Woman's secrets in a previous paragraph, but seems they're two different stories, and two different circumstances, I felt that I'd expand on it. Again I won't give away spoilers, as it'd defeat the purpose of avoiding them before, but again I will say how I felt. This was much more dramatic, and shocking than what was learned earlier, and it made for a brilliant twist to the overall story. Although the secret itself was the most interesting thing in this story, seeing Captain America grilling Spider-Woman for information was brilliant, and I loved how you could see the conflict within her. Overall this secret was what interested me the most in this volume, and I look forward to reading more (even though I know what happens).

The final issue also featured Ms. Marvel, visiting the New Avengers prior to the press conference What I liked most about her appearance was that her thoughts was in the form of a blog, which was very unique, and a clever addition from Bendis. I did however find it a bit mean that he didn't allow her to have any comments on it, as I'd have thought a superhero's blog would have ton's of hits, and comments. Anyway besides this I liked her appearance as it showed the transition between old, and new, as although she was offered a place on this new team, she understands that it's a new time, and change is needed, and that she needs to be a solo hero, which was brilliant.

Final Verdict

This was an amazing volume, with two amazing stories, that merged together nicely. Although both stories were very different, with one being mainly action based, and the other being more emotional, they both were very mysterious, and I loved the way Bendis handled that, as well as the way he revealed the mystery, whilst also leaving some doors closed. I would highly recommend this volume, as although Bendis' run on Avengers has had bad criticism overall, it started amazingly, and had ton's of brilliant moments, with this being one of them.

Rating: 5/5

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be New Avengers: The Collective.

New Avengers: The Sentry Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Steve McNiven

I've decided to go through my Avengers graphic novels, and comics since Brian Michael Bendis started his long run in the various titles, reviewing them as well, and plan on reading and reviewing the events that happen in between (Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege, Fear Itself, and Avengers Vs X-Men), and certain other series as well (Captain America and Thor being the main ones). This is now my third review on Bendis' Avengers run, following my reviews on Avengers Disassembled, and New Avengers: Breakout.

Plot

Iron Man brings the Illuminati (Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic, Professor X, Black Bolt, and Namor) together to discus the Sentry (Robert Reynolds). Iron Man, along with Captain America, and S.H.I.E.L.D. go to find the Sentry, whilst the rest of the New Avengers deal with one of the escaped supervillains, Wrecker.

Review

This was a fantastic book, and a brilliant continuation to the series. This is actually my first time reading this story, as although I now own all of Bendis' Avengers run in one form or another, I've only been able to get this volume and New Avengers: Siege recently (this was another reason for going through the run from start). Anyway, Brian Michael Bendis has done an amazing job on this story, and has continued the series brilliantly, putting the final piece of the original assembly together. The previous two stories in Bendis' run have been very much action packed, and although this story has it's fair share of action, it's mostly an emotional story, re-introducing the Sentry properly, and developing who he is as a character, which was brilliant, ans something I found really interesting, especially considering I was a fan of him throughout Bendis' run. I also loved the way Bendis included all the additional characters, and that there was a big mystery over they're relationship with the Sentry, which was brilliant, and really made the story more emotional, and unique. It was also nice that despite the fact that this story was mainly centred around Sentry, it still felt like a team book, and that this was only necessary to make the team whole.

This book was the first in Bendis' run not to feature art from David Finch, and although Finch would return later for another few issues it became apparent that this series would be getting a different artist. The art on this story was from Steve McNiven, and he did a marvellous job, and although it's not the best art I've seen from him, it's still amazing, and I much prefer it to Finch's (although I still like FInch's). I've really enjoyed McNiven's art over the years, especially on the likes of Civil War, Captain America, Old Man Logan, and most recently Guardians of the Galaxy, and always love seeing his artwork. The detail in McNiven's artwork is simply amazing, and although there's really minor imperfections, it's genuinely fantastic, and really makes the story come alive. I also love the way he draws the character's facial expression, as again although there are minor imperfections it's brilliant, and really shows a lot of emotion, and depth. The way McNiven laid the artwork out was also fantastic, and it, along with the way he drew the character's really gave a lot more drama to the story, which I loved. I was however still slightly annoyed with the way the interior of Iron Man's suits been drawn, with it having the look of him standing at a huge monitor, and although I know this has been done by many artists (Finch did it in Disassembled), it still annoy's me, as it's very unrealistic, but at the end of the day that's probably a writers fault. Besides that the art was phenomenal, and although I didn't like the unrealism of that it still looked amazing.

Although this story was about the introduction of the Sentry into the New Avengers, as well as exploring his past, it also featured the Illuminati for the first time. Although I'd never really read a lot about the Illuminati until they became the main team in the newest New Avengers series, I still enjoyed seeing them crop up every now and then, and find the concept of a group of individuals that collect to discuss the worlds problems is brilliant, and was happy to see their first appearance (comic wise as they were meant to be around since the Kree/Skrull War). The collection of characters itself is brilliant, and although I question why Black Bolts a member (he can't speak without destroying things) I find the rest quite interesting, as they are all intelligent character's, that fill all the social groups. This story they talk about the Sentry, basically acting as a stepping stone to the whole story, and although they don't really do much, I still liked seeing their first appearance, as they had brilliant moments after that.

As I said the way Bendis' introduced Sentry into the series was brilliant, and although he technically introduced him in the previous volume, this was his proper introduction, as it developed him much more, and explored the mystery of his characteristics much more. In this story Bendis made it so that no one remembered who the Sentry was, and that it appeared that he was nothing more than a comic book character to everyone. I haven't read any of the Sentry's solo series, only reading him in the Avenger series, and the odd series he's make a guest appearance but did I felt this was very interesting, as despite leaving mystery to the overall story, it gave a fresh slate to introduce the character, especially to newer readers of the character. I did however also like that this story featured Paul Jenkins, the creator of the Sentry as a character, who in the story tells the Sentry that he created him in a comic series. I loved this as it acknowledged that Jenkins created the character, but at the same time made it a brilliant opportunity to develop his background, using the fact that he was a comic character as a fantastic way of showing this. I also loved that there was a comic shown within the story that was supposedly drawn by Sal Buscema, and although this art probably was drawn by him, it was still a nice addition, as both Sal, and his late brother John Buscema are true legends.

Whilst Captain America, Iron Man, and S.H.I.E.L.D. went to find Sentry, the rest of the New Avengers were dealing with Wrecker, who went to a rich collector's house in Long Island to get his gear back. This was a brilliant sequence, as it didn't only give some brilliant action, it also showed that there are still criminals loose, and although getting the Sentry on board may seem like the top priority, rounding up the supervillain criminals is still as important. The fact that this time it was the Wrecker was also brilliant, as despite Wrecker having a history with the Avengers, it also showed the difference between old, and new, as he looked much more dated than the New Avengers, and kept talking about how he wrecked the Avengers (original Avengers), and this also kind of showed that he was stuck in the past. The main thing however I liked about this sequence was that it showed the New Avengers working as a team, and although they mostly made solo attempts to stop the Wrecker, I loved it when they eventually worked together.

As I said earlier this story featured a lot of supporting characters, as despite the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Inhumans went to try and help Robert find who he is. They're appearance itself wasn't actually as good as you'd think, as although they fight the Void in a exciting battle, it is Emma Frost who does the more interesting thing, as she goes into Robert's mind to try and help him find who he is, and regain his powers. I won't go into any more details as to avoid spoilers, but this was very interesting, and the sequence was very emotional, as you could easily tell that Robert was both worried and scared of the Void, as well as being confused over his past, which although emotional, was also very dramatic.

This book also featured The New Avengers: Most Wanted Files, which is fact file of all the supervillains that were released during Blackout. This was a nice we addition, as it gives some brilliant background info on these characters (some that I'm not too familiar with), which was nice, and the additional notes from certain New Avenger members was also a nice unique touch.

Final Verdict

This was a brilliant story, and Bendis did a marvellous job of continuing his run, with this very emotional story that re-introduces Sentry, whilst also exploring his past. Besides being emotional, this was also a very interesting story, and also had some brilliant action sequences drawn by McNiven. This story also featured the Illuminati for the first time, and although they didn't do too much, it was nice to see their first appearance. I would highly recommend this story, as it was truly brilliant, and although Bendis's run on Avengers was inconsistent near the end, the star was amazing.

Rating: 5/5

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be New Avengers: Secrets and Lies.

New Avengers: Breakout Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Finch

I've been trying to go through my graphic novel collection, re-reading, and reviewing certain series', and the most recent series I've decided to review is all my Avengers since Brian Michael Bendis started his long run on the various teams, and I plan on reviewing all that I have, and any of the Marvel events that come along the way. This is now my second Avengers review following my review on Avengers Disassembled.

Plot

Daredevil (Matt Murdock), along with Luke Cage, and Foggy Nelson have arrived at The Raft to visit the Sentry (Robert Reynolds), and are getting shown round the huge supervillain prison by Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), but during that Electro starts a breakout that results in a huge fight that also involves the hero's already at the Raft, plus Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man , which also allows 42 prisoners to escape. After this Captain America manages to gather all the hero's involved in the fight, bar Daredevil, and Sentry, forming the New Avengers.

Review

This was a brilliant book, and one of the best opening stories I've ever read, especially from an Avengers title. Brian Michael Bendis has done a fantastic job in continuing from where he left of at the end of Avengers Disassembled, whilst also showing that there has been some time in between. As I said in my review for Avengers Dissasembled, there was a lot of controversy around the changes that Bendis was making, and I'm sure most of them fans would either be going into this story as a sceptic, and most likely finish disliking it, but I personally felt that it was one of the best things that could have happened for the Avengers, and although a lot of people consider Bendis' run on the Avengers as inconsistent (me included), I still think that it was a brilliant run, and there were a lot of great moments, with this being one of the better ones. What I liked more about this story to Disassembled was that it had more depth to it, as Disassembled was basically just a huge action packed story, showing the demise of the Avengers, with not a great deal of background for the better part, and although I still liked that, this story having so much depth, and development throughout makes it so much better, and the way Bendis gradually brought all the pieces together, whilst also paying a small homage to the original team coming together (in The Avengers #1) was nice, and really made this story special.

The artist from Disassembled, David Finch also continued working on Avengers with Bendis in this new series, and his art was simply phenomenal. I've always liked Finch's art, especially on Justice League of America, Ultimate X-Men, and Batman: The Dark Knight, and although there's usually at least one thing that bugs me about his art, in general I love it. l Although I loved the way Finch drew the spectacular action sequences in Disassembled, I much preferred his art in this story, as it was much more dramatic, and overall gave the right tone that the story needed. The main thing that I didn't like about Finch's art in Disassembled, and the thing that's one of his downsides in general is the way he draws facial expressions, as they can sometimes look awkward, and unrealistic, but this time not as much, as although there was still the minor expression that looked weird, overall most of it was brilliant, and much better than Disassembled. Although there wasn't quite as much action in this story, as opposed to Disassembled, it didn't mean that the art on them sequences was any less phenomenal, as in a way they were even better. I also loved the way Finch drew the scenery, as with the main catalyst of this story being set on an island, during a storm it needs to be fantastic, and Finch did more than that, as it looked nothing short of epic, giving the perfect tone for the story. The other thing that I didn't like about Finch's art was the way he drew Matt Murdock, as if it wasn't for the dialogue and the fact that Foggy Nelson's with him I could easily mistake him for Cyclops.

With the main catalyst of this story being the breakout itself, I thought I'd talk about that next. What I liked most about this was that it wasn't your typical villain that was used to create the breakout, and although Electro is a big time player in Spider-Man comics, I can't really recall him having anything huge to do with the Avengers (besides this obviously). To be honest he's probably the best person for this type of job, as who better to break someone out of a high tech prison than someone that can travel through electricity, and use it at his will, as it'd be easy for him to turn the power off. Also having the series start with over 40 supervillain prisoners breaking out of the Raft is brilliant, as although it would have made putting them there in the first place redundant, it does allow a realistic way to release them back into the open, giving more characters to play around with in the future. Plus it also makes for a good reason to have the Avengers back on a permanent basis again.

The bringing of the Avengers together in this series was brilliant, and the only time I felt more excited about a new Avengers team was when I first read Dark Avengers. What I liked most was that most of this teams members had never been Avengers prior, either that or not for very long, and although you needed the likes of Captain America and Iron Man to give structure to this team, having so many new members was brilliant, and seeing them work together was even better. As I said earlier, I really liked how Bendis took homage to how this Avengers was formed, by mirroring how the original team came together, and this was probably the best apart about this story, as it was very dramatic, and also had fun moments, making for a truly epic story.

There was a sequence with the New Avengers together talking, and getting to know each other, which I felt was brilliant. I was debating over whether or not this was a spoiler, but as it doesn't really reveal any of the plot development, and the fact that the story's almost a decade old, I felt that it'd be safe. Anyway the most significant thing about this meeting was that it marked the opening of Avengers Tower, which has been the key meeting spot for most Avengers team since. After the destruction of Avengers Mansion in Disassembled, what better way of given the Avengers a new meeting spot as a skyscraper, basically upgrading the Mansion to a more modern style of building. Anyway I'll finish this part of the review by saying my favourite thing about the meeting, and that was the discussion between Spider-Man, and Spider-Woman. This was a very fun, and entertaining conversation, and I loved how Spider-Man, like his jokey self, talks about her letting other people use the Spider name, saying that he wouldn't have allowed her to use it otherwise. Anyway it's better if you read it yourself, but this was very entertaining, and Bendis in general writes both characters brilliantly, having also written them fabulously in the past.

This issue also planted seeds for things to come, and although I won't mention them, as to avoid spoiling it for people who know nothing of the series, I will say that although I recognised them the first time, it's much more noticeable with each additional read through (although that's expected). Anyway the first time I read through this series I didn't read up on any of the stories, so went in with no knowledge, as if I was reading them when they were released, and I found the mystery in these teasers was brilliant, and finding out how it developed was even better, but I won't go into any more detail.

Final Verdict

This was a phenomenal start to what would become a brilliant run on the Avengers, even if it was inconsistent at times (mainly after the start of The Heroic Age). This was a very dramatic, and entertaining story, and both Bendis, and Finch did a fantastic job on it, giving one of the best opening Avengers stories I've ever read. I would highly recommend this, as even if you didn't like Bendis' work on Avengers near the end, I'm sure that you'll love this.

Rating: 5/5

The next Avengers book I'll be reviewing will be New Avengers: The Sentry.