Avengers: The Origin #1
Written by Joe Casey
Art by Phil Noto
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by George Marston and Lan Pitts
Avengers: The Origin is a decent re-telling, that fits nicely into Joe Casey's previous "classic Avengers" mini-series (Earth's Mightiest Heroes 1 & 2, and Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin), offering some alternate views of the classic tale. The biggest complaint is that, at times, it gets a little too verbose for my taste. Lots of word bubbles scattered around. I like the art, but I feel like Noto fails to capture the essence of most of the Avengers. His Hulk looks too civilized, his Thor is too slim, and his Iron Man feels out of proportion. There is a possibility that Noto slimmed Thor to make Hulk look like a viable thread and not the muscle-bound god that Kirby once envisioned. On the other hand, if he wanted to make Hulk more of a threat to Thor, he should've made Hulk bigger instead of making Thor smaller.
Phil Noto's art has improved and isn't as stoic as his earlier works, and how he presented Iron Man and Thor's alter egos just seems less radical. I do like how Casey handled Jan and Hank and does a great job on that front.
The panel construction could have been fixed as well because it felt like there was a lot of things being blocked and cluttered at times. Casey should have just let the art speak for itself at some moments and pull back a bit.
The pacing needs to pick up a bit as well. Though it's intriguing to think how they will amp up the threat. In the original comic, the formation of the Avengers took place over a single issue. Though how much of the pacing issues are to be blamed on turning a single comic into several.
Obviously they're going to add more to the story, but will it be a matter of improving on it or just deviated to the point where it's just ridiculous and completely unbearable? Joe Casey is trustworthy on that end because he's done well with similar concepts in the past.
The update to Rick Jones, making him part of a counter culture group is interesting. It seems like they are revolutionaries...or Young Repbulicans, because that is a lot of fire power.
Overall, it's solid, but it has lots of room to grow by the end of the mini.
-------------
Robert Jordan's New Spring #8 (Published by Dynamite Entertainment; Review by Lan Pitts): Now here's something I thought I'd never see, the finished product of New Spring, which is the prequel to Robert Jordan's famed "Wheel of Time" series, yet here it is. Now I know that Dynamite means business with it's products and won't let the ball drop. This mini series just seems like ancient history to me, it's a shame Jordan can't be around to see it FINALLY in the fan's hands. Some of the art looks like it was done over and there's a sense of inconsistency to it in some places, but other than that, it's pretty standard stuff. Chuck Dixon again nails the adaptation of the book and I can't wait to see what else he has in store for us WoT fans. Now, I hope Dynamite reprints the rest of this mini because it is that hard to find and a bit pricey. The first issue alone goes for around $25 online.
-------------
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #7 (Published by Marvel Comics; Review by Lan Pitts): Tan Eng Haut is not Jerome Opena. And I mean that in every way possibly, besides the fact that they have both worked on this title. Where Opena had more of an action movie-oriented style, Tan has a more grounded and dare I say vanilla style. Perhaps maybe three panels out of the entire issue stood out. What a shame, too. Gregg Hurwitz does a great job again of spinning MK, as a street avenger, but the story is bogged down by a Deadpool appearance. I'm not a hater without merit, but it seems more like a product placement with DP in it than an actual first part of an arc. Just annoys because the book has had a good streak so far, but the art just took me out of the story. Hopefully, Tan will adjust his methods and not be so stiff.
No comments:
Post a Comment