Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of Avengers from Marvel Comics!
It isn’t exactly the best time to be a super hero in the Marvel Universe these days. After the events of Armageddon, things have changed forever. But what happens if things change even more? Let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics
Avengers #1 by Chip Zdarsky (Writer), Marco Checchetto (Artist & Cover), Matt Wilson (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer) & Matt Milla (Cover)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
Chip Zdarsky has been on such an incredible run with Marvel recently would be a massive understatement. Between his work on Captain America & Armageddon, everything he’s done has been some of the best work of the entire year. After what went down during the events of Armageddon, I had some high expectations for this series. So did it live up to expectations?
Right at the start, I’m gonna recommend that you’re caught up on the most recent issues of Captain America & The Amazing Spider-Man. There are some story aspects from those stories that are going to play an issue into this series early on. So it’s only the first issue but right now I would have to say that it not only lives up to the expectations, but exceeds them. Chip does a fantastic job bridging the gap from what’s going on in multiple stories and converging into this one.
I loved the way he was able to set the story up and really pull you in right from the start. It doesn’t start off with a crazy event that leaves you wondering how you got there. Rather it brings in each of the pieces of the chess board and begins the game. There is a level of mystery to it, which plays off incredibly well by the end.
If you’re caught up on Captain America, you shouldn’t be totally caught off guard by it. I was a little bit, but more so in a “it slowly dawned on me” type of way. It really sets up for an incredible story and I can’t wait to see where this goes. It also feels like they’re setting up for something bigger. Could it be the next big event from Marvel? Perhaps. However only time will tell.
The Artwork
Marco Checchetto & Matt Wilson are in charge of the artwork for the issue and I was really impressed with the work they did in the issue. The art has a different feel to it than other issues on the stands right now. Even when compared to the Captain America & Armageddon series this artwork feels like it’s a few steps above those ones. They’re still great art wise, but this is the Avengers on the title. I really liked the designs of some of the new characters we were introduced to in the issue, it really stood out as stunning visually and impressive. Overall, as good as the story is the artwork is just as good and stands out as some of the best in the entire industry right now.
Overall Grade: 9/10
As far as first issues go, this one is as strong as they come. A gripping story that will leave you wanting more, together with artwork that is spectacular this is an issue that you absolutely cannot miss out on!
