The Avengers #502
Marvel Comics
Written by Brian Bendis
Art by David Finch
Review by Jared Benson
The Avengers continue to suffer deadly attacks from enemies with no seeming connection.
Bendis continues to destroy the Avengers in the arc appropriately titled Chaos. Up until this point there really has been little coherence to the arc that is supposed to destroy the Avengers. Many big things have happened for no real reason but this third issue in the arc finally gives us a hint that some single consciousness is controlling events to at least manipulating things.
So far weve seen a lot of the Avengers past catching up with them and its been tearing them apart. Ultron, Tonys drinking, Hanks wife abuse, etc. Now we get another great blast from the past as the Kree arrive to get a taste of the Avengers on their final day.
As the cover says, one of the pictured Avengers will die in the issue and they seemingly do. Was it done right? Perhaps. I didnt think the death was required as the plot set up as the individuals life wasnt in jeopardy enough to warrant a heroic sacrificial death but who knows. At any rate its done. Some fans of the Avengers will be annoyed, as I was, as I had always loved this character. Ill leave it to you to make your mind up on it.
Over all the issue was better than the first two for the reason I mention above. Things are starting to come together and feel like a story rather than a big meaningless series of explosive events. Still, for fans of Bendis writing, you wont find much in the way of his top-notch dialogue or character development in this tale. This is pure deconstruction making way for the new series in which we hopefully will get all the Bendis goods. Compared to his other works, this one has the feel of rushed, phoned-in work. Perhaps if he had more time and room to tell the story he could have fleshed out... anything? But as it is it's a very bare-bones 'event'.
Short of the shock value of a number of long-time Avengers being killed off, you could avoid this arc and not miss anything meaningful.
Artistically I was similarly unimpressed. Finchs art has been better I think but Ive never thought he has warranted the hype that Marvel is heaping upon his pages. He is anatomically sound in his rendering and his props and backgrounds are close to Jim Lee caliber but he is lacking variety in his facial work both male and female. Everyone of the same sex looks like the same person with the same single expression. Its so pervasive through his work that it can be distracting.
The Bottom Line: Big in shock value events but clinically deficient in character driven nutrients. Youll want to simply flip to the death, say oh it was and move on to better comics in your stack.
Marvel Comics
Written by Brian Bendis
Art by David Finch
Review by Jared Benson
The Avengers continue to suffer deadly attacks from enemies with no seeming connection.
Bendis continues to destroy the Avengers in the arc appropriately titled Chaos. Up until this point there really has been little coherence to the arc that is supposed to destroy the Avengers. Many big things have happened for no real reason but this third issue in the arc finally gives us a hint that some single consciousness is controlling events to at least manipulating things.
So far weve seen a lot of the Avengers past catching up with them and its been tearing them apart. Ultron, Tonys drinking, Hanks wife abuse, etc. Now we get another great blast from the past as the Kree arrive to get a taste of the Avengers on their final day.
As the cover says, one of the pictured Avengers will die in the issue and they seemingly do. Was it done right? Perhaps. I didnt think the death was required as the plot set up as the individuals life wasnt in jeopardy enough to warrant a heroic sacrificial death but who knows. At any rate its done. Some fans of the Avengers will be annoyed, as I was, as I had always loved this character. Ill leave it to you to make your mind up on it.
Over all the issue was better than the first two for the reason I mention above. Things are starting to come together and feel like a story rather than a big meaningless series of explosive events. Still, for fans of Bendis writing, you wont find much in the way of his top-notch dialogue or character development in this tale. This is pure deconstruction making way for the new series in which we hopefully will get all the Bendis goods. Compared to his other works, this one has the feel of rushed, phoned-in work. Perhaps if he had more time and room to tell the story he could have fleshed out... anything? But as it is it's a very bare-bones 'event'.
Short of the shock value of a number of long-time Avengers being killed off, you could avoid this arc and not miss anything meaningful.
Artistically I was similarly unimpressed. Finchs art has been better I think but Ive never thought he has warranted the hype that Marvel is heaping upon his pages. He is anatomically sound in his rendering and his props and backgrounds are close to Jim Lee caliber but he is lacking variety in his facial work both male and female. Everyone of the same sex looks like the same person with the same single expression. Its so pervasive through his work that it can be distracting.
The Bottom Line: Big in shock value events but clinically deficient in character driven nutrients. Youll want to simply flip to the death, say oh it was and move on to better comics in your stack.
