Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Uncanny Avengers #7


Thank goodness this comic is coming out. While the main Avengers title is wrestling with cosmic origin issues and ennui, this book delivers the hits. Red Skull! Grim Reaper! Apocalypse! The Horsemen of Apocalypse! Those are the types of problems that heroes solve by hitting them in the face! Let’s hear it for the Avengers!

Rick Remender must have mastered his Claremont 101 courses. This book has villain plotting, Celestials, and relationship building. How many books feature insane looking villains taking on the Celestials?

Amusingly enough, the two newest members of the Uncanny Avengers both strike out in their attempts to hook up with teammates. Wonder Man is still smitten over the Scarlet Witch, and Wasp continues her affection towards alpha males (in this case, Havok). Neither couple seems too close to getting together though; Wanda and Alex are some damaged goods!

I wasn’t sure if I liked the omniscient narrator caption boxes, but Remender officially won me over when he referred to Sunfire as the “solar samurai.” That narrator’s weighted tone makes the entire issue feel important. The neatest part of the trick is the way the narrator backs out of the panels when it is just characters talking. He doesn’t have anything to add when Wonder Man is pouring his heart out to Scarlet Witch. But when Sunfire and Cap are facing down a ramming Celestial starship? Let the purple prose flow!

Daniel Acuna brings a nice sense of continuity to the Celestials. I fell in love with his work on the Eternals series years ago, and he hasn’t lost his knack for the cosmic giants. They look fantastic. The designs for the Apocalypse Twins are fun too. All of the Horsemen look like a Jack Kirby designs used in a Guillermo Del Toro movie. (That’s a compliment!)

Excellent

No comments: