Young Avengers #1

Thank goodness I bought a hard copy of this comic and didn’t buy it digitally. Jamie McKelvie’s art is a major draw for this book. He draws young, beautiful people doing amazing things. Seriously, half the cast spends time with their shirts off, in tank tops, or short-shorts. But you can’t label it as an eye-candy book, because McKelvie nails the action too. The whole Spider-Man sequence is a delight, with Hulkling doing a lot to move up my ranks of favorite characters (and I’m not partial to shape-shifters). 

The most striking visual aspect of the book is the action splash page. A few times during the issue, McKelvie lays out a double page spread of action, broken up by iconic phrases to give us a great read on the characters involved. Was that McKelvie’s idea or writer Kieron Gillen’s I’m not sure, but it works beautifully. I just worry that effect will be greatly weakened reading the title digitally. 

Kieron Gillen is rapidly becoming a favorite for me. This is a teenage drama book, and he writes it like one. The trappings of super-heroics are certainly here, but the focus of this book seems to be on relationships. The young love and family drama of Wickan and Hulkling seems to be driving the plot more than anything else. I will say, it does weird me out. Should a man in his –ahem- late 30’s be reading about teenagers? 

I’m thrilled about most of the lineup for the book too. While Kate Bishop doesn’t get to do too much, we know the character from elsewhere, I’m sure Hawkeye will be in good hands. Kid Loki is still a new idea for me, but seeing him interact with the new Miss America has me ready to go seek out his older appearances. And Miss America Chavez. She was the break out character of Vengeance, and I can only hope she continues her rise here. She’s got a wonderful look and fun personality. She needs to keep getting this exposure. 

Good