Friday, June 6, 2014

New Avengers: Infinity TPB

If I never hear the word “incursion” again, I will be a happy man. 

Honestly, that was the story on page 1 of New Avengers #1. These crossover issues aren’t even a good jumping-on point, since the main plot is still the same as it has been for months and months. 12 issues of this title alone and Hickman is dealing with this story in his other books too!

The best parts of this crossover involved Black Panther kicking butt in Wakanda, but unfortunately those aspects of the book are quickly passed by in favor of more incursion based weirdness. I’m not entirely positive, but did an alternate dimension version of the Builders come in during this story? How sad is it that I can’t even tell? There is too much talk of “superflows” “conduits” and then nonsense words that I don’t even understand.

The worst part of the story also involve Black Panther, along with Namor. Both characters are so degraded and shamed by the time the epilogue rolls around, I think this whole chapter in their histories is going to have to be ignored by future writers. Black Panther is cast out, king of a city of the dead but uninvolved with Wakanda. Namor is a coward who sold out his friends and surrendered. Blackbolt is depowered (and married to a ton of women, but that happened in another book). The rest of the Illuminati must continually consult Black Swan to have the plot explained to them. Ridiculous.

I know there are people enjoying this; it still sells quite a bit every month. But honestly? This book feels like techo-babble nonsense moving from plot point to plot point because it is written to do so. The characters do not sound or “feel” like themselves. In fact, I worry that some of what they are doing in these pages is damaging the characters.

Mike Deodato’s art is pretty solid, especially when drawing the Black Panther or Iron Man.


EVIL and POOR

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