Modern Comics Review: Avengers Academy #2

When all of the Avengers books were revamped after Marvel Siege storyline, I knew the one that I’d miss the most, at least on an emotional level, was Avengers: The Initiative. I may not have followed that book in its entirety, but what I did read was full of interesting characters that had real heart to them and a great focus spanning both The Initiative’s recruits and its instructors. Christos Gage’s writing was key to this and was so heartfelt, I really felt connected to a character named Butterball for the first time in my life (admittedly a rare situation but I digress). Therefore, I was excited when Marvel announced the coming of the spiritual successor to Avengers: The Initiative in Avengers Academy, also written by Gage. But after two issues, is this book the worthy successor I’d hoped for?

Well…yes and no. As before, Gage excels in making characters feel distinct and human but that doesn’t necessarily I’m enamored of all the characters. In The Initiative, even the new trainee characters all felt well-developed before they were developed and they were all great fun here. Here, I only get the feeling of his once great characterization from the Academy instructors, all previously established characters; I don’t, however, much care for the students at this point and it detracts from my enjoyment of the series thus far. This may be a little unfair of a statement as most of these characters have only been seen once before, but they all just come across as slightly annoying and stereotypical here. This could be justified in that they are all teenagers dealing with issues and they are just acting their age, but it still annoys, especially Finesse, who takes the role of narrator this issue. This issue was largely devoted to her minds inner workings, but it fell flat for me as she annoyed me more than anything.

To be fair though, as I said, this is only the second issue and there is plenty of room for these characters to grow into something unique and I hope this is the case. Gage truly nailed both Quicksilver and Hank Pym and made them the most interesting points of the book for me. The Quicksilver subplot that begins here has potential to be quite interesting and could even elevate Finesse as a character as well if handled correctly, so I hope to see this happen. Meanwhile, few other characters get much screen time, most noticeable of which is the complete absence of Speedball, a character I was personally hoping to see featured a bit more. Again, this can be something for future issues to work on.

While the story and characters weren’t quite as well realized as I’d hoped, they could improve. What really bothered me the most this issue, as well as last, was Mike McKone’s art. It seems I’m in the minority here, but I hate McKone’s art style. I’ve really tried to like his work in the past, but I just can’t. Everything in this book just feels very static and undetailed here. I don’t get any sense of motion and moods carry very poorly; scenes that should be tense just come off as people staring blankly. Bodies either seem to big or too small and seem to very in size, especially in adults and just makes everything seem a little unnatural and lumpy-looking. Despite my staring blankly comment however, I do have to say that McKone is occasionally able to convey faces well, most noticeably in making it apparent just how much disdain Quicksilver seems to have for everything and everyone around him. If his style works for you, then great for you and I hope you enjoy it, but it does nothing for me.

Two issues in, Avengers Academy isn’t quite the book I wanted it to be. I never wanted it to be Avengers: The Initiative with a new name and, to its credit, it isn’t, but it also hasn’t developed quite as fully as I wanted. It does, however, have infinite room to grow and hopefully it will do just that. With a little more focus on honing the personalities of each of the students and some time outside whatever training facility these characters seem perpetually stuck in, the book could really take off. Even though I think it’s a little early for a crossover, next month’s crossover with Thunderbolts may do just that, so I’ll stick around, put my faith in Gage and see where he can take these characters.

Overall: 7.5/10

Modern Comics Review: Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #1

It was only when Spider-Man/ Fantastic Four was announced that I’d ever even heard of the Spider-Man/ X-Men miniseries that Christos Gage had done previously so I had no idea what to expect out of this series. What I can say though is that this book had definitely made me want to check it out as this was one entertaining issue. This may not be the highest profile book of the week, but it surprised me and became one of my favorite.

The whole point of this book is to tell untold stories of Spider-Man and Fantastic Four team-ups at various points throughout the continuity of both and this first issue fits snugly into the continuity of the books here as the Fantastic Four are forced to protect Dr. Doom at a peace conference shortly after Ben Grimm had crushed Doom’s hands in a then-recent invasion of the Baxter Building. Since the peace meeting takes place at Empire State University during Peter Parker’s time as a student there, naturally Spider-Man become embroiled in the mess when Namor crashes the scene for a duel of honor with Doom.

Christos Gage sets up all of these scenes very well and nails each characters’ voice perfectly. As is to be expected, the Human Torch and Spider-Man have some of the greatest back and forth in all of comics and it all feels just right. There’s even a fun continuity gag that I particularly enjoyed when Johnny Storm burns off one of Spidey’s armpit webs. It’s all very fun and has the feel of a goofy, Silver Age story that seems like it could have been just a lost issue of either Spider-Man or Fantastic Four, just as it should. Gage even manages to set up an in continuity threat at the end of the book that is sure to pay off later on.

I have to say, at the beginning of the issue, I wasn’t really into artist Mario Alberti’s artwork, but it definitely grew on me as the issue went on, especially once the action starts. Alberti draws an amazing Human Torch and slender Spider-Man that look quite good. He is also able to render a classic feel and costumes excellently. His faces weren’t always great, especially on Namor, but luckily, they’re rarely the focus of a scene so it’s not a big problem. Ultimately, Alberti is able to pull off the issue is mostly the way I would want and I’m curious to see how he renders other villains as the story, and timeline, progress.

Overall, this was a surprisingly good issue that will definitely draw me back for succeeding issues. I always seem to underrate Christos Gage as a writer which is foolish as me as he only shows signs of improving. If you have even a passing interest in either the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man, you should definitely check this book out. Though it fits into continuity, you really don’t need to know any to enjoy this, though having some background only makes it that much more interesting. I’m excited to see where the upcoming issues go, especially with next issues apparent villain being Venom.

Overall: 8.3/10