Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Avengers #2 Review

By Alexander Jones
December 20, 2012 - 19:19

Jonathan Hickman is nothing if not ambitious and his Avengers run so far is no exception. That being said the none of the talent on this current story arc of Avengers is slacking from Dean White to Jerome Opena this issue is a treat to look at. In some comic books the colors of Dean White do not suite the story or the particular artist. For instance John Romita JR. colored by Dean White is sparse, strange, and ultimately just hollow. Jerome Opena is an artist that relishes in the grand vast spaces pulled together by the colors of White. Jerome has many strengths but also excels at the incredibly important job of rendering many Avengers on panel at once in a satisfying way. The way the villain Ex Nihilo is drawn is a strange but beautiful rendering. When thinking of the character the first thing that comes to mind is a stark elegant yellow. While the first thing you may notice about this issue of Avengers is the gorgeous artwork the second thing you will notice is the stunning writing.

The recap page alone is really the first part of the story. Although it is recycled artwork it still has an interesting shade of blue on it that warrants the attention of the eye. Not only that but it leads into a flow chart of Avengers that longtime Avengers fans will be left guessing in order to finish filling the comic in. The first part of the book centers on giving an origin story to the villain known as Ex Nihilo. The new villain touches on the idea that his name stands for making ”something out of nothing” in latin. Ex Nihilo goes to different universes and evaluates whether the creatures he meets there are fit or unworthy of his standards. If the creatures are unworthy he then speeds up the evolution process through artificial means. This may prove to be a strong issue because Nihilo is not fond of humans so far after meeting the Avengers and beating them senselessly with relative ease.

The rest of the issue centers on a meeting between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers discussing the future of the Avengers. It is a flashback to the past and a tried and true concept of putting a huge team together. While issues like this frustrate some the motivation of each character joining the Avengers should be appreciated. Something that will interest most readers is the strange elusive Avengers machine in which the characters spoke of. A clever reader might refer back to this specific arc of Avengers being called Avengers world and wonder if the Avengers machine ties into the idea or story arc. While many fun character moments are had this issue slowed things down a bit and smelled the roses of the first issue. However there is no need to worry until next month. For now enjoy this era of Avengers written and drawn by forward thinking people.

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12