Avengers World #1 Review - Mobile Edition

Marvel Comics
Avengers World #1 Review
By Andy Frisk
January 19, 2014 - 01:07

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer
Penciller(s): Stefano Caselli
Inker(s): Stefano Caselli
Colourist(s): Frank Martin
Letterer(s): Joe Caramagna w/Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): John Cassaday and Lauran Martin

At this point, I am pretty much Jonathan Hickmaned out. His grand scale, cosmos spanning, world shaking, and slightly grandiose plots have pretty much run their course. The Avengers just defeated the Marvel U's version of Darkseid (again) and witnessed the loosing of the potential Marvel Studios cinematic replacement for "mutant" with a massive jump in the "inhuman" population, all under Hickman's storytelling direction. With Avengers World I thought that maybe Hickman (with the help of Spencer) would bring them back down to Earth a bit, figuratively as well as physically. While Avengers Word #1 does showcase The Avengers on Earth, it appears that the same grand scale, world shaking and slightly grandiose plots are here to stay.

I guess that's the point of The Avengers, as a franchise, now though. Truthfully, The Avengers AREN'T The X-Men thematically. X-Men are characters who seem to be stuck incessantly fighting amongst themselves while simultaneously fighting for their right to exist. The Avengers get down to the business of kicking bad guy butt and saving the world, galaxy, and universe on a regular basis. Why then do I long for some of that X-Men-like characterization where The Avengers, and particularly Avengers World, are concerned? I felt like I got a healthy dose of that signature Marvel everyman as superhero vibe in Marvel's The Avengers (2012), but have had a hard time finding it in the pages of the many Avengers titles now published monthly by Marvel Comics.

Honestly though, the image of Madripoor rising out of the sea on the head of a GIGANTIC dragon is pretty cool, and I guess that is good enough for most Avengers' fans. The threats are huge in Avengers World #1, and it looks like it's going to take the entire team to save the day again this time. So, for readers looking for some action and adventure on a grand scale, Avengers World just might be perfect for you. One thing about Avengers World that is just about perfect is Stefano Caselli's artwork. Realistically proportioned, highly detailed, and highly kinetic, Caselli's pencils and ink work easily matches the grand global scale of the story.

Almost assuredly to become yet another big hit in the short lived lifespan of "ongoing series" these days from Marvel Comics (seems like every series gets a reboot within a few years of their "ongoing" status since issue #1s just sell way better than issue #25s), Avengers World will undoubtedly bring the action. Whether it will bring interesting characterization (or interesting stories) remains to be seen.

Rating: 7/10