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MARVEL MANGAVERSE: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! #1
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Ken Siu-Chong
Artists/Colors: Alvin Lee, Arnold Tsang, Omar Dogan & Shane Law
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Brian Smith
Price: $2.25 US/3.50 CAN |
Aside from the letters, the crew from Udon Studios handle all of the creative aspects of this book, but it certainly doesn't make for a too-many-cooks scenario. There's a nice cohesiveness to the book, but ultimately, the cliched characters -- both heroic and villainous -- and simplicity of plot make for a fun and light read, but not a compelling one.
A gigantic hulking monstrosity is about to decimate New York City, and only the Avengers -- Captain America, Hawkeye, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch, led by the head of Tony Stark -- can save the day. But first they must retrieve powerful weapons created by Stark for such an eventuality. Along the way, though, they must contend with the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse -- the White Queen, Juggernaut, Sinister and Archangel -- who aim to retrieve the powerful machines for their master.
The rich texture and almost ghostly nature of Udon's colors really the art apart from what we see in most comics today. The characters designs are a lot of fun as well, especially the villains. But there's also an alien quality to the characters, settings and other visual elements. It's fanciful, but there's nothing all that down-to-earth to any of it either.
Characterization in this book is pretty superficial, but to be fair to the folks at Udon, they don't have a lot of room to work with here. The emphasis is on action, so we don't have time get a clear picture of who these characters are. Pitting the Avengers against X-Men villains was a smart move, though. I also loved the origins of the descriptions of the Ultimate Iron Man's various abilities.
If one were to think about the plot too much, one realizes that it doesn't hold up. The Hulk is ravaging New York, so the Avengers travel halfway across the world to retrieve weapons? And battle the Horsemen? And then a huge Apocalypse? The timing of it all just doesn't make much sense.
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