The long-running Avengers series has come to a close. What should Marvel do now? Well, publish a bunch of Avengers comics, of course. There's not only this new limited series but a one-shot coming next week, and two new series New Avengers and Ultimates v.2 launching in December. Fortunately, this first of the new titles to emerge from the rubble of the original series is quite good, as Casey brings a mature tone to the origin of the team. One way to look at this book is like the deleted scenes from the original stories. The best thing this limited series has going for it, though, is some amazing artwork from Scott Kolins and Morry Hollowell.
In the wake of Loki the trickster god's attempt to use Earth's new heroes against his thunder-god brother, Thor, Iron Man suggests he and four other heroes -- Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp -- join forces in a permanent and formal manner in order to fight larger threats more effectively. There are some problems, though, not the least of which is the military trepidation over the Hulk's involvement and the Hulk's bad attitude. Hank Pym feels dwarfed by his colleagues' power, and Tony Stark is frustrated over his inability to control the team like he controls his corporate interests.
I've never seen the Hulk look better than he does here. Kolins's take on the character in this book is far better than the one we saw in Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours. His anger, bitterness and sheer bulk really make him stand apart from the rest of the characters. I love how cold and stoic Kolins's Silver Age Iron Man looks, especially in contrast with the far more expressive characters in whose company he finds himself. Avengers Mansion actually looks like a mansion, inside and out. Kolins's art here actually reminds me of the sort of expressiveness and detail one finds in Frank (We3, New X-Men) Quitely's work. Hollowell's colors add a lot to Kolins's sharp but stark line art. The muted, almost eerie tone of the Hulk's green skin color conveys the tension he represents. At other times, the colors really pop, such as the vibrant reds and yellows used when the sleeker Iron Man armor is unveiled later in the issue.
Casey barely uses Thor in this issue. Sure, he's present for the meeting and his holier-than-thou bluster is obvious. But he really doesn't do much in this issue. I found it a bit odd, as the other characters all spend some time in the limelight. The Wasp also comes off as a little vacuous, and Casey hints at Pym's future anger-management problems a little too overtly.
Casey takes an Astro City-like approach to the Avengers here, filling in the gutters from the original Silver Age stories to bring maturity and credibility to the concept and characters. One of the biggest antagonists in this issue is actually red tape, and that rings true. Iron Man's attempt to run a gathering of super-heroes like a board room full of executives also rings true, as does his dissatisfaction with the failure of his methods. 7/10
