World Famous Comics: New Avengers, Vol. 6: Revolution (v. 6)
New Avengers, Vol. 6: Revolution (v. 6)
By: Brian Michael Bendis Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: December 05, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: The New Avengers versus the Hand! And the New Avengers versus the Mighty Avengers! And the identity of the new Ronin revealed! Who is the new mystery player in the New Avengers? Find out here! Guest-starring the Mighty Avengers and... Brother Voodoo! Plus: the story Avengers fans have been waiting for. The shocking return of Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch!! Collects New Avengers #26-31.
Mostly a transition By itself, this is too much action and not much story....never thought I would utter those words. However, there are some important pieces here that bridge "House of M"-"Civil War"-"Secret Invasion". More than anything, this feels like a transition book that doesn't really fit together as a book.
It ain't over 'til it's over... "The New Avengers, v.6: Revolution" ------------------------------------------------- Gathering issues #26-31, this volume is a postscript to Marvel's "Civil War" plotline, with the rebel remnants of the Avengers carrying on after Captain America has been killed... Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Doctor Strange and a handful of others are on the run, with Iron Man and his government-backed posse hot on their heels. Although I'm not wowed by the artwork (Alex Maleev does a fine one-shot episode with Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch, the rest of the book is illustrated by Leinil Yu, whose composition supports the story, but whose adds scraggly details that sometimes obscure the characters features of distort their faces...)
Anyway, the artwork is fine -- it's functional if occasionally distracting -- but the real fun comes in the story, with Brian Michael Bendis finally back in the zone. We get a lot of Luke Cage, which is what I've been waiting for the whole time, and Spidey is still fun in a group setting. Bendis doesn't seem to have much of a handle of (or perhaps interest in) Wolverine, and although Jessica Jones gets a lot of time onscreen, much more could be done with her character. These are all just quibbles though -- this was an enjoyable volume, and the series seems to be gaining momentum. The ending -- key to the upcoming Skrull-related "Secret Invasion" story arc -- actually comes as a real zinger. Let's hope Bendis can keep the quality up in future volumes! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)
Interesting Art and Inspired Narrative Technique I really enjoyed this volume of New Avengers. The title gets a bit of a shake-up after the events of Civil War with a revamped, underground Avengers team featuring a black-suited Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Woman and the welcomed additions of Iron Fist, Dr. Strange and Ronin (a much-missed old friend wearing new duds).
The volume begins with beautifully rendered art by personal-favorite Alex Maleev. (Wonderful to see Bendis and Maleev together again!) I don't want to spoil anything for you, but this tale in particular focuses on a long-missing Avenger and his search for a former teammate. Consequently, he doesn't quite find what he's expecting. Writer Brian Michael Bendis delivers a simplistic story invoking powerful characterization and potent emotion.
The rest of the volume features art by Leinil Yu and the new New Avengers. Yu's art is a conundrum for me. It's not particularly pleasing to the eye, yet it is absolutely charismatic and captivating. Yu is adept at delivering interesting angles and frames while cleanly progressing the story. I find myself studying each and every one of his drawings perhaps more than any other comic book artist in recent memory.
I'd also like to congratulate Brian Michael Bendis. He obviously wrote Revolution with Civil War and the then-upcoming Secret Invasion in mind, and so he's careful to catch the reader up while planting seeds for the future. However, this is not what especially impressed me. What did impress me was the fact that Bendis played with flashbacks and perspective in order to deliver the whole of Revolution. Instead of giving us a linear story playing out from issue to issue, he took an artistic approach and allowed the reader to bridge some gaps and become mentally involved in deciphering the plot. Don't get me wrong, even with the interesting technique, it's a pretty straightforward story, but such added touches go a long way in satisfying me.
Overall, with the eye-catching art, inspired story-telling, and new additions to the team, New Avengers: Revolution was a very good experience.
~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant
Great Art, But Story Is Scrambled Beyond Understanding I picked this up because the art was really great. Both Yu and Maleev do a great job with the art, and it was very good visually. However, it suffered from a terrible case of scramble-story. Some writers seem to think that it adds something to constantly flip between the present and several different stretches into the past. This writer is one of them, but does so often without any indication that he's switching to another time. This story starts several months ago, then jumps to an undisclosed time in the past which tells a story about an even further time in the past, then to the present, then to yesterday, then jumps to later yesterday, then to the present, then back to yesterday, then the next morning, then to an undisclosed time and place, then to the present, then to earlier today, then finally back to the present. I often had no idea where to place the action, and lost track of all cause and effect. Not only this, but usually the frames would proceed down the left page, and then down the right, but sometimes (and it wasn't clear when) they would proceed horizontally across both pages. if the story had been told sequentially, or with maybe one flashback, it would have been worth keeping. But as it is, it's poorly structured and confusing.
Great Secret Invasion lead-in!!! The Skrulls are coming, and the New Avengers come across a clue to this huge Marvel event in this graphic novel. Love the direction of this book, art, and story, will leave you asking for more. So if your a fan, this is must for New Avengers & Secret Invasion!
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