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Avengers Assemble- Volume One

1 rating: 3.0
A hardcover book collecting AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 1-8

Brian Michael Bendis is an award winning comics creator and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For the last eleven years, Brian's books have consistently sat on the top of the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales … see full wiki

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A Debut Series Starring the Avengers Assembled From the Blockbuster Movie!

  • Feb 9, 2013
Exclusive to the Lunch Network
Rating:
+3
The Avengers movie was arguably the most successful "super-hero" movie to date. It was raw entertainment and quite a joy to watch. Granted it was a little watered-down compared to the much darker, meaner, recent storylines of the famed comic series, but nonetheless the film was successful in generating raw entertainment. Now with a coming sequel in the works, Marvel entertainment is sure to take advantage by coming out with a new comic series that premieres the Comic characters of the film. “Avengers Assemble” is a new series that debuted in 2012 written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley that appears to “plug” the possible sequel to the blockbuster film that can included into marvel continuity.

Hawkeye and the Black Widow is on a mission and this mission takes them into combat with a member of an all-new, more powerful member of the Zodiac. This member, Taurus is strong enough to knock out the Mighty Thor and Iron Man. While on another side of the country the Hulk is faced by another Zodiac member, Aquarius, who is trying to recover something from the U.S. army. Just what are they after? Captain America deems that this discovery must be kept a secret. But before long, the Avengers assembled must face the threat of the new Zodiac team and they prove much more powerful than ever before. What is the secret of Zodiac? It is something that will lead our assemblers to another part of the universe; and that they will need the aid of the new Guardians of the Galaxy to face this cosmic threat. Thanos has re-surfaced and he wants a cosmic cube and the elder gods of the universe shall tremble.

 

 

This hardcover collects issues 1-8 of “Avengers Assemble”. I do have to admit, while this storyline feels more like an attempt to plug the upcoming films by Marvel, Bendis and Bagley do come out with a competent attempt to debut a new title. I guess, in order to get everyone interested, this new series does emulate the feel of the film and at the same time, it cements its position in current continuity. Yes, the dialogue feels and flows more in the side of ‘for teens’, and the storyline while lacking the depth and intricacies of “Infinity Gauntlet” and “The Thanos Quest”. It was a little predictable, but it proved to be quite an entertaining read since the storyline was action-packed.

Mark Bagley is at his best when illustrating action sequences. The battle between the Avengers and Zodiac was pretty hard-hitting and fun to see. It was cool to see Thor and the Hulk fight alongside each other, instead of against each other in “Fear Itself”. Bendis manages to generate the proper emotions within the characters as in confusion and puzzlement; fighting a team that rivals the raw power of our assemblers was a shock since the Zodiac never had this much power in the past. The struggle withiin the Avengers Helicarrier (you got that right) had both sides trying to get the better of the other. It was a battle that swung back and forth, with the heroes being on the disadvantage. Bendis wanted the reader to be at the edge of his seat. Then, the appearance of Thanos would come to be the biggest reveal as the Avengers have indeed stumbled onto something much bigger.

  

                            

I guess Bendis and Bagley wanted to properly express the state of mind of the American military, that in creating something that Thanos could desire, it could bring a cosmic threat down to Earth. Marvel has always tried to do what it could in developing ‘public fear’ and opinion, and in the first few chapters, he does manage to get all those things right. There was a feeling of urgency in the panels, as the Avengers realize that their own government had perhaps created something much more dangerous that the mad titan would be so determined to possess.

I guess the weaknesses of the script began to show when the writing tries to do more ‘plugging’ and includes a Guardians of the Galaxy subplot that included their long-time foes the race of Badoon. I am not sure, I felt that this sudden change of focus hampered the pace of the story, and it felt more like a ‘plug’ than an integral part of the plot. Sure, it was going somewhere, and its storyline was meant to continue in another comic book, but I would’ve rather preferred to see a darker premise about the mad titan. I did not have that feeling of dread, and I knew that the heroes would prevail, it was just a matter of how and when.

Perhaps I was expecting a little too much. The inclusion of the elders of the universe did give the story enough cosmic mumbo-jumbo to intrigue me, but by then, it became a little too rushed. I felt several areas of the script proved too convenient, and while the crisis included the appearance of a certain American President and of the other members of the Avengers with the Fantastic Four, the final conflict proved a little too easy and even a little hokey that it lacked cumulative impact in the narrative. (sorry there is no Infinity Gauntlet, no Hulk vs. Thor, no Hulk and Thor vs. Thanos sequences in this collected storyline)



Despite some complaints, it was fun to see Thor and the Hulk take on the Badoon, the battle with the Zodiac and the appearance of Thanos were good moments in comic fandom that I am sure that any Avengers fan would feel compelled to read this collection. There is a lot of 'fan service' and even some light romance. Bendis wanted this story arc a little more on the younger reader side. Bagley is at his best with the action sequences, the fights were raw and definitely had a lot of power. I do have to say, his style of illustration does appear to be a little more on the cartoonish side; I did notice that they characters looked a little younger than usual, and they felt a little on the anime-style. The writing by Bendis was competent, albeit it tried to do so many things in an 8 issue story line, that it could not sustain the feeling of emotion and urgency to keep the suspense steady. There were several things that could’ve been better, but fortunately, the read was as fun as I would’ve wished. This debut felt more like a promo to the Avengers film, and it served its purpose. No, it would not be one of the most significant storyline in the Avengers mythos, but competent to hold its own.

Recommended! [3 ½ Out of 5 Stars]

This is the hardcover:

　
A Debut Series Starring the Avengers Assembled in the Blockbuster Movie!

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February 10
Haven't really read this yet but sounds good man.
February 11
it is more for the teen reader but it is a fun read.
 
February 09
The Guardians of the Galaxy thing is also working as a vehicle to plug their coming movie as well. Also, take a look at the cover art on Avengers Assemble #1, and then check out New 52 Justice League. I don't know about you, but to me, it is disturbingly similar.

And another thing, I'm not happy at all that Thanos is making such a quick appearance on film. Their next film villain should either be Ultron or Kang. Ultron especially because he is their worst enemy. They don't know how to truly kill him.
February 09
I agree. The covers do look uncannily similar. I guess as with movie posters, some artists are starting to lose ideas. Whatever happened to the raw action scenes that were on covers? I agree. Ultron or Kang should be the next villain. hey--in the comics, the AGE OF ULTRON is dawning. New cross-over saga. It is supposed to be the time that Ultron goes to war with the human race and destroys them. This also brings Ultron at odds with Kang...I hope it delivers.
February 09
The whole Age of Ultron thing is what came to mind and had me make that comment in the first place. I'm looking forward to that, and I'm not reading any reviews on it until after it's complete and I have it.
February 09
apparently Ultron is so smart that he can create his shell out of adamantium and cap's shield. scary. I also got to say, I am loving this Thor-Hulk team up.
February 09
Not surprising, they don't even know how Ultron even sustains life in the first place.
February 09
doesn't his body run on ionic energy same as Wonder Man's? But his mind and consciousness is just something else. Almost as if he is a demon birthed from Pym's mind patterns that gained independence.
February 09
I don't recall him being based on ionic energy. That was Vision with his brain pattern based on Wonder Man. Ultron himself was actually based on Pym which disturbed Pym for awhile from what I remember, with War Toy based on Mockingbird, and Jocasta based on Wasp. I don't remember anything demon related involving Ultron, accept it was stated that he is in fact A.I. so there's probably no way on actually killing him.

On one occasion Doc Ock stated that Ultron possessed more energy than a H-Bomb after Galatcus instantly snuffed him out. This is definitely likely, since he did break the Hulk's leg with a single close range blast.
February 09
Yeah I know--when I said 'demon', it was as if all the potential evil in Pym's mind went to him. It is like he is as smart as Pym, but without the conscience, he became smarter and much more dangerous. I do love it when Stark states just how much Ultron scares him.

In Ultron Unlimited, Wanda's hex backfired and Ultron's energy increased that he was unleashing ionic blasts. I guess that was where I was basing the ions as an energy source.
February 09
Yeah, that's why Ultron scares him because Ultron is him. Wanda's hex backfiring against him, now this is just a guess, but since you already know about Ultron's genius level intellect. Perhaps when Wanda nearly destroyed him with her hex during the Bride of Ultron storyline, it's possible he figured some weird way around it? Every time he updated his body in some way, he made some type of improvement no matter how small it could've been.
February 10
good points. I really am excited what they are going to do with Ultron, since the last time I saw him, he gained the indestructible body of a SPACEKNIGHT and he disappeared with Stark being very worried. Remember, ROM? It was one of his companions' inert body
February 11
You know? I really didn't care for ROM, and I don't think it was due to some type of bias towards the mainstream, traditional heroes, we all know and love, because I use to love Star Brand. And that book was quite different from the main pack. Jim Shooter kicked ass with that series from what I remember. Squadron Supreme was awesome too.
 
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