REVIEW: Young Avengers, Volume One: Style > Substance

PLOT: Legacy isn't a dirty word...but it's an irrelevant one. It's not important what our parents did. It matters what WE do. Someone has to save the world. You're someone. Do the math. The critically acclaimed team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie reinvent the teen super hero comic for the 21st century, uniting Wiccan, Hulkling and Kate "Hawkeye" Bishop with Kid Loki, Marvel Boy and Ms. America. No pressure, right? As a figure from Loki's past emerges, Wiccan makes a horrible mistake that comes back to bite everyone on their communal posteriors. Fight scenes! Fake IDs! And plentiful feels! (aka "meaningful emotional character beats" for people who aren't on tumblr.) Young Avengers is as NOW! as the air in your lungs, and twice as vital. Hyperbole is the BEST! THING! EVER!

REVIEW: Yet another Marvel NOW! title that I just don't understand. I suppose that Young Avengers is supposed to rock with a younger crowd, and probably appeals to teenage kids looking for a comic book that they can relate to their lives. There's a lot about this story that I just didn't find appealing to myself, and I am pretty open to anything but a lot of this felt forced for the ability to be marketed at a younger audience. First of all, the gay relationship presented from the beginning with Wiccan and Hulkling I just didn't get. It felt so forced to pair these two together, and really just to use as a marketing tool to appeal to comic readers of a younger age in high school. I know that writers have been trying to be inclusive in comics as of late, and I applaud them for that but I really don't feel like it was necessary in this story. I didn't think they were a good couple, nor was I invested in either character because all you know about them was that they were gay. There needed to be more of a set up as to who these two characters were, and what drew them together in the first place. It just starts out with "hey our comic book has two heroes in the Young Avengers that are gay! Look at us, we're all inclusive!" I know it sounds like I was offended, but really I would have been fine with it had there been more development leading up to why they were a couple, which would make it seem like less of a gimmick. Also, the other characters were pretty minimal in comparison, which compounded the problem. The only character I truly enjoyed was Kid Loki and that was because he had a sense of humor and he obviously plays off of the already known grown up characters of Thor and Loki. The villains were kind of neat, but I'm still kind of unsure what to make of the whole story because really the biggest plot of this whole book was the relationship between Wiccan and Hulkling. I think they could have spent a lot more time on other characters developing them just as much as the other two, and maybe it would have felt like there was an entire team in this book. The title was appropriate though I suppose, because substance took a backseat to style in this one. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but I really didn't see too much in this book that appealed to me and made me want to read more.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 4 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 5 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 5 / 10 )

REVIEW: All New X-Men, Volume Two: Here to Stay

PLOT: Yesterday's X-Men continue to adjust to a present day that's simultaneously more awe-inspiring and more disturbing than any future the young heroes had ever imagined for themselves. And things get even more dangerous when the shape-changing terrorist Mystique targets our young time-travelers...starting with Cyclops!

REVIEW: To start, I wasn't a huge fan of All New X-Men, Volume One: Yesterday's X-Men but it did leave some things open to get better in this second volume. Things definitely got better, but actually got really great and I really enjoyed this volume. The first volume was more of a set up for this one, as the X-Men from the past are still struggling in finding out what they've become in the present time. Most importantly, Scott Summers has seen where his life has gone and it's all too frightening a truth for him to take. He takes an approach to it, and vows to not be the same Scott Summers and do whatever he can to change it, but that's the typical Summers agenda when problems arise. It's really interesting to see these characters struggle with themselves in the past, when they've seen what they become in the future. There is a tie-in as well with the Uncanny X-Men cast, and I thought that was pretty cool just having read that. My review of the first volume was a considerable bashing, because I've been fed up with X-Men comics for the past year or so. They all seem so similar, and it seemed to me that this Marvel NOW! title was headed in the same direction. However, it has turned around in this second volume and I'd highly recommend All New X-Men to Marvel NOW! readers. It's definitely in the top three in the reboot, and I take back what I said about Brian Michael Bendis last volume. This guy is a mainstay in writing the Marvel universe, and he writes teams really well.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )

REVIEW: Hawkeye, Volume Two: Little Hits

PLOT: Artist David Aja returns to the most critically acclaimed comic of 2012, as ace archer Clint Barton faces the digital doomsday of - DVR-Mageddon! Then: Cherry's got a gun. And she looks good in it. And Hawkeye gets very, very distracted. Plus: Valentine's Day with the heartthrob of the Marvel Universe? This will be...confusing.

REVIEW: After reading the first volume of Hawkeye, I had a pretty good idea what to expect of the second volume. This one is much like the first, where I find it hard to believe that this is so critically acclaimed when I really can't recall there ever being a threat to Hawkeye's well-being or super hero status. It focuses too much on the relationship between Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, with little to no outcome of their relationship or their adventures as Hawkeye. I guess I'm not just not seeing what everyone else sees, because these comics are kind of boring. I mean, shouldn't Hawkeye be doing something as an Avenger instead of running around as Clint Barton being a comedian? That's one of the few things I'll give these comics, and that's the sense of humor but where is everything else? My main gripe with this volume over the first one is while it's much the same, the tenth issue is phenomenal and comes out of nowhere. The art style is beyond amazing and really breathes life into the otherwise dull Hawkeye artwork, and it gave Hawkeye a viable threat that looks uncannily like Clint in clown makeup. I like the introduction of this villain, and maybe it will take us somewhere in the future. But until then, I'm still in the minority on this comic as it's way too bland and just squandered opportunities in my opinion. Also, the last issue of the volume is told from the point of view of a dog. While it's different, fresh, and somewhat funny, what was the point? Last time I checked this comic was Hawkeye, not his dog and I can't really say I got much from that issue at all. There's no desire for me to try and flip through a 20 page issue of a comic and try to decipher what the writer was trying to convey from the eyes of a dog. It just doesn't make sense, does it?

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 5 / 10 )

STORY : ( 5 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: Hawkeye, Volume One: My Life As A Weapon

PLOT: The breakout star of this summer's blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton - aka the self-made hero Hawkeye - fights for justice! With ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he's out to prove himself as one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! SHIELD recruits Clint to intercept a packet of incriminating evidence - before he becomes the most wanted man in the world. You won't believe what is on The Tape! What is the Vagabond Code? Matt Fraction pens a Hawkeye thriller that spans the globe...and the darkest parts of Hawkeye's mind. Barton and Bishop mean double the Hawkeye and double the trouble...and stealing from the rich never looked so good.

REVIEW: I've been hearing about this comic for months now, and finally I've been able to get around to it. Hawkeye was certainly one of the breakout stars in Marvel's The Avengers movie, and without Jeremy Renner it may not have been as successful. A lot of people really fell in love with the character, and a lot of girls did as well, probably because of Jeremy Renner. After reading the comic, I think it's the character in the film that everyone is in love with and it's carrying over into this book, because it isn't really that special, at least in my eyes. Now, let me say this though too, that I have yet to fully enjoy a Marvel NOW! title and I don't know why, but New 52's stories are so much more compelling to me. While Hawkeye may have been one of the better Marvel NOW! titles I've read, it certainly isn't anywhere near the best that it's being touted as. I'm not sure what it is about Matt Fraction's Hawkeye that has everyone all giddy, but I found it to be a pretty normal, but decent comic. The artwork is pretty simple, and has a basic look to it, so there's no wows there at all. Then you have the writing, and while it's definitely some of the better, I don't find the story groundbreaking in the slightest. The story seems a bit incomplete and that's what I'm hoping a second volume would correct, but I wasn't too much of a fan of the latter half of this. This book did serve very well for humor, as Clint Barton is a pretty humorous and snippy guy, but other than that I wasn't too entertained by it. I really like the bit with the different kinds of arrows that Clint uses as Hawkeye, but doesn't have labels on them to know which is which. Maybe the second volume will outline a grander story, but color me unimpressed, at least less impressed than everyone else is, with Hawkeye.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 4 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 5 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 5 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )