THE AVENGERS, VOLUME 1 (Marvel Comics, February 2011) Brian Michael Bendis, writer. John Romita, Jr., artist. Hardcover, 160 pages.
ISBN: 0785145001 / 9780785145004. Collects Avengers #1-6 (2010).
Summary from the Goodreads website . . . . .
There came a day! A day unlike any other...where two of Marvel's top creators teamed up for the very first time to create a bombastic new story that not only ushers in the Heroic Age of Marvel Comics but unleashes onto the world the most blockbuster Avengers team ever!
Who will answer the call? And will they assemble just in time...because Kang the Conqueror is here from the future. And wait till you find out why...!
My review from the Goodreads website . . . . .
The always-adept Brian Michael Bendis throws multiple balls in the air on this epic and manages to juggle them all without dropping a single one. It's a complicated story but you've got to admire how it all unfolds and continues to hold your interest throughout. It's a time-travel saga so don't think about it overmuch or risk the confusing consequences. I'm not a huge fan of time travel stories in comics but I had fun with this one.
This is another re-boot of the Avengers (I lost count) following the Dark Avengers period when evil Norman Osborne was in charge of the team and everything else. This Avengers beginning heralds the "Heroic Age" for Marvel, trying to get back to a more simple core mythology with purer characters and epic themes (back in 2010). It does, but like everything else at Marvel it didn't last -- plus they spun off three more Avengers team books from this one. That too-often reoccurring event is the prime reason I don't follow the Avengers books much anymore. (And the plethora of re-booted X-Men titles is just absurd!)
But enough of my rant on superhero books, back to the Avengers review. I'll summarize the plot briefly.
A future Kang The Conqueror travels back in time to warn the present Avengers that the Young Avengers will kill him (back in the future), setting off cataclysmic events that end the world. He wants them to time-travel and prevent it from happening. They don't succeed initially, but due to time travel they keep replaying the battle in an effort to achieve a more positive outcome. Bendis even references the Groundhog Day movie, and indeed there is a light-hearted touch to the way he handles the proceedings instead of the usual doom and gloom. You've got to smile a little at his machinations- I think Bendis was mocking time travel stories in a respectful way.
There are too many characters in this story to bore you by listing them all by name here. Bendis manages to touch base with every one of them, and reveals their character traits and quirks through the snappy and often funny dialogue. Artist John Romita does a commendable job of squeezing all the multiple players into the panels, aided by the half-page and spread out format. There are multiple epic battle here, worth spending some time to marvel (ha). Romita's blocky art style takes some getting used to, but I've learned to appreciate it.
There are several twists and turns in the story but it all works out. Bendis engages in foreshadowing several times, and weaves in some plot threads for later stories. Before this is over, he introduces the Young Avengers, a future Hulk and Tony Stark, Noh-Varr the Protector,and yet another iteration of Ultron.
If you've got a craving to read some Avengers books, you can't go wrong with this one. However, if you'd prefer to read the best of the best, then search out Avengers Forever by Kurt Busiek and Avengers Disassembled, also by Brian Michael Bendis.
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